When Braedyn Locke pulled the rug on his commitment to the Wisconsin Badgers after two seasons, it hinted that Luke Fickell had bigger plans. He had already hired offensive coordinator Jeff Grimes, and just two weeks after Locke entered the transfer portal, the Badgers announced two new additions to the QB room. Danny O’Neil arrived from San Diego State, and Billy Edwards signed from Maryland. This only meant one thing: competition for the QB 1 spot. But Wisconsin’s social media team hinted at who will lead the line when they flexed a video of Billy Edwards with the caption “QB1” on day 1 at the start of spring practices.

Coming off a redshirt junior campaign, Edwards had 2,881 passing yards, 15 touchdowns, and nine interceptions, plus five scores on the ground. Despite Maryland’s tough 4–7 run with him at the helm, Wisconsin appears to see something more. Behind the scenes and now in plain sight, Edwards has emerged as the Badgers’ top option under center. Head coach Luke Fickell doubled down on that on the Big Ten Network.

“Billy is the guy for us.  And I think that was one of the things walking in the door that we wanted to make sure that we kind of, you know, expressed.” Fickell said. “And I don’t mean that there’s still not a competition, but we wanted him to have a chance to go and lead, right? And understand, ‘hey, this is the guy we’re putting in this position,’ there’ll be other guys, there’ll be other guys who want to compete, but we didn’t want to hold him back from his leadership.

And I think probably the thing that he’s done as good a job as anything is just being a leader and that’s in many different ways, but if there’s one guy that probably knows this team better than anybody, and I mean the guys in that locker room, it’s Billy, and he’s been really intentional in the things that he’s done and the way in which he’s gone about it. And that bodes really well for all of us, and it really even bodes well for all those guys in that room because they get to learn and they’re seeing what it looks like down at a pro level,” the head coach added.

In his total three-year stint at Maryland, the prodigy racked up 3694 yards, establishing his status as a pro under the center. During the initial week of Wisconsin’s 2025 spring practices, Edwards made a strong impression. Observers noted his consistent completions across the middle, effective deep-ball touch, and mobility that allowed him to extend plays and gain yards on the ground. ​He delivered some impressive deep balls to fellow transfer wide receiver Jayden Ballard

However, as spring ball progressed, Edwards faced challenges. In the 12th practice, he threw four interceptions, with each resulting from poor decisions or errant throws. It looked more like a matter of timing and touch for Edwards, things that should improve as he gets more reps under his belt. But he will have his work cut out.

The Badgers don’t look the same as the team that went 5-7 a season back. They faced a mass exodus with dozens of players hitting the transfer portal. As the counterstroke, Wisconsin searched in the portal and nitpicked nearly as many transfers as they lost to revamp their roster. Fickell will hope that Edwards’ arrival reignites the program.

However, despite being utterly hopeful about his new cornerstone in the offense, Fickell vented his frustration over the recent portal outflow.

Luke Fickell sends a cut-throat message to the players who signed off 

Calling the transfer portal chaos would still be an understatement. Take the Nico Iamaleava case. The way it panned out across the college football program sends chills down the spines of the coaches. ‘What is the time we’re heading to?’ The question keeps ringing through the arena, and no answer has been recorded. Wisconsin couldn’t mark its roster safe from the predicted aftermath. The franchise lost a flurry of key athletes in a massive portal cascade, including Tanner Koziol, Mark Hamper, and others.

“We have made it a little to bit to easy to take the easy route,” said Fickell to ESPN. “It’s become so much easier to find a way to go another direction…. Right now in college athletics, we’ve made it a little bit easier to say, ‘This might not be working for you, let’s find another place’.” While the veterans moving out can still be justified, the newcomers, even before they taste the water, deciding to break off is absolutely disheartening. But Fickell seems to cover his rage under logic.

“In order for those guys to go, it had to be a mutual thing,” Fickell explained. “But as a program, I don’t want to find out August 28th or September in Tuscaloosa that they don’t love what they’re doing, they aren’t committed to their teammates, this is too much for them. I guess it’s better you find that out now. So that you can continue to develop the people that deep down inside have it.”

The head coach doesn’t at all give a damn about what has gone. All he is concerned about is what is coming and how strong the base looks like. If there is love, loyalty, and dedication toward the game and the program, it will answer a lot of unresolved questions down the road. Fickell looks to build that culture in the locker room amidst challenging circumstances.