Wisconsin quarterback Tyler Van Dyke is entering the transfer portal, according to a report from ESPN’s Pete Thamel.
The veteran played in just three games with the Badgers after transferring in last offseason. He suffered a torn ACL during the first drive of the team’s Week 3 loss to Alabama and missed the remainder of the season.
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The move comes as the portal officially opens on Dec. 9. Van Dyke is the 14th Wisconsin scholarship player to enter, the 16th overall.
His potential return was a significant point of conversation after Wisconsin’s 2024 season concluded with a Week 14 loss to Minnesota. He has one year of eligibility remaining, but may not be fully ready for the 2025 season as he recovers from the ACL injury.
Luke Fickell addressed that status last week, saying ‘We just don’t know. From what he’s told me, he wants to continue to play college football. It is a tough situation for him and for all of us because there’s just so many unknowns with his injury and how long of a recovery his injury is…I love Tyler, Tyler’s done nothing than be dedicated to what we’ve asked him to do. He’s been at every game, he’s been at every practice. That does mean something. We’re going to have to figure out where the progress is and what the prognosis looks like for him. It’s a position and situation that we can’t end up like we did this year…There’s a lot of unknowns.’
Those comments came as the program was set to hire a new offensive coordinator, which was recently revealed to be Kansas’ Jeff Grimes. A new leader at the helm of the offense and Van Dyke’s unknown health appear to be significant factors in this move.
Source: Wisconsin quarterback Tyler Van Dyke is entering the NCAA transfer portal. He'll have one year of eligibility remaining. He has 7,891 career passing yards and 55 career touchdown passes in his time at Miami and Wisconsin. pic.twitter.com/mRuxbzuAnW
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) December 9, 2024
The veteran quarterback started for three seasons at Miami before transferring to Wisconsin. He totaled 7,469 passing yards, 54 touchdowns and 23 interceptions during that time, including an ACC Rookie of the Year breakout season as a redshirt freshman in 2021.
Injuries and inconsistency has plagued Van Dyke since that breakout 2021 season. He threw for just 422 yards and one touchdown in the first two-plus games of the 2024 season with the Badgers.
His departure means Wisconsin is almost guaranteed to have a new starting quarterback in 2025. Grimes and Wisconsin’s potential upcoming quarterbacks coach hire will likely want to reshape the room to fit the new system.
Wisconsin’s current quarterbacks entering 2025 are Braedyn Locke, Mabrey Mettauer, three-star freshman Landyn Locke and four-star freshman Carter Smith. Expect that group to see names added over the next few weeks.
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