The Wisconsin Badgers made it a priority to target a dual-threat quarterback in the transfer portal this offseason, coming away with their top target: Old Dominion transfer Colton Joseph.
Joseph, a redshirt sophomore in 2025, threw for 2,624 yards, 21 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions last season, averaging over 15 yards per completion as a downfield passer. But it was his rushing ability that caught the most eyes, as Joseph ran for over 1,000 yards, securing double-digit rushing touchdowns for the second straight year.
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That included a game against the Indiana Hoosiers last year, where Joseph had 179 yards and two touchdowns on the ground.
Transferring up to the Big 10, Joseph will face a lot of questions about how sustainable that style is in one of the most physical conferences in the country. Of course, there have already been issues with the Badgers and quarterback health, with the starter getting injured in each of the last three seasons.
So, how will Wisconsin look to keep Joseph healthy while maximizing his dual threat ability?
“I think if you make the decision to go and recruit athletic quarterbacks, which we have, all the guys that we have now are guys that can run, whether you’re talking about Colton or the other guys. When you make that decision to go that direction, then that’s a part of your game,” offensive coordinator Jeff Grimes said this week.
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“And you have to be willing to live with the fact that they are going to be exposed to contact a little bit more maybe than a guy that’s not in that position. How much you do that and how often you do that, I think depends on the quarterback himself. Some guys are a little bit more durable than others. Some guys have the elusiveness to get out in the open field and just, you know, they seem to never take a head-on shot. They find a way to just make a guy miss and get out of bounds.
“And so being able to do things where we can protect them with the sideline and give them the opportunity to get out of bounds or running them in the red zone where they have an opportunity to get a touchdown and hand the ball to the ref and maybe risk a little bit less exposure there. I think there are a couple of ways that you can do that. But yeah, they’re going to get hit more. And that’s something that we understand and are willing to live with. But I think to run the quarterback as much as you would a running back is not what any of us want.”
Wisconsin will absolutely need Joseph’s running ability this season to jumpstart its offense. But they have to find a way to keep him healthy over the course of a Big 10 schedule if they want to have the success they’re looking for this season.