Wisconsin relies on new QB and coordinator to boost an offense that has struggled under Fickell

MADISON, Wis. — Wisconsin quarterback Billy Edwards' offseason bonding activities with his new teammates included accompanying a few offensive linemen on an ice-fishing trip to nearby Monona Bay.

They apparently got there just in time.

''There were like three inches of ice and it was like 50 degrees outside, so it was a little sketchy, but we made it work,'' center Jake Renfro said. ''It was the last day you could actually walk on ice without it breaking.''

Consider it a metaphor for a team coming off its first losing season in more than two decades. If the Badgers don't bounce back, plenty of people could be on thin ice.

After going 5-7 last year and missing a bowl for the first time since 2001, Wisconsin enters coach Luke Fickell's third season preparing to face a brutal schedule including five teams that finished 17th or higher in the Associated Press Top 25.

The Badgers are relying on a new quarterback and a new scheme to help them return to form. As they prepare to finish spring practice this week, they're working to rejuvenate an offense that never really got off the ground the last couple of seasons.

''This league is different,'' Fickell said. ''It's a grown man's league. You've got to be able to prepare that way. You've got to develop that way.''

Fickell started his Wisconsin tenure by hiring Air Raid disciple Phil Longo as offensive coordinator, but the Badgers averaged only 23.5 points in 2023 and 22.6 last season. Before 2023, Wisconsin hadn't finished a season with such a low scoring average since 2004, when the Badgers went 9-3 despite accumulating just 20.8 points per game.

Longo was fired with two games left in the 2024 season, and he now is the head coach at Sam Houston. Wisconsin's new offensive coordinator is Jeff Grimes, who previously had the same position at Kansas, Baylor and BYU.

Grimes is going back to what worked here in the past.

''We talk all the time as a team about being tough, nasty and disciplined,'' Grimes said. ''Wisconsin has won a lot of football games over the years with that mentality.''

Grimes points out that Wisconsin's offense will still have to be balanced.

''It doesn't just mean we're going to run the football,'' he said. ''That grittiness, that toughness applies to a receiver who's catching a contested slant when he's running toward the middle of the field and he's got to make that catch, and he's got a corner draped all over his back and then he's got a linebacker running out to make contact as soon as he touches the football. That's toughness — to make that catch. One of the toughest things in football is the quarterback getting hit and popping up. All those things are a part of what's at our core. I think we're building that.''

The first step was finding the right quarterback. Edwards comes to Wisconsin after completing 65% of his passes for 2,881 yards with 15 touchdowns and nine interceptions for a Maryland team that went 4-8 last season.

After its top quarterback got injured each of the last two years, Wisconsin made sure to grab two 2024 starters out of the portal this time in Edwards and former San Diego State quarterback Danny O'Neil.

Edwards is the clear-cut No. 1 guy. He leads a backfield that also features Darrion Dupree and Dilin Jones at running back.

''Throughout my college career, I've just tried to seek opportunity, and then at that point it's kind of up to me to kind of go take it and make the most of it,'' Edwards said. ''I felt there was a really good one here. And I think a lot of guys — not even in the quarterback room, at every position, especially on the offensive side of the ball — feel the same way.''

Those guys are learning an offense that uses misdirection to keep defenses guessing.

''Disorientation is a huge part of our offense, and you can see it when you're watching it,'' guard Joe Brunner said. ''Guys are running everywhere. The defense half the time doesn't know where the ball is.''

The offense took a couple of hits this spring.

Projected first-team left tackle Kevin Heywood tore his anterior cruciate ligament. One of Wisconsin's main transfer pickups was former Ball State tight end Tanner Koziol, who caught 94 passes at his old school last year but didn't finish spring practice with the Badgers before returning to the portal.

But after closing last season with five straight losses, the Badgers believe they're tough enough to withstand adversity this year, thanks in part to the mentality Grimes has instilled.

''He brings a physical nature to Wisconsin, and that's what we need,'' Brunner said. ''That's what we've been asking for.''

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AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-football