Badgers QBs going through ‘learning curve’ early in spring ball

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The Wisconsin Badgers revamped their quarterback room this offseason, adding Colton Joseph and Deuce Adams from the transfer portal, while landing four-star high school recruit Ryan Hopkins as well. Those three are the early leaders in the quarterback room, with 2025 four-star Carter Smith competing to be in the mix as well, as Wisconsin looks to have a better year offensively after a frustrating campaign last season.

Under offensive coordinator Jeff Grimes, the Badgers are prioritizing dual-threat quarterbacks who can elevate an offense in multiple ways, and that’s what they saw in all three of their newcomers.

But, with a brand-new room and a lot of new skill position players as well, there has been a learning curve in getting up to speed on the playbook and the install. That’s why the Badgers went at a slower pace this offseason in comparison to previous years.

“As coaches, we’re all experiencing a new era of college football,” Grimes said last week. “And I think there’s a balance there between recognizing what your players can handle, but at the same time trying to get them ready for spring ball and then ultimately the season.

“And we did go slower and, you know, bringing in new coaches, that is one way that bringing in new coaches sort of impacted us because you got to catch them up to speed with the system as well. And so I would say we just went a little bit slower this offseason. And so I don’t know that I would say we’ve simplified the playbook. I would just say we didn’t install as much as early as than we had before.”

With quarterbacks, the early part of the learning curve often comes with mistakes. But the coaching staff encourages some of those in spring ball to help speed up the learning process.

“Every day is an evaluation, but, you know, I think part of that growth is making those mistakes,” Grimes continued. “And, as a coaching staff, we have to walk the line between not being willing to accept certain things, but also recognizing that along the way, they have to make some of those mistakes in order for them to really learn.

“And so if a quarterback is going to throw a ball from the boundary hash all the way to the field flat, and he doesn’t know whether he can do that versus a certain coverage or whether someone from defense is going to actually buzz the flat fast enough to take away that throw. He’s got to try that before he recognizes where his limitations are. And quite honestly, we as coaches have to see that too. So yes, there are mistakes from the quarterbacks in all the positions. And, you know, to some extent, that’s not bad as long as they’re making new mistakes and they’re not making the same ones.”

Early in spring ball, we’ve seen Deuce Adams get a ton of opportunities behind Colton Joseph as the Badgers evaluate their quarterback room. What has Grimes seen from Adams so far?

“Deuce, like all of our quarterbacks, there’s a learning curve going on,” Grimes acknowledged on Tuesday. “Just new offense, new things being asked of him. A player that’s played a little bit, but not a ton. I like his poise. I think he’s a guy that doesn’t get too high, doesn’t get too low, and he’s a good all-around player. He’s got a really nice touch on the ball. Has made some really good plays. Did it again today as well.”

Wisconsin is hoping to have far better injury luck at the position than they’ve had the last few years, but they also want to see more success regardless of whose on the field. That process starts now in the spring, and we’ll continue to track how the growth is for the entire quarterback room throughout spring ball.

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