Tag: myles burkett

Former Wisconsin quarterback announces transfer portal destination

Former Wisconsin quarterback announces transfer portal destination

Former Wisconsin quarterback Myles Burkett announced his transfer commitment to Eastern Kentucky on Sunday.

Burkett entered the portal earlier this month after one year at Albany. He commits to Eastern Kentucky, which made the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs this season, with two years of eligibility remaining.

Related: Tracking Wisconsin football’s transfer portal offers, interests and commitments

Burkett joined the Badgers as a three-star recruit and the No. 8 player from the state of Wisconsin in the class of 2022. He appeared in just two games during his time with the program, both as a true freshman.

The Franklin, Wisconsin, native elected to remain with the program entering 2023 after the firing of Paul Chryst and the subsequent hire of Luke Fickell. He entered the season far down the quarterback depth chart, however, after offseason additions of Tanner Mordecai, Nick Evers and Braedyn Locke.

Burkett transferred to Albany after the 2023 campaign. He started nine games for the Great Danes in 2024, completing 54.7% of his passes for 1,840 yards, 10 touchdowns and seven interceptions.

He has found a destination for his remaining years of eligibility.

Wisconsin’s quarterback room remains in question after the hire of new offensive coordinator Jeff Grimes and the departures of Tyler Van Dyke and Braedyn Locke. The Badgers have only redshirt freshman Mabrey Mettauer, true freshman Landyn Locke (three-star) and true freshman Carter Smith (four-star) in the room. That reality is sure to change as this transfer cycle continues.

For more on Wisconsin’s top targets at the position, bookmark our transfer offer, visit and commitment tracker.

Contact/Follow @TheBadgersWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Wisconsin Badgers news, notes and opinion.

Former Badgers transfer, current Albany quarterback to enter transfer portal

Former Wisconsin Badger, current Albany quarterback enters transfer portal

Former Wisconsin Badgers quarterback and current Albany quarterback Myles Burkett announced on Sunday his intention to enter the transfer portal.

After appearing in nine contests with the Great Danes in 2024, the former UW player opted to make another change in his collegiate career. This is the second time the Milwaukee, Wisconsin, native will enter the portal.

Burkett started the first nine games for Albany this season before suffering a an ankle injury against New Hampshire on Nov. 2. In those contests, he logged 145 completions for 1,845 passing yards, 10 touchdowns and seven interceptions.

The 6-foot, 202-pound quarterback registered 76 rushing attempts for 129 rushing yards. He went 3-5 with Albany before being forced out of the Great Danes’ 31-14 loss on Nov. 2.

Burkett’s best game with Albany came in the program’s Week 2 loss against West Virginia. In that start, he completed 18 passes for 306 yards and one touchdown.

Burkett played in two games for the Badgers in 2022 with most of his playing time coming in a blowout win against New Mexico State on Sept. 17 that season.

Burkett entered college as a three-star recruit. He was named Wisconsin AP and Gatorade Player of the Year as a senior at Franklin High School.

How former Wisconsin QB Myles Burkett has performed at Albany in 2024

How former Wisconsin QB Myles Burkett has performed at Albany in 2024

Wisconsin starting quarterback Tyler Van Dyke’s recent ACL injury has prompted Badger faithful to question the readiness of UW’s quarterback room for the remainder of the season.

Following Van Dyke’s injury, Wisconsin turned to redshirt sophomore Braedyn Locke to captain the offense. He did so for the remaining three-quarters of what became a blowout loss to Alabama and will continue to do so for the remainder of the season.

Locke finished Saturday’s nationally-televised bout with 13 pass completions for 125 yards and a touchdown. For now, Fickell will continue to place his trust in Locke. Regardless, some fans have wondered where those in Wisconsin’s 2023 quarterback room have gone.

One of those players is Myles Burkett. Following a 2023 campaign in which he didn’t see any action, the Franklin, Wisconsin native transferred to Albany for a new opportunity.

Through three games as the Great Danes’ starter, Burkett has totaled 53 completions, 761 passing yards and three touchdowns. In his most recent game vs. Idaho, he completed over 60% of his throws for 290 passing yards.

The former Badger has performed well overall during Albany’s 1-2 start to the season.

Burkett played in two games for the Badgers in 2022. Most of his playing time came in a blowout win against New Mexico State on Sept. 17.

Locke, meanwhile, started three games in 2023 after former quarterback Tanner Mordecai went down with an injury. He led the Badgers to a fourth-quarter comeback victory against Illinois on Oct. 21 and became the first Wisconsin freshman quarterback to notch a pair of 240+ yard passing performances in a season.

