MADISON, Wis. — Luke Fickell primarily uses the transfer portal to fill gaps, and he crossed an enormous one off his record together with his first portal addition as head coach of the Wisconsin Badgers.
Former Oklahoma quarterback Nick Evers, who visited with Fickell and his workers in Madison earlier this week, introduced his dedication to Wisconsin Saturday morning.
In the Lord I belief?? @BadgerFootball #COMMITTED pic.twitter.com/Fed2aFeSSF
— nicco (@NickEvers12) December 17, 2022
Evers performed in only one recreation at Oklahoma this season, however he possesses the dual-threat skill Fickell and offensive coordinator Phil Longo covet. A four-star prospect within the 2022 recruiting class, Evers threw for almost 5,000 yards with 44 touchdowns over his junior and senior seasons at Flower Mound High School in Texas. He additionally did loads of injury on the bottom in that span whereas racking up 18 speeding scores.
Evers selected Oklahoma over Auburn, Florida and dozens of different packages. He has at the very least some familiarity with Fickell and members of his workers after being recruited by Cincinnati.
“Leader and winner,” Fickell, who went 57-18 over six seasons as Cincinnati’s head coach, mentioned when requested about quarterbacks not too long ago. “If you don’t find a leader and you don’t find a winner, I don’t care how accurate they are, how big they are, I don’t care how fast they are.
“…We all have the issues we’re in search of. I’ve all the time wished a man who can transfer. It doesn’t transfer he needs to be a working quarterback, however if you cannot prolong issues or make issues occur along with your athleticism, that limits you. That’s part of it. They’ve acquired to be well-rounded. It’s about steadiness.”
Graham Mertz entered the transfer portal two weeks ago after three uneven seasons as UW’s starter. His departure left the Badgers with three quarterbacks on the roster: fifth-year senior Chase Wolf, true freshman Myles Burkett and true freshman walk-on Marshall Howe. They have one of their 2023 recruiting class in Cole LaCrue, a three-star prospect from Colorado.
Longo, who will implement an air raid passing attack at UW, has coached and developed his share of prolific quarterbacks, particularly over his four seasons as North Carolina’s offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach.
Sam Howell became one of the best quarterbacks in the nation under Longo’s tutelage, completing 63.8% of his passes for 10,283 yards with 92 touchdowns to 23 interceptions from 2019-21. When Howell left for the NFL, Longo and North Carolina reloaded with Drake Maye, who this season completed 67.2% of his passes for 4,115 yards with 35 touchdowns en route to ACC Player of the Year honors.
While Howell and Maye made names for themselves as passers, both could burn defenses with their mobility. Howell rushed for 828 yards and 11 touchdowns last season, and Maye had 653 yards rushing yards with seven scores this season.
Fickell’s most successful Cincinnati team — one that reached the College Football Playoff — was led by Desmond Ridder. He passed for 10,239 yards and 87 touchdowns while adding 2,180 rushing yards with 28 scores in his collegiate career.
No doubt, Evers fits the mold for similar success.
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