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Eli Lederman, ESPN Staff Writer
Wisconsin quarterback Tyler Van Dyke is entering the NCAA transfer portal, a source told ESPN’s Pete Thamel Monday afternoon.
The fifth-year quarterback appeared in three games this fall during his debut campaign with the Badgers before suffering a season-ending injury against Alabama on Sept. 14. Van Dyke, a three-year starter at Miami from 2021-23, has 7,891 career passing yards and 55 career touchdown passes and will enter the transfer portal with one year of eligibility remaining.
Van Dyke’s exit from Wisconsin comes less than a year after he landed with the Badgers via the transfer portal in Dec. 2023. With 33 career games played, the 6-foot-4, 225-pound passer will be one of the most experienced quarterbacks available in the 2024 portal cycle.
Benched in his final season at Miami in 2023, Van Dyke arrived at Wisconsin last offseason and was named the Badgers’ starting quarterback on Aug. 14 following a camp competition with sophomore Braden Locke. Van Dyke completed 43 of his 68 passes for 422 yards and a touchdown in three starts to open the 2024 season, but Van Dyke was sidelined for the remainder of the season after suffering a knee injury on the opening drive of Wisconsin’s 42-10 loss to Alabama in Week 3.
Locke started the Badgers’ final nine regular season games, totaling 1,936 yards with 13 touchdowns to 10 interceptions, but Wisconsin’s offense sputtered through the fall, ultimately finishing 12th in scoring among Big Ten offenses (22.6 points per game). The Badgers ranked 97th nationally in scoring and 102nd in passing offense when the program fired offensive coordinator Phil Longo on Nov. 17, one day after a 16-13 home defeat to No.1 Oregon.
Upon Van Dyke’s departure, Wisconsin’s quarterback depth is made up of Locke and freshman passer Mabrey Mettauer, ESPN’s No. 8 dual-threat passer in the Class of 2024. The Badgers, who finished the regular season at 5-7, also signed a pair of quarterbacks during the early signing period last week, adding four-star passer Carter Smith (No. 157 in the ESPN 300) and three star quarterback Landyn Locke.
The 2025 season will mark Van Dyke’s sixth in college football. He first burst onto the scene at Miami in 2021, taking over for the injured D’Eriq King and throwing for 2,931 yards with 25 touchdowns and six interceptions on his way to ACC Rookie of the Year honors.
But Van Dyke’s next two seasons with the Hurricanes were marred by injury and turnover struggles, headlined by a 2023 campaign in which Van Dyke threw a career-high 12 interceptions and was benched in favor of backup Emory Williams before regaining the starting role after Williams suffered a season-ending injury.