Jack Coan
The Wisconsin Badgers expect to be without senior quarterback Jack Coan for their October 24th opener against Illinois and likely beyond.
Jeff Potrykus of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel first reported that Coan injured his right foot during practice Saturday and is expected to be out at least several weeks.
Coan took over as the Badgers full-time starter last season after starting four games in 2018. He started all 14 games last season, completing 69.6% of his passes, finishing with 2,802 yards.
With Coan sidelined, UW’s top three quarterbacks likely are Graham Mertz, Chase Wolf and Danny Vanden Boom.
Mertz played in two games as a freshman last season and completed 9 of 10 passes for 73 yards. He had offers from Ohio State, Alabama, Clemson, Georgia, LSU, Notre Dame and a number of other programs before settling on Wisconsin.
According to an insider, Mertz hasn’t performed as well as hoped in the early portion of fall training camp. While that doesn’t take him out of the running for the starting job, it means Wolf and Vanden Boom are still viable candidates for the season opener against the Illini.
Wisconsin head coach Paul Chryst is scheduled to meet via zoom with reporters on Monday morning.
Badgers climb in Top 25 polls
The Badgers climbed four spots from 18th to 14th in the AMWAY Top 25 Coaches Poll. They jumped from 19 to 16 in the A.P. Top 25 Poll.