Wisconsin QB depth chart: Badgers hurting at quarterback after injuries to Billy Edwards Jr. and Danny O'Neil
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The only good thing to come out of the Wisconsin football team's 27-10 humiliating loss to the Maryland Terrapins on Saturday, Sept. 20, is that the Badgers don't play next week. They're on a bye.
Their quarterbacks need it.
The Badgers not only were embarrassed and booed off the field in their Big Ten opener, but they lost both of their top quarterbacks to injury.
Senior Billy Edwards Jr., making his return after missing the last two-plus games with a knee injury, was first to leave.
Then came an injury to sophomore Danny O'Neil, who was getting beat up all day by an attacking Maryland defense.
By that point, the Badgers were already getting run off the field.
It was Hunter Simmons' turn to lead Wisconsin on their final drive of the game with the Badgers behind 27-3.
Edwards and O'Neil will have plenty of time to recover with the Badgers on a bye next week before heading to Michigan for their second Big Ten game on Saturday, Oct. 4.
Here's what the Badgers' QB depth chart looks like:
Wisconsin quarterback depth chart
Billy Edwards Jr. was atop the quarterback depth chart to start the season, but those plans quickly were turned upside down when he left the Week 1 game with a left knee injury. Enter Danny O'Neil, who went on to start the next two games with mixed results. Edwards returned in Week 4, but he exited early in the first quarter against Maryland with the knee injury.
O'Neil struggled against a physical Maryland team as Wisconsin's offensive line was overmatched. And he, too, left hurt when he went down after a hard hit.
That meant senior Hunter Simmons got his first playing time. The transfer from Football Championship Subdivision Southern Illinois, who has limited starting experience, is now the next man up. For what it's worth, Simmons finally gave the fans who stayed at Camp Randall something to cheer for when he led a touchdown drive. It took all of nearly 60 minutes for the Badgers to score their first and only TD.
Here's what the quarterback depth chart looks like if Edwards and O'Neil are out after the Badgers' bye next week:
- Hunter Simmons, redshirt senior from Marian, Illinois
- Milos Spasojevic, redshirt freshman from Minnetonka, Minnesota
- Carter Smith, freshman from Fort Myers, Florida
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Wisconsin quarterback depth chart: Badgers have injuries to top QBs
