Wisconsin Badgers quarterback Tanner Mordecai suffers hand injury vs Iowa, won't return

Wisconsin quarterback Tanner Mordecai suffered a hand injury late in the second quarter Saturday against Iowa and has been ruled out.

As he followed through on a throw, the sixth-year quarterback hit his right hand on Iowa linebacker Jay Higgins' helmet. He was knocked to the ground after he released the ball on an 8-yard competition to Will Pauling with 2:07 left in the quarter.

Mordecai stayed in the game for one more play — he lost 1 yard on a broken play — before showing he was in pain and returning to the sideline.

He could be heard saying before exiting "I can't throw."

Braedyn Locke replaced Mordecai for the final play on that possession and the team's next drive before halftime.

Mordecai left the sidelines for the locker room and as the team came back out for the second half he was ruled out. Mordecai was on the sidelines in sweats for the second half.

Before the injury, Mordecai was 9 for 16 for 89 yards (a 5.6 yards per pass average) in the first half.

Mordecai, who turns 24 on Nov. 8, is in his first year with the Badgers. He transferred to Wisconsin after two years at SMU (2021-22) and played the first three years of his college career at Oklahoma (2018-20).

The Badgers trail the Hawkeyes, 7-0, at halftime.

Iowa also lost one of its top players in the first half when tight end Erik All suffered an apparent leg injury and had to be carted off the field.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Wisconsin quarterback Tanner Mordecai injures hand vs Iowa, ruled out