2023 Badger Football Thread

When Wisconsin began its spring football practices in late March, walk-on Marshall Howe was considered outside the program to be more of an afterthought in a quarterback group that featured three well-regarded transfers brought in by a new coaching staff. But the more opportunities Howe earned on the field, the more he impressed coaches with his knowledge and playmaking ability.

By the time spring ball ended, Howe had ascended to the No. 3 quarterback role behind SMU transfer Tanner Mordecai and Mississippi State transfer Braedyn Locke but ahead of Oklahoma transfer Nick Evers and returning signal caller Myles Burkett.
Howe realized that, while playing time may not be available at Wisconsin, he had done enough in extensive action to earn a shot somewhere else. As a result, the redshirt freshman from Pacific Palisades, Calif., entered the transfer portal at the conclusion of spring practice.

Howe talked to The Athletic on Monday about his spring performance, his decision to leave the program, his impressions of the new Air Raid offense and more. Here is the interview, which has been condensed for length and clarity.
When did you enter the transfer portal?

I made the decision on Friday night and then I entered on Saturday. But it was something that I had started obviously thinking about because I knew that there was a deadline. It wasn’t just that I made a split decision right at the end of the timeline.

Was the biggest factor in making this decision that you wanted to try to earn a scholarship somewhere?

That’s definitely a part of it. Ultimately for me what it came down to is I’ve come to realize that everyone has a certain amount of years that they have left being able to play football. Throughout the spring, being able to play a lot and being able to get reps again made me realize how much I love playing football and how much I want to be able to maximize the time I have playing.

So it just came down to I felt like there was a possibility for the opportunity to do that at another place. The scholarship, that wasn’t everything. But it was part of it. More so that I know that there might be opportunities out there for me to be able to play a lot of football in the next few years, and I wanted to exhaust all those options.

Did you begin to consider this move when Wisconsin brought in three transfer quarterbacks during the offseason?

When they did bring in three transfers over winter break, it’s something that you start to think about. You say, “OK, what does this mean for me?” In the world of college football now, you kind of have to always be able to look inwardly and be like, “All right, what is it that I want to achieve?” Because it’s so fluid. Everything moves so quickly. So after every major season, after the season, after winter and then after spring ball and then again after the summer, you kind of have to look at yourself and be like, “All right, what’s my situation look like and what’s the best plan for me moving forward?”

At that time, I thought about it. But I also knew that I was excited to compete as well. I said that when we had quarterback media day, and I was being honest. I had thought about it a few times. But it wasn’t super serious until I realized over the spring how much I miss being able to play football as much as I can. So it was part of it but not the whole thing.

Did you talk to Phil Longo and Luke Fickell about this decision?

I talked to coach Longo on Thursday and Friday. On Thursday, I kind of just talked to him about how I thought my spring ball went. It was a long conversation. It was a really good conversation, very positive. I told him that I was thinking about it and I just wanted to hear what he had to say. He said a lot of great things. Honestly, coach Longo and coach Fickell, they’re unbelievable people and it makes it all the more difficult to make a decision like that because you know you’re leaving a place with such great people.

I then talked to coach Fickell on Saturday morning before I officially went in. It made it a little bit more difficult. I don’t think they’re in the office right now, these last couple days. I was hoping I’d be able to see them in person. I talked to coach Longo in person on Thursday, but I was hoping to be able to see them in person a couple more times. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to. But they were really good conversations and it made it even more difficult of a decision because I knew exactly what I would be giving up with leaving these guys.

What was coach Longo’s message to you?

We talked for a while and there were a lot of different topics of conversation when we were talking. But ultimately one of the biggest things for me that he said that stood out is he came in and he did recruit three guys in and he knew what he was getting with them for the most part. With me, I was inherited from the old staff and he didn’t really know anything about me. He didn’t recruit me out of high school, or anything like that.

He just reiterated that he came in looking forward to seeing what I could do and throughout the process he was continually impressed. He was very complimentary of my work ethic and the way I approached the competition this winter, this spring. And then on a personal level, he said he loved being around me. He loved having me in the room, thought I was a great kid and really enjoyed the relationship we had together.

That always means a lot just because you spend so much time with these guys that it’s a lot more than football a lot of the time. So that was another thing that stood out to me above the compliments he gave me as just a player. It was a really good conversation.

Did you surprise yourself with how well you played in the spring to be the No. 3 quarterback?

I was really happy with it. Obviously, every day you can look back on certain plays and be like, “Wow, I definitely could have done more here or could have done something differently.” But as a whole, I was really happy with how I did. I don’t think I would say I surprised myself. I know it was a surprise to a lot of people from outside of the program looking in.

But I think that I’ve always been confident in what I’ve been able to do. That’s why I took a chance on myself coming to a big school as a walk-on. I knew that if I got the opportunities, I knew what I was capable of. I still do know what I’m capable of. So I don’t think it was a surprise to myself. But I’m definitely pleased with how it went in general as a whole. It was a really great experience.

Spring ball, it was the first real opportunity I had to compete. In the season, I was the scout team quarterback. So I competed against guys. But I wasn’t running our offense. It was the first opportunity at the college level that I had to compete with a bunch of guys that are at the top of their game. So that was really enjoyable, and I thought that went really well.

What do you think you bring to the next school that you pick that could give you a chance to achieve your goal of playing?

I think that wherever I go, I’m going to keep the same mentality as I had here. And that’s going to be kind of having a chip on my shoulder and working my ass off wherever I go. Whether that’s in the meeting rooms, knowing the playbook as well as possible, knowing what we’re trying to do on any given play.

