MADISON, Wis. — Wisconsin freshman quarterback Mabrey Mettauer intends to enter the transfer portal, The Athletic confirmed on Saturday night with his father, Mark. The move means the Badgers will not retain a single scholarship quarterback on the roster from this season.
Mettauer, a 6-foot-4, 230-pounder from The Woodlands, Texas, was a four-star prospect and the first committed recruit in Wisconsin’s 2024 class under coach Luke Fickell and offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach Phil Longo. He enrolled early to participate in spring practices and moved ahead of Nick Evers for third-team snaps in April. Evers eventually transferred to UConn.
When starting quarterback Tyler Van Dyke sustained a season-ending ACL tear in his right knee during the third game of the season against Alabama, Mettauer elevated into the backup role. He played a total of 16 snaps across three games behind Braedyn Locke. Mettauer completed his only pass for two yards and ran once for two yards. He will have four years of eligibility remaining.
The decision comes after Fickell fired Longo, whom Mettauer came to Wisconsin to play for, with two games remaining in the regular season. Fickell replaced Longo and his air raid system with Kansas offensive coordinator Jeff Grimes, who will use a more run-oriented style. Mark cited the uncertainty surrounding Mabrey’s future at Wisconsin and how he fit into a new approach with an overhauled quarterback room as the driving force behind the transfer.
All four of Wisconsin’s scholarship quarterbacks from the season are now gone. Van Dyke, Locke and Mettauer each have entered the transfer portal this offseason, following the portal departure of Cole LaCrue, who left the team in November. Locke’s younger brother, Landyn, initially signed two weeks ago as a member of Wisconsin’s 2025 recruiting class but decommitted soon after. The only quarterback on the roster from the season is redshirt freshman walk-on Milos Spasojevic.
Wisconsin has completely overhauled its quarterback room in a short timeframe. The Badgers have added two transfer portal quarterbacks with Billy Edwards Jr. (Maryland) and Danny O’Neil (San Diego State). Edwards has one year of eligibility remaining and is expected to be the team’s fourth different starting quarterback in as many seasons. O’Neil, who started this season as a true freshman for the Aztecs, has three years of eligibility left.
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As of now, the only other scholarship quarterback is incoming freshman early enrollee Carter Smith, who decommitted from Michigan and signed with the Badgers. He is a four-star prospect who is rated in the 247Sports Composite as the No. 14 quarterback in the 2025 class. That means Wisconsin likely isn’t done with its quarterback revamp this offseason.
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(Photo: Mark Hoffman / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA Today)
