Tyler Van Dyke and the quarterback situation of the Wisconsin Badgers
With the Wisconsin Badgers’ football season just around the corner, Mark Stewart discusses how quarterback Tyler Van Dyke stood out in training camp and earned him the job.
MADISON – It’s finally game week.
The Wisconsin football team opens the season on Friday under the floodlights of Camp Randall Stadium against Western Michigan (kickoff 8 p.m.).
Here’s everything you need to know about the Broncos, who finished seventh out of 12 teams in the Mid-American Conference preseason coaches poll released last month. Seventeen full-time starters and 24 players who started at least once return.
Expect Jalen Buckley to get his touches
Buckley, a 5-foot-10, 215-pound redshirt sophomore, was one of two freshmen in the country to have a 1,000-yard season in 2023. He rushed for 1,003 yards on 189 carries, a 5.3-yard average, and scored 10 points. Including his 18 catches, he touched the ball nearly 19 times per game. His performance should be helped by the return of an experienced offensive line that includes returning starters at center, right guard and right tackle, and further bolstered by the signing of Quinn Murphy, who comes over from Notre Dame to help at tackle.
QB Hayden Wolff is the second best returning passer in the MAC
It wasn’t until the second half of the season that coach Lance Taylor decided to start a quarterback, and that decision has put the Broncos in a good position this year. Wolff, a redshirt senior, started the last five games and led the Broncos to victories over Eastern Michigan and Central Michigan. Last season, he completed 65% of his passes for 1,505 yards, a 188.1-yard average that is second only to Miami’s Brett Gabbert (204.3) among returning players.
The Broncos suffered no setbacks from the transfer portal
Western Michigan finished 5-7 overall and 2-5 in the MAC last season, but the foundation laid in Taylor’s first season paid off in player retention. The Broncos had five players with remaining eligibility on the All-Conference team, and all five returned: Buckley, receiver Kenneth Womack, senior linemen Jacob Gideon and Addison West, and senior receiver Anthony Sambucci. In fact, no starters were lost through the portal. On the other hand, the Broncos have added 13 players from the transfer portal, with a focus on the defensive line and secondary.
Western Michigan has three new coordinators, including one from Indiana
The Broncos have three new coordinators, including Walt Bell, who ran Indiana’s offense for the past two seasons. Expect some fine-tuning on offense and significant changes on defense. On offense, that means making some adjustments to the running game and being more aggressive on throws down low. The defense still needs work. That unit ranked 84thth nationally allowed in yards (393.3) and 106th in defending goals (31.75). According to Taylor, the focus was on simplifying the scheme so that players can play faster.
The list includes four Wisconsin natives
Western Michigan’s roster includes four players from Wisconsin: senior offensive lineman Adam Vandervest of Verona High School, junior offensive lineman Calvin Muraski (Bay Port), sophomore offensive lineman Chad Schuster (Franklin) and junior defensive lineman Marcel Tyler (Racine St. Catherine’s). Vandervest started one game last season (at right tackle) and played in nine games overall. Tyler played in every game last season and recorded six tackles.
Interesting fact: Marquette played a role in Western Michigan’s decision to change its nickname
Some MAC schools have changed their original or long-standing nicknames to remove Native American references. Western Michigan’s change of mascot in 1939 had nothing to do with that. The university simply wanted to distinguish itself from others.
The school’s teams were originally called the Hilltoppers because many of the school’s buildings were built on a part of Kalamazoo, Michigan, called Prospect Hill, but according to collegefootballhistory.com, school administrators found the nickname too common. Marquette used Hilltoppers at the time. Western Kentucky also used it and continues to do so.
The Bronco nickname was the idea of John Gill, an assistant football coach who later became head coach and assistant athletic director at Western Michigan, who received a check for $10 for his contribution.
