Wisconsin Badgers 2016 Football Preview: Quarterback

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After four rollercoaster years in which he set the Wisconsin quarterback record for wins, Joel “Sunshine” Stave’s reign as the Badger’s quarterback is over. For some, that may come as a relief. He was wild, erratic, and made some truly awful decisions. However, he did provide relative stability. For four years (felt like at least 10 years), he kept winning the starting job over and over. But now, Sunshine has moved on. He has a new life playing for the Minnesota Vikings. Wisconsin must finally choose a successor.

Previous Previews: Running Backs | Linebackers | Special Teams | Wide Receivers/Tight Ends | Defensive Line |

Choosing the right quarterback is crucial for Wisconsin this season given their ridiculously challenging schedule. Their running game will return to typical Wisconsin standards behind Corey Clement and a revamped offensive line. Wisconsin’s defense is going to be great once again, led by one of the best linebacker groups in the country. Wisconsin has a serious chance to make some noise and win some of the big games on their schedule… If either Bart Houston or Alex Hornibrook can step up, claim the job, and make some plays in fall camp.



What We Know:


There is going to be a true quarterback competition between Bart Houston and Alex Hornibrook, and that is really all we know heading in to fall camp. Bart Houston, a redshirt senior, and Alex Hornibrook, a redshirt freshman, are on the opposite ends of their college career spectrums. But according to Wisconsin Football Coach Paul Chryst, the two are neck and neck for the starting job.


Chryst said he doesn't know when they'll name a starter but likes what Houston and Hornibrook did in the spring.

— Jason Galloway (@Jason_Galloway) July 26, 2016


Bart Houston was a very highly touted recruit coming in to Wisconsin, but so far, he hasn’t been able to live up to the billing. Even though he has dealt with a nagging shoulder injury, his time in Madison has been disappointing if for no other reason than he has had plenty of opportunities to live up to his potential.

However, he did look impressive in a win over Illinois after Stave went down. He showed he still had a ton of arm strength and talent, completing 22 of 33 passes for 232 yards and two touchdowns. For that reason, the job was presumed to be his coming into the season.


Then Hornibrook came along. Back in 2015 as a true freshmen, he was the breakout star in both spring and fall camp. The coaching staff fell in love with his touch, composure, and accuracy. However, he still had to improve his arm strength and decision making. In his second spring camp, Hornibrook showed he was vastly improved and ready to compete. In Wisconsin’s 2016 spring game, he stole the show, completing three beautiful deep balls, including two touchdown bombs to George Rushing.


Meanwhile, Houston was solid, but not good enough to clinch a starting spot. And just like that, we have a true quarterback competition.



What We Need To Find Out:


Who will win the competition and become the starter?

Here’s the dilemma facing the coaching staff — go with experience of Houston in hopes of navigating a ridiculously difficult front half of the season, or allow the young Hornibrook to take some lumps early and pay off down the road?

There are pros and cons to each, as we’ve noted Houston’s performance in his most extended action against Illinois. But, if you acknowledge the difficulty level of the schedule and the youth of the team, it might make sense to give the young guy some valuable experience that could lead to a big payoff down the road.

Paul Chryst proved last year that he will choose the quarterback who gives them the best chance to win now, not in the future. If Hornibrook and Houston have fairly even fall camps, Houston will most likely get the job due to his experience. As skilled as Hornibrook is, playing your first college game against LSU at Lambeau field is not an ideal situation. However, if Houston struggles, Hornibrook will likely unseat him at some point this season.



Player To Watch:


Kare Lyles, Fr

While all eyes are on Hornibrook and Houston, as they should be, Lyles is flying under the radar. He was a 3-star recruit with good arm strength, accuracy, and mobility. From his high school highlights, he truly looks to be the complete package. Unfortunately, he missed spring camp with a hip injury, so this will be our first look at Wisconsin’s potential quarterback of the future. However, he is the only other scholarship quarterback on the roster, making him all but a lock for the 3rd-string slot.


While he doesn’t have a shot at the starting job this year, he is certainly someone that can be a great player for the Badgers down the road. Also, keep in mind that in two of the last four years, Wisconsin’s third-string quarterback has gotten in the game. In 2012, it was Curt Philips who actually started the final five games of the season, including the Rose Bowl (shudder). Lyles is certainly worth keeping an eye on.



Our Projected Depth Chart


QB1: Bart Houston, RS Sr.
QB2: Alex Hornibrook RS Fr.
QB3: Kare Lyles, Fr.
QB 4: Garrett Groshek, Fr.



Overall Outlook


This Wisconsin Football team is very talented, with a great defense and running game. In order for Wisconsin to be competitive and have a chance to make the Big Ten championship game, the quarterback has to take care of the ball. That is priority number one.

Whether it is Houston or Hornibrook, the quarterback can’t try to do too much. He just needs to take care of the ball, occasionally keep the defense on their toes with play action passes, and manage the offense. Let Corey Clement, Robert Wheewlright, and the defense take care of the rest. That should be enough to make Wisconsin competitive with anyone they play this season.

The post Wisconsin Badgers 2016 Football Preview: Quarterback appeared first on Madtown Badgers.

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I'm thinking that it will be Houston. Nothing to base that on other than it might be asking too much for a freshman to deal with LSU, OSU, Mich, and MichSt in those first 6 weeks. (Not to mention Iowa, Nebraska and Northwestern right after that stretch, all of which "could" be losses.) Hornibrook likely gets some looks against those 2 lesser opponents they face in weeks 2&3, and certainly could get the nod at some other point if Houston is ineffective.

