Wisconsin Radio Network

Wisconsin News and Sports

You are here: Home / Archives for Graham Mertz

Badgers could be without Mertz

By

Graham Mertz – Photo Courtesy of David Stluka / UW Athletics

After completing 20 of 21 passes for 248 yards and five touchdowns in a 45-7 win over Illinois on Friday night, Wisconsin redshirt freshman quarterback Graham Mertz has reportedly tested positive for coronavirus.  The story was first reported by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel on Sunday.

Mertz took over for starter Jack Coan, who suffered a right foot injury earlier this month and underwent surgery on Oct. 7.

According to Big Ten protocols released last month, athletes who test positive through point of contact daily testing will require a polymerase chain reaction test to confirm the first result.  If a second test confirms Mertz has the coronavirus, he will have to sit out at least 21 days.

The Badgers will face the Nebraska Cornhuskers this Saturday in Lincoln.  They’ll host Purdue the following week (Nov. 7) and then face Michigan (Nov. 14) in Ann Arbor.

If Mertz is out, the job would likely go to Chase Wolf with Danny Vanden Boom as his backup.

Mertz, Badgers dominate opener over Illini

By

Graham Mertz (Photo by David Stluka/Wisconsin Athletic Communications)

The Wisconsin Badgers kicked off the 2020 college football season with a 45-7 thumping of the Illinois Fighting Illini without fans at Camp Randall Stadium.

Redshirt freshman quarterback Graham Mertz, in his first collegiate start, completed his first 17 passes and ended up completing 20 of 21 passes for 248 yards and five touchdowns.

Mertz five touchdown passes tied the highest single-game total in UW history, matching the school record set by Darrell Bevell vs. Nevada in 1993 and Jim Sorgi vs. Michigan State in 2003.

The 14th ranked Badgers won their 25th straight home opener and their eighth straight game over the Illini in Madison.  They avenged a one-point loss to the Illini in Champaign last season.

Illinois scored their only points after forcing a fumble by Badger tight end Jake Ferguson and linebacker Tarique Barnes [Read more…]

Badgers kick off 2020 season tonight

By

Graham Mertz – Photo Courtesy of David Stluka / UW Athletics

The college football schedule gets a bit more crowded with the start of Big Ten play this weekend.  The 14th ranked Wisconsin Badgers kick things off Friday night against Illinois (7 p.m. kickoff) at Camp Randall Stadium.

Highly touted quarterback Graham Mertz makes his first collegiate start for the Badgers.  The redshirt freshman from Kansas takes over for Jack Coan, who is out after having foot surgery.

While the Badgers are big favorites, Mertz will be challenged by an Illinois defense that ranked in the top 10 in takeaways last season.  The Illini recovered 16 fumbles and intercepted 12 passes last season, which ranked fourth among FBS teams.  Three of those 28 takeaways came against the Badgers last season, when the Illini came from behind to upset Wisconsin 24-23 in Champaign.

The Badgers have stressed ball security with Mertz during training camp and need that mentality to translate to the field on gameday.  Coan threw just five [Read more…]

Coan undergoes successful surgery

By

 

Jack Coan

Wisconsin senior quarterback Jack Coan underwent successful surgery on his right foot Tuesday and will be out indefinitely.

Coan suffered the non-contact injury during practice on Saturday.

In his first full season as the Badgers’ starter in 2019, Coan completed a school-record 236 passes for 2,727 yards, the third-highest single-season total in UW history, with 18 touchdowns and five interceptions.

The Badgers are expected to go with redshirt freshman Graham Mertz as the teams starting quarterback in their Oct. 24th season opener against Illinois at Camp Randall Stadium.

 

Wisconsin’s Coan out indefinitely with foot injury

By

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 [Read more…]

Badgers pitch back-to-back shutouts

By

Jack Coan

For the second straight week, the Wisconsin Badgers pitched a shutout at their opponent, blanking Central Michigan 61-0 on Saturday at Camp Randall Stadium.

Jonathan Taylor, who scored four touchdowns in week one at South Florida, scored four more touchdowns in the week two romp over the Chippewas.  Taylor finished with 102 yards and three touchdowns on 19 rushes and added three receptions for 17 yards and a receiving touchdown.

But this game belonged to junior quarterback Jack Coan.  After a solid performance last week at South Florida, Coan was outstanding in the Badgers home opener.  He set career highs in completions, attempts, yards and touchdowns, going 26-for-33 for 363 yards with three touchdown passes and no interceptions (201.2 pass efficiency rating) in his first start at Camp Randall Stadium.

Coan’s 363 yards are the 5th-highest single-game total in school history and the most by a Badgers quarterback since Tyler Donovan threw for 392 yards against Illinois on Oct. 6, 2007.  Coan became the [Read more…]

Badgers start season with Coan at quarterback

By

Jack Coan

The Wisconsin Badgers will open the 2019 College Football season with junior Jack Coan as the teams starting quarterback.

Coan is the only quarterback on the roster to have a start under his belt.  He started four games and played in 11 and was the most consistent quarterback during the teams training camp.

“I thought he improved in a lot of different (areas),” head coach Paul Chryst said.  “He’s got a better understanding of himself, of our offense, of what teams are doing.  I like the progress he has made.”

Freshman Graham Mertz and redshirt freshman Chase Wolf are listed as co-No. 2’s on the depth chart, which was released on Sunday.

In 2018, Coan completed 56 of 93 attempts (60.2%) for 515 yards.  He threw five touchdown passes and was intercepted three times.  His best start came against Purdue when he led the Badgers to a 47-44 come-from-behind win in triple overtime.  In that game, he completed 16 of 24 for 160 yards and two touchdowns.

Coan also finished the season by completing 6 of 11 for 73 yards and a touchdown, while also rushing for a touchdown in a 35-3 Pinstripe Bowl victory over Miami.

The Badgers open the 2019 season at South Florida on Friday night.