Clearly, there’s a difference in talent between the two players. Burkett now plays at the FCS level, and Locke has received plenty of snaps at the Big Ten level. Still, fans seem discouraged by his lack of consistency in limited action against the Crimson Tide.

The redshirt sophomore will certainly earn his stripes if he performs well for the rest of the season. The Badgers square off against No. 11 USC, Rutgers, No. 10 Penn State, Iowa, No. 9 Oregon and No. 22 Nebraska in seven of their final nine games of the season.

Three former Wisconsin quarterbacks struggle in Week 1 debuts with new programs

Three former Wisconsin quarterbacks struggle in Week 1 debuts with new programs

It was a rough Saturday for several former Wisconsin quarterbacks making their debuts with new programs: Nick Evers (UConn), Myles Burkett (Albany) and Deacon Hill (Utah Tech).

That does not even include second-year Florida starter Graham Mertz, who left the Gators’ 41-17 loss to No. 19 Miami with a concussion.

Related: Big Ten Power Rankings after Week 1: Our first look at the expanded conference

Evers started UConn’s Week 1 contest against Maryland. He exited midway through the third quarter after taking a big hit from Terrapins linebacker Caleb Wheatland. The former Badger and Oklahoma Sooner completed six of 17 passes for 73 yards, zero touchdowns and an interception. UConn failed to score during his nine drives.

Burkett had the best afternoon of the three. He completed 12 of 26 passes for 165 yards and one touchdown in Albany’s 27-21 win over Long Island. His numbers don’t jump off the page, but he did enough to lead the Great Danes to a win despite managing just 255 yards of offense.

Hill, who is technically a former Wisconsin quarterback despite playing 2023 at Iowa, had a pedestrian outing in Utah Tech’s blowout loss to Montana State. He completed 11 of 23 passes for 104 yards, zero touchdowns and zero interceptions. He added 25 rushing yards and an impressive rushing touchdown.

The three former Badgers went 1-2 in their debuts with new programs and combined to go 29 of 66 (44%) for 342 yards, one touchdown and one interception.

The performances of these former Badgers are worth monitoring, especially that of Evers. Wisconsin again opted for a veteran transfer in Tyler Van Dyke in 2024 with redshirt sophomore Braedyn Locke behind him on the bench. It would be notable if Evers finally blossomed at his third collegiate stop.

Contact/Follow @TheBadgersWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Wisconsin Badgers news, notes and opinion. 

Four former Wisconsin quarterbacks will start elsewhere in 2024

Four former Wisconsin quarterbacks will start elsewhere in 2024

Wisconsin head coach Luke Fickell and offensive coordinator Phil Longo have discussed building a ‘quarterback factory’ at Wisconsin.

That ‘factory’ would include a strong high school recruiting pipeline at the position, star players at the college level and an increased level of professional-caliber players.

Related: Ranking the biggest storylines entering Wisconsin’s Week 1 contest vs. Western Michigan

It’s early, Fickell and Longo are only entering their second season at the helm. But it’s safe to say Badgers fans are still waiting for results in the ‘quarterback factory’ department.

Of course, Miami transfer Tyler Van Dyke is expected to be the first in the line of strong play at the position. Former SMU transfer Tanner Mordecai was expected to be that in 2023, but an injury and inconsistent play made that not the case.

Wisconsin’s method of taking one-year transfers while building up its high school recruiting base will need a further deep-dive after the season. An initial thought is the high school recruiting results have not been impressive at the position. But it’s reasonable to counter that better on-field results with Van Dyke in 2024 will help that cause.

Along these lines, it’s worth mentioning that four former Wisconsin quarterbacks are set to start elsewhere in 2024. Graham Mertz at Florida, Nick Evers at UConn, Deacon Hill at Utah Tech and Myles Burkett at Albany.

All three will do so under different circumstances. Mertz transferred to Florida after the 2022 season, Hill also left during the coaching transition, Evers left for UConn this spring after getting buried on the depth chart and Burkett recognized his chance to start would be at a lower level.

None of these four are indictments on Wisconsin’s vision at the position, except maybe Evers who was a blue-chip transfer addition by Fickell and Longo during the 2022 offseason.

But having numerous former players starting at quarterback at other schools will hopefully not be the case moving forward. Wisconsin is working to create a pipeline of high school recruiting to the field in Madison, not to the field elsewhere.

Again, Evers, Hill and Burkett were never in line to start for the Badgers. And Mertz’s transfer made sense given the circumstances. Wisconsin is likely in better shape with Van Dyke under center than any of the four teams listed.

Still, it would be better for the Badgers long-term to not have a large collection of players starting elsewhere.

