Wisconsin QB Tanner Mordecai out with broken hand
Wisconsin starting quarterback Tanner Mordecai suffered a broken hand during the Badgers’ loss to Iowa on Saturday.
Wisconsin coach Luke Fickell confirmed an ESPN report about the nature of Mordecai’s injury during his weekly appearance on 97.3 The Game in Milwaukee. According to ESPN, Mordecai had surgery on Sunday. A pin was put in his hand during the surgery, and Mordecai will be sidelined indefinitely.
“He did end up breaking his hand,” Fickell said Monday morning. "I had no idea it happened. I thought he just kind of hit his hand, but as we went to the next play he realized he couldn't grip the ball."
Mordecai was injured in the second quarter when his throwing hand hit the helmet of an Iowa player as he followed through to deliver a pass on the run. Before he left the game, television cameras caught Mordecai looking toward the Wisconsin sideline, pointing to the top of his hand and saying, “I can’t throw.”
At that point, Mordecai was removed from the game and replaced by Braedyn Locke. Locke, a redshirt freshman who transferred to Wisconsin from Mississippi State, is expected to take over the starting job while Mordecai is sidelined.
Mordecai transferred to Wisconsin from SMU after beginning his career at Oklahoma. Mordecai arrived after Wisconsin hired Luke Fickell from Cincinnati as head coach. Fickell brought in Phil Longo as his offensive coordinator in an effort to transition from Wisconsin’s traditional power offense to more of an Air Raid approach. Through six games, the results have been mixed.
Mordecai was 12-of-20 for 106 yards before getting injured vs. Iowa. For the season, he’s thrown for 1,127 yards with three touchdowns and three interceptions while completing 63.7% of his attempts.
Locke went 15-of-30 for 122 yards and an interception Saturday. It was his second appearance of the season. Locke will make his first career start at Illinois on Saturday.
Fickell told 97.3 The Game that he thought Locke "showed some poise" during his first major college action, but held onto the ball too long at times.
"He was excited about the opportunity," Fickell said. "That's not the easiest situation based on how the game was going and where we were and the style of defense they play. But I feel like he can do pretty much all the things we want to do. We're always trying to figure out what our guys do best."
Following the 15-6 loss to Iowa, Wisconsin dropped to 4-2 overall and 2-1 in Big Ten play.
