The consistent theme running through football team previews from now until the end of eternal offseason will be how the Badgers cope with the loss of Russell Wilson at quarterback. Dig your heals in, because the speculation will be plentiful and rarely substantive, with a Spring Game mixed in that will probably answer nothing.
Thankfully, next season's glut of quarterbacks in the B1G doesn't seem to be up to par with recent years, taking some pressure off your favorite horse in Wisconsin's stable of unproven passers. Off Tackle Empire took a look at who returns under center in 2012, and the results weren't pretty. They were even worse for UW's primary road blocks to the B1G Championship Game. Of the conference's five "Plus Quarterbacks," Braxton Miller of the postseason-banned Ohio State Buckeyes was the only representative from the Leaders Division.
Robert Marve and Nathan Scheelhaase fell under the "Average" heading, making them the best quarterbacks in the division eligible to play in the B1G Championship Game. Scheelhaase went 15-for-19 against the Badger last year, but had just 99 yards and an interception. His head coach also decided to abandon the run game and throw in a less effective Riley O'Toole for stretches in the second half. Bear in mind Zookening where applicable. Marve was 5-for-10 for 61 yards passing against Wisconsin. He has yet to do anything of much significance in his career.
The Curt Phillips and Jon Budmayr (and Bart Houston) combo falls into the "Below Average" tier along with Tre Roberson at Indiana and whatever it is that's going on at Penn State. All told, 2012 may be the perfect year to be without a top notch trigger man for the Badgers.
Monday's Links:
From Friday, Urban Meyer gets his last word in.
Tip time has been set for the Wisconsin's final road game of the season against Ohio State.
New diary entry from Kyle Wojta, talking about his switch from quarterback to long-snapper in high school.
One week respite comes at just the right time for basketball team.
Papa Sullinger is upset with the abuse the Badgers dished out on his son.
Same Dekker gets snubbed out of the McDonald's All-American Game. He would have been the fourth to ever play in the game for UW.
Reunion date set for 01-02 Big Ten Title team.
Brad Arnett at NX Level in Waukesha has been prepping this year's batch NFL hopefuls. He has worked with J.J. Watt, Chris Maragos and DeAndre Levy in the past.
More from a story that just won't die: Jerry Sandusky's wife nearly runs over a reporter in her driveway.