The new Badgers offensive coordinator shared his philosophy for taking quarterbacks/
The Wisconsin Badgers made a major move in the offseason, hiring Kansas Jayhawks offensive coordinator Jeff Grimes to the same position to replace Phil Longo, ending an era in Madison after just 23 games.
Grimes, a coordinator at Kansas, Baylor, and BYU over the past few seasons, has a bevy of experience as a playcaller, and comes in with a more run-oriented offense that the Badgers have historically seen success with in the past.
That aligned with head coach Luke Fickell’s vision for the offense, leading to the hire as Wisconsin transitions to a new era and tries to get the program back on track after a couple of disappointing seasons.
Grimes spoke with the media for the first time since being hired earlier this week, sharing his philosophy for the offense and the quarterback position.
Having an offensive line background, it’s no surprise that Grimes’s offense has been among the top rushing offenses at each of his destinations. But, the quarterback position still has a high level of importance in the offense, as Grimes looks for explosive plays to lead the way.
What does the offensive coordinator look for in a quarterback?
“I think they’ve got to be able to provide some sort of athleticism, and I think in two ways,” Grimes said. “One, they have to have the ability to escape and get out of trouble when you’re throwing the football. And then I’d like for them to present some level of run threat to the defense. How much that is depends on a number of other factors. I look at it on a sliding scale.
“If a guy is a dynamic athlete and every time he touches the ball he’s got a chance to make an explosive play, then I might take a little bit less. In some of the other categories, he might not be quite as tall, or his arm might not be quite where you want it to be now, or his knowledge of the game. On the other hand, if a guy has just enough athletic ability to be an escape threat and maybe run a quarterback draw every now and then, he better be able to rip that football and he better be great and helping the offensive line get to just the right call and protection. And he better bring a lot of other things to the table as well.”
While there are quarterbacks who can overcome the lack of athleticism, those players do not seem to be viable options for Grimes’s offense.
“Ideally you got a big guy who’s a great thrower and a good runner,” Grimes said. “But I think there are very few teams that are talented enough everywhere to play with a quarterback that can’t move around much anymore.”
“I would not take a guy that I didn’t think could run some.”
Now, the athleticism aspect is important, but the throwing the football aspect is just as, if not even more key to success at the quarterback position. What creates an efficient quarterback in Grimes’s eyes?
“I think there are a couple things. One is, are you completing the ball at a high rate? Are you hopefully in the upper two-thirds, you know, in that 65 to 70 percent completion range, and then beyond that, what’s your yards per catch? A lot of people have a high percentage completion rate, but, they’re dinking and dunking and it’s not leading to points.”
So, as Grimes and the offensive staff recruit quarterbacks, it feels like the dual-threat capability is absolutely key, as well as being able to push the ball vertically to create explosives.
We’ll see how the Badgers address the quarterback position in the upcoming recruiting class, but they’ve already made some serious changes, adding three transfer signal-callers, while parting ways with 2026 three-star Jarin Mock.