While Lyles may be #3 on the depth chart, it's a safe bet he never gets in a game unless injuries totally decimate the position. They will not want to burn his red-shirt year on some meaningless snaps. At that point they'd probably toss Groshek out there and have him hand it off before burning a year of Lyles eligibility. Hopefully it won't come to that, but I've seen it before where teams have to go 3 deep at QB during the season.

The defections have left them pretty thin at the position.
 
Probably Houston to start the season, and Hornibrook might end up with the job during the last half of the season. Like it or not, this is a year where we can't expect a lot. It's a tough schedule and the Badgers lack cohesiveness on both offense and defense due to graduation. It's not going to come as quick as it does to teams like Alabama, Auburn, or anyone else that has a truck load of 4 and 5 star players coming in. Badger players learn to play at a high level after they get to Madison. Something we can all be proud of. They create stars, not just recruit them. Our players also attend classes, and do well academically. Something not that often thought about around the nation at the D I level.

I'm actually looking forward to seeing what Hornibrook has to offer to be honest. I wonder if Kare Lyles will redshirt, so he can have an extra year. He seems to have so much ability, but needs to mature a little before he gets into the mix.

Just my opinion.
 
I think it makes sense for Lyles to try to red-shirt if at all possible. He missed spring practice with a hip issue so I'd have to imagine he's behind. If he doesn't red-shirt there is the possibility he could sit behind Hornibrook all 4 years. The competitor in him may feel he can beat him out, but hopefully he and the coaching staff are sensible enough to realize that having that 5th year as a RS Senior would maximize the chance that he has at least one season where he has the best odds to start. (Kinda like the shot Houston is getting this year.)

As for o-line, they had a decent class this year with Van Lanen and Kasl both being well regarded OTs. The 2017 class is also off to a strong start there with 4 commitments - Bruss, Fenton and Lyles (the Qb's "little brother) are OGs and Beach is an OT. There is also some chatter on Badger websites that Aaron Vopal, who committed as a DE, was recently measured at 6'7"-290#, so "might" get a look at OT. What is helping is that other than Kasl (Minn), these are all essentially in-state kids. It's just so easy to convince the in-state kids to go to UW because it's close to home and because of the reputation UW has for cranking out draftable OL guys for the NFL. The downturn in OL recruiting under the last year or two of BB and the first year for GA was due partly to injury and also due to some slightly down years for OL in-state.
 
The Gary Andersen era didn't help in recruiting in-state linemen. He was reaching outside the state, and some of our best were heading to places like Michigan State. He wanted a different body type, unfortunately. Thankfully we now have a head coach that understands that you can get these big farm kids to Madison and can spend more time recruiting skill players that come from elsewhere.

I'm anxious to see how we make out in Florida, Texas, and the Jersey area next year. These have been areas I've always felt we could do a little more, to get some of these long armed receivers, and defensive backs that seem to sprout out of every HS.

I like where we're heading. We just have to be patient. This is a year where we see new kids working to make the grade. Next year, we will see a lot more of Chryst's people.

By the way. I think Chryst will go with Houston as well. They have history, and one heck of a lot of mutual respect.
 
Chryst also has a history with Hornibroo, he recruited him to Pitt. I agree that this year will be tough and many of Ty the recruiting issues go back to Anderson.
But what we have to come to grips with is Wisconsin made its big strides when Michigan, Ohio State and Penn State were down. And to some extent Nebraska was on the slide. In many ways we may be back to the Big 2 and as the rest of the conference. Michigan State will still be a factor. As to Florida recruiting that's where 2 Beez did well. Texas is a mess after Anderson.
 
I want another Russell Wilson. I don't see that in Houston, but Hornibrook seems to have some of those qualities. So does Lyles. The problem is, there just aren't many guys that combine it all like Wilson did. Adding to the problem is that the 5-star QBs head for programs that pretty much guarantee them being a first round pick - so they think.

But (just an estimate here), it seems like less than 10% of those guys even get a shot at being a big time QB. At the same times, guys who have what appears to be limited ability, go to Wisconsin, and end up in the pros.

If I was a young QB with "can't miss" credentials, I'd hop on a bus for Madison in a heartbeat, knowing that I'd have a shot at NFL where others will fail. Yet, Auburn, Alabama, and the rest of the football mill schools like Miami get these QBs. Yet, they fail miserably in most cases. Just don't get why they don't recruit themselves to Wisconsin.
 
Bart Houston 4 star qb. Owen Daniels 4 star qb recruit. UW has produced some nice backups that have played at the next level but that's about it. Wilson was a once in a generation qb at UW. Plus technically he was a grad transfer. The big issue us most 4 and 5 star qbs in high school run the spread or option. That's not the uw system. Issue number 2 is the inability for the most part to recruit wr. UW has been in the mix for a couple high qb recruits like Brisette but could not close the deal
 
UW is still in the process of undoing everything GA did. It will take 2 more recruiting cycles for PC to get this fixed. Until then we have to deal with the cards we have.
 
I'm actually happy we don't use the option and/or spread offenses. It's like sitting on a park bench watching cars rust in the rain.

I'm not going to worry about what happens this year either. If we win half our games, they've done better than I expect. It's going to take time to get rid of the "Andersen experience" out of Madison. I don't mean that as a knock against players, because there are some good ones that came in. It's all about meshing into a specific system.

I'm not certain if I'm going to miss Aranda's defense, or if we're going to have a new source of energy that will exceed what he brought to the table. Justin Wilcox comes from a great pedigree of football players, has been around the nation as a coach, played the game himself, and seems to be a high tempo guy. Adding Jim Leonhard to the mix and you now have a guy that went from walk on to the NFL. It's going to be great seeing what they can do.

Regardless of record, this year and next, I'm excited to see where these guys take the program. It's going to be one heck of a ride.
 
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