It’s also in the weight room, continuing to push myself athletically to become a better athlete, to become bigger, stronger, faster, or on the field just execution-wise, I think that I can do a lot of things. I can improvise on a lot of plays. And there are a lot of areas I think I have to improve on, and I’m excited to improve on those. But I think just the approach I took here will also translate to anywhere I go.

You had a chance to be a part of Wisconsin’s Air Raid offense for 15 practices. What do you think Wisconsin can achieve under Longo in this system?

I think the sky’s the limit. There were obviously some growing pains. We were overloading everything pretty much from last year. But I think that you saw flashes at certain points in practice. It’s a really fun offense for a quarterback because you have so much control and there are so many options of what you can do on every play. And if it runs properly, there shouldn’t be a negative play, really. If you execute pre-snap and post-snap as you should, there really shouldn’t be many negative plays. And the potential for explosive plays is sky-high.

On any given play, whether it be a broken tackle, recognizing a certain coverage and having an answer to it, there’s always something that you can do that can make it a big play. There will be days where it will seem a little out of sync I think, but they’ve got the right guy running it. Coach Longo has obviously had so much success before, and he will continue to have that success here. I’m just excited to see what they can do as well. But I know that the sky’s the limit.

Lastly, how will you remember your time at Wisconsin?

I loved it. Frankly, I loved all the moments and the memories I’ve created here and I’ll really look back fondly on my time. I’ve met so many great people here. My teammates, the coaches that I’ve had, whether it be coach (Paul) Chryst’s staff, coach (Jim) Leonhard when he took over and then the new staff here with coach Fickell and coach Longo and all the guys on that staff, it’s been an unbelievable experience for me. I feel like I’ve grown so much as a person and as a player.

I really do not have a single bad thing to say about anyone in the program, any person surrounding it and the program as a whole, the school. I can’t explain enough how much gratitude I have for my time here. It made it a really, really difficult decision to go ahead and enter the portal because of how much I’ve enjoyed my time.
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Mark87 said:
Marshall Howe, Wisconsin's No. 3 quarterback in the spring, has entered the transfer portal
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I guess he saw the handwriting on the wall. He was probably never going to get the opportunity of playing at Wisconsin. Time to move on, and find a program where he'll get a chance to prove what he's got.

I think Fickell and his staff are being brutally honest with these kids, and as a result, some are opting for the portal. I don't blame them for doing it. They want to play ball, not watch it from the sidelines. Howe was a long shot from the start.

I give the kid a lot of credit. He gave it a shot at making his mark in what appears to be a program where the QB's stock is rising. It didn't pan out, find somewhere he can make it.
 
WI (and other schools) are going to have to get used to players leaving when they don't get the playing time they feel they deserve. it's just going to be part of the ballgame now.

And, in my opinion, it kind of shows that WI has lots of good hungry players. But, we'll have to see how this pans out.


Far more serious and concerning than someone leaving in the transfer portal is the Markus Allen situation in which he was arrested for having a gun at a Block Party last weekend.
 
Wynn Stang was known as Arguably the best Running Back during the 2022 Wisconsin High School Football Season. According to wissports.net, Wynn Stang in 2022 rushed for 2,763 yards and 42 Touchdowns for Mukwonago. During the 2022 Season Wynn Stang also helped the Mukwonago Indians into a Tremendous Successful season they finished 12-2, and they won the Classic Eight Conference which was probably the toughest Conference in Wisconsin last Fall, they had to deal with Kettle Moraine, Arrowhead, Muskego. In addition that Mukwonago breezed through the Playoffs last season and met the Kimberly Papermakers in the State Championship and fell 34-30.

A little about Wynn Stang is he is known to be an outstanding Football Player as well as a Lacrosse Player. During the Football Season he also won Gatorade Player of the Year and MaxPreps Player of the Year for the State of Wisconsin, and was also named to the USA Today HSSA All American Offense Team. A Notable game to remember about him is when he Mukwonago played Sun Prairie East on August 26th, 2022 and Wynn Stang rushed for 6 Touchdowns and 470 Yards.
 
Stang could be one of those kids who comes from a smaller school, against lesser competition, who is actually better than what people believe. Let's not overlook the fact this kid averaged 3 TDs a game, and had one game where he netted 470 yards carrying the ball. My son had a game where he gained 375 yards and scored 6 TDs, and I can tell you that any player that can do 470 is one helluva running back, who knows how to absorb punishment, breaks tackles, and makes people miss.

He might end up being a sleeper.
 
Stang is kind of an under the radar kid. Unranked by the recruiting guys. Besides Wisconsin, he had interest from Purdue, N.Illinios, and Illinois St., but I'm not sure if he had scholarship offers from any of them. I believe he's going to be a preferred walk-on. He's in the class of 2023 so will be enrolling this fall (I assume), he's not a 2024 kid. Kind of a taller, leaner kid at 6'1"-190# - at least for a running back. Be interesting to see how he works out for the Badgers.

May be a small school kid by national standards, but he played in the highest division (Division 1) in Wisconsin. Mukwonago enrollment is usually more than 1500 kids and they play most of their games against the bigger schools in the state. He did not play against lesser competition, at least by Wisconsin standards.
 
Bruce Feldman shares that the Badgers are set to hire Rhode Island (FCS) defensive coordinator Jack Cooper to the staff.

Cooper, who previously worked in the Big Ten at Nebraska, will serve as a senior defensive analyst
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Bruce Feldman shares that the Badgers are set to hire Rhode Island (FCS) defensive coordinator Jack Cooper to the staff.

Cooper, who previously worked in the Big Ten at Nebraska, will serve as a senior defensive analyst
Click to expand...

Marty-Feldman-011.jpg
 
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