Hornibrook leaves Badgers, enters name in transfer portal

[Da-news-now]

The Wisconsin Badgers will have a new starting quarterback in 2019, as senior quarterback Alex Hornibrook announced his departure from the program. “Alex informed us of his decision to leave the team earlier today,” head coach Paul Chryst said in a statement. “He contributed to a lot of our recent success and we want to thank him for all he did for our program. We wish him the best of luck.” Not...

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[57packer]

Not a huge surprise, but not sure I get it either. He was suffering lingering effects from a concussion well past the end of the season, so it would seem that football is not really part of his future plans. Why not stay at UW on scholarship and continue your academic work. Seems odd to be transferring to look for a better "football" option. It's not like he has viable NFL skills he needs to show off.

 

[FlaPack]

Not a huge surprise, but not sure I get it either. He was suffering lingering effects from a concussion well past the end of the season, so it would seem that football is not really part of his future plans. Why not stay at UW on scholarship and continue your academic work. Seems odd to be transferring to look for a better "football" option. It's not like he has viable NFL skills he needs to show off.

he graduates in May

 

[57packer]

I know he graduates, but why not take the free scholarship money and work on his masters or a second degree. If he really wants to play football despite the concussion issues, compete for the UW starting job and if you don't get it you are still getting scholarship money for additional education. Moving on doesn't really get him anything else, since as you say, he already has a degree. The only upside is maybe a clearer path to a starting spot.

 

[FlaPack]

I know he graduates, but why not take the free scholarship money and work on his masters or a second degree. If he really wants to play football despite the concussion issues, compete for the UW starting job and if you don't get it you are still getting scholarship money for additional education. Moving on doesn't really get him anything else, since as you say, he already has a degree. The only upside is maybe a clearer path to a starting spot.

The NCAA handles he post grad scholarships, I think they award around 125 and school has to nominate kids to be in consideration and they only cover $10K, not really an option

 

[Mark87]

I say this a lot..... watch what you wish for. I watched at least 8 of Mertz HS games in full. He's not what you think. Horn will be in demand in the portal.

 

[57packer]

The NCAA handles he post grad scholarships, I think they award around 125 and school has to nominate kids to be in consideration and they only cover $10K, not really an option

I get that as well, and we don't know if it's not really an option. We would have to assume that's the case. Maybe I didn't say it clearly above, but that's really not part of the discussion anymore, since he's clearly doing this to play football, not just go to school. As I said, he could easily do that at UW. Stay on scholarship, compete for the starting QB job at UW and if you don't get it, you are still on scholarship and continuing your education.

That leaves the question of why transfer to another school for the express purpose of playing football when you already have a decent inside track for the Badger starting job. It's clear that the concussion issue is not really a factor. It's not like he's a 5th year guy who's not getting his shot. Seems like there are a few possible reasons:

• he thinks he can't beat out Coan
• he thinks he can't beat out Mertz
• he thinks PC has already made up his mind on a starter and won't give him a fair shake
• he wants a clearer path to start somewhere else
• he doesn't like being a Badger anymore
• he just wants a fresh start and doesn't really care about starting or not starting

I don't know why. It just seems odd.

 

[FlaPack]

I get that as well, and we don't know if it's not really an option. We would have to assume that's the case. Maybe I didn't say it clearly above, but that's really not part of the discussion anymore, since he's clearly doing this to play football, not just go to school. As I said, he could easily do that at UW. Stay on scholarship, compete for the starting QB job at UW and if you don't get it, you are still on scholarship and continuing your education.

That leaves the question of why transfer to another school for the express purpose of playing football when you already have a decent inside track for the Badger starting job. It's clear that the concussion issue is not really a factor. It's not like he's a 5th year guy who's not getting his shot. Seems like there are a few possible reasons:

• he thinks he can't beat out Coan
• he thinks he can't beat out Mertz
• he thinks PC has already made up his mind on a starter and won't give him a fair shake
• he wants a clearer path to start somewhere else
• he doesn't like being a Badger anymore
• he just wants a fresh start and doesn't really care about starting or not starting

I don't know why. It just seems odd.

My take would be your last point, fresh start or different environment, not on same page as PC, just my speculation. But there is a lot of specuation out there. A few folks who are close the program and have been spot on before have drastically different info on why and some have no clue, to your point odd. Maybe he is just fragile and can't take the criticism, hell he's what 26-6 as a starter. It reminds me a lot of the flack that Stave took. Was he in the same class other elite D1 QB's no, but he was a long way from trash, won games and was a bowl game MVP...sound familiar? The UW fanbase, some not all need to get realistic with expectations