The Badgers locked down their two quarterbacks in the upcoming freshman class on Wednesday.
After a whirlwind month that saw offensive coordinator Phil Longo get fired, the Wisconsin Badgers finally secured their quarterbacks of the future on Wednesday, officially signing four-star Carter Smith and three-star Landyn Locke in their 2025 recruiting class.
The Badgers finished their disappointing 2024 season last Friday with a 24-7 loss to the Minnesota Golden Gophers, effectively ending their chances of earning a bowl appearance in 2024, and putting their full focus towards the offseason.
However, they’ve had a successful month of recruiting, headlined by the major commitment of four-star quarterback Carter Smith, who verbally pledged to the Badgers three weeks after de-committing from the Michigan Wolverines.
Smith, seen as a top-three dual-threat quarterback in the Class of 2025, had been committed to Michigan for nearly a year, but that changed when the Wolverines began their strong pursuit of five-star quarterback Bryce Underwood, prompting the four-star to de-commit from the program.
That opened up a big door for Wisconsin, as they had a prior relationship with Smith and immediately got involved for the four-star quarterback. In the end, it became a two-team race between the Badgers and the hometown Florida State Seminoles, who had just lost a four-star quarterback of their own.
But, Florida State had been involved with a number of quarterback targets, ultimately flipping Oklahoma four-star commit Kevin Sperry, clearing the path for Wisconsin to secure their top target, which happened on November 24th.
Smith has officially signed with the team, and is the second-highest-rated quarterback recruit in recruiting history for the Badgers behind only Graham Mertz, marking a major victory for head coach Luke Fickell and his staff.
Locke, on the other hand, has the exact opposite story. He was the first player to commit to the Badgers in their 2025 class, pledging to Wisconsin back in June of 2023.
As a result, his recruitment never had to take off, as the three-star quarterback joined his brother, Braedyn Locke, at Wisconsin, with both players being recruited under former offensive coordinator Phil Longo.
However, when Longo was fired, there were questions raised as to whether both Lockes would entertain a move elsewhere, with the early signing day and the transfer portal window coming sooner and sooner.
Well, Locke signed with the Badgers, indicating that he’s here to stay, at least for now, providing Wisconsin with some needed numbers in their quarterback room.
A three-star recruit, many perceive the younger Locke to have the higher ceiling of the two, but his floor is unknown after suffering a torn ACL early in his senior season playing for Rockwall High School in Rockwall, Texas.
How does the Badgers quarterback room shape out now heading into 2025?
Looking at the numbers, Wisconsin currently has Braedyn Locke, Mabrey Mettauer, Carter Smith, and Landyn Locke as the four projected scholarship quarterbacks for the upcoming season.
Graduate transfer Tyler Van Dyke could return as well, as head coach Luke Fickell indicated that the quarterback is looking into applying for a medical redshirt to play one more season at the collegiate level, which would give Wisconsin five scholarship quarterbacks.
There was expected to be some movement out of the room, and still very well could be, while Wisconsin could go to the transfer portal to grab an experienced option that could elevate both the program’s floor and ceiling for the 2025 season.
But, for now, the Badgers have numbers, as they’ve officially signed both Carter Smith and Landyn Locke in their 2025 recruiting class.