Tanner Mordecai is out indefinitely and Braedyn Locke is in at quarterback for Wisconsin
MADISON – As expected, Wisconsin quarterback Tanner Mordecai is out and Braedyn Locke is in.
UW coach Luke Fickell confirmed Monday that Mordecai is expected to be sidelined indefinitely after suffering a broken right hand in UW’s 15-6 loss to Iowa on Saturday.
"He had surgery Sunday morning and we don't know the exact timetable on him," Fickell said. "So that will probably be left pretty much open for a while."
The injury occurred late in the first half of the loss when Mordecai’s hand struck the helmet of an Iowa defender while he was throwing a pass. He stayed in for one more play but, realizing he could not grip the football, lost one yard on a run and then came out. He watched the second half from the sideline, with his right arm in a sling.
"There is nobody that is more of a competitor than him," Fickell said. "He didn't come out after the play happened. He breaks his hand. He stays in there. He feels like he's just got a little (pain). Just kind of working it out.
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"He goes on to the next play... As he goes to rip the ball he recognizes he cannot grip the football. So, he tries to get us out of a bad situation and takes a 1-yard loss...
"I think that shows his mentality and how he plays the game."
Locke, a redshirt freshman who transferred to UW from Mississippi State, replaced Mordecai and completed 15 of 30 passes for 122 yards. He led UW on two second-half field goal drives but lost two fumbles and threw one interception.
Locke redshirted last season at Mississippi State, which ran a scheme similar to the one UW offensive coordinator Phil Longo embraces.
That should give Locke and advantage this week as UW (4-2, 2-1 Big Ten) prepares for a tricky game at 2:30 p.m. Saturday at Illinois (3-4, 1-3).
Locke, 6-foot-1 and 200 pounds, had played in just one game this season before taking over for Mordecai. He passed for 11,182 yards and 128 touchdowns for Rockwall High School in Texas. The latter number was the Class 6A state record.
Mordecai, who transferred to UW from SMU, started all six games for UW this season. He has completed 63.7% of his passes for 1,128 yards, with three touchdowns and three interceptions.
He has also rushed for four touchdowns, tied for the No. 2 mark on the team with Chez Mellusi. With Mordecai and Mellusi (broken leg) out, Braelon Allen is the only healthy player on the roster who has rushed for a touchdown. Allen has seven rushing touchdowns.
Fickell hopes that Allen and others on offense can help fill the leadership void created by Mordecai's injury. Yet he also expects Mordecai to do anything he can from the sideline to help the team.
"Let's be honest," Fickell said. "Tanner Mordecai was a leader. And will continue to be a leader. Whoever is a quarterback has to be a leader.
"But this is an opportunity that we have to have some other guys maybe step out of their comfort zone."
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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Tanner Mordecai, Wisconsin QB, out indefinitely with broken hand