It will be interesting to watch how all four perform in 2024, how Van Dyke does in his one year with the Badgers and what Wisconsin does recruiting at the position moving forward.

This will be a topic that we revisit during the offseason.

Contact/Follow @TheBadgersWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Wisconsin Badgers news, notes and opinion. 

Former Wisconsin Badgers QB earns starting role with Albany

Former Wisconsin Badgers QB earns starting role with Albany

Former Wisconsin Badgers quarterback Myles Burkett was named Albany’s starting quarterback entering the 2024 season on Wednesday.

Burkett spent two seasons with the Badgers after joining the program as a member of its class of 2022. He compiled 84 total passing yards in two appearances, both in 2022, before entering the transfer portal earlier this offseason

The Franklin, Wisconsin, native was buried on the depth chart behind Graham Mertz, Tanner Mordecai, Nick Evers and Braedyn Locke in Madison, greatly limiting his opportunities.

Now with Albany, Burkett, a redshirt sophomore, beat out senior Trey Lindsey for the starting job with the Great Danes.

When it comes to the Badgers’ starting QB job, transfer Tyler Van Dyke (University of Miami) was named as the team’s starter last week, winning the job over Braedyn Locke.

Former Badgers quarterback commits to new school

Another Badger announces his new home

The Badgers football team has had many players enter the transfer portal this offseason and quarterback Myles Burkett announced his commitment to the University at Albany on Monday.

The Franklin, Wisconsin, native spent two seasons with Wisconsin, joining the team as a member of their class of 2022 recruiting cycle. Burkett was limited to four completions for 84 yards while appearing in two games while operating as a backup option behind the likes of Graham Mertz, Tanner Mordecai and Braedyn Locke in his time with the Badgers.

Burkett will now have a clearer path to playing time with the Great Danes as he has multiple years of eligibility remaining.

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A Wisconsin quarterback announces he is entering the transfer portal

A Badger quarterback enters the transfer portal

After fulfilling a childhood dream by playing for Wisconsin over the past two seasons, Badger quarterback Myles Burkett will take three years of eligibility with him into the transfer portal.

Burkett, who starred at Franklin High School in the Badger State, always dreamt of playing for the Badgers and following in the footsteps of his childhood hero Russell Wilson, and he got to do that. Originally recruited by Paul Chryst’s staff, Burkett thanked both Chryst and the new staff in his farewell post on Twitter.

The move makes sense, as Burkett will seek out a place where he can have a better chance of seeing the field next season. Wisconsin fans will no doubt be rooting for the Badger State native to succeed wherever he ends up next season.

Wisconsin HC Luke Fickell explains quarterback depth chart after Tanner Mordecai’s injury

Wisconsin HC Luke Fickell explains quarterback depth chart after Tanner Mordecai’s injury

Wisconsin suffered a major blow during its crushing 15-6 loss to Iowa on Saturday, as starting quarterback Tanner Mordecai broke his hand and is now out indefinitely.

The news was originally reported by ESPN’s Pete Thamel and was confirmed by head coach Luke Fickell.

Related: Big Ten Power Rankings after Week 7: Iowa wins the Big Ten West

The Wisconsin head coach went on to clarify where the team’s quarterback depth chart stands during his press conference on Monday. Redshirt freshman Braedyn Locke will be the team’s starter, with a competition between Myles Burkett and Nick Evers for the backup job.

Locke went 15/30 for 122 yards and one interception in relief of Mordecai against Iowa. Wisconsin did score points with Locke in the game, something it wasn’t able to do before Mordecai was injured. But the two second-half field goals were not enough to win the game.

 

Locke was a four-star recruit who committed to Mississippi State in the class of 2022 before transferring to Wisconsin this past offseason. The Badgers will now need to rely heavily on running back Braelon Allen, something the team wasn’t able to do during Saturday’s loss.

Watch: Badger quarterback explains reason for staying

Although the Badgers brought in many new options in the transfer portal, redshirt freshman QB Myles Burkett said that he’s never leaving.

Although the Badgers brought in many new options in the transfer portal, redshirt freshman quarterback Myles Burkett said that he never considered leaving Wisconsin following the 2022 campaign.

Burkett is expected to be a depth option again in 2023 behind the likes of transfer quarterbacks Tanner Mordecai (SMU) and Braedyn Locke (Mississippi State), but he seems to be more focused on the team as a whole.

The Franklin, Wisconsin native appeared in two games last season, completing 4 out of 5 pass attempts for 84 yards in relief of Graham Mertz. With Mertz (Florida), Deacon Hill (Iowa) and Chase Wolf (Unspecified) leaving the quarterback room following last year, Burkett seems dedicated to see Luke Fickell and his staff through in 2023.

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