Wisconsin QB Marshall Howe Announces Unexpected Transfer, QB Room Starts To Get Some Clarity

Marshall Howe's time with the Wisconsin Badgers didn't last long.

The QB announced Monday that he put his name in the transfer portal last week, despite the fact he had a very solid spring.

While the redshirt freshman wasn't in contention to start for the Badgers this season, he did outperform highly-touted Oklahoma transfer Nick Evers to beat him on the depth chart behind starter Tanner Mordecai and QB2 Braedyn Locke.

Wisconsin quarterback Marshall Howe announces he's leaving the program. (Mandatory Credit: Mark Hoffman-USA TODAY Sports)

However, Howe doesn't seem interested in hanging around for year two to see if he can earn a scholarship in Madison.

The walk-on turned unexpected contributor in the QB room told fans he believes it's in his "personal best interest" to go elsewhere.

Wisconsin QB Marshall Howe leaves the Badgers.

Going into spring ball, Wisconsin fans (and likely coaches as well) expected the depth chart to shake out as follows:

Instead, that's not what happened. The depth chart got a huge shock and looks like this after spring ball:

With Tanner Mordecai having just one season of college football left, the starting role in 2024 will be wide open. Howe, a walk-on, stunned people in the spring by jumping over Nick Evers and getting a surprising number of reps.

It looked like the 2024 battle would be between Howe, Locke and Evers. That's more than a year away, and anything could happen.

Wisconsin Badgers quarterback Marshall Howe announces he's leaving. (Photo by Dan Sanger/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

This is an unexpected development.

However, with Marshall Howe out the door, it will now be Nick Evers vs. Braedyn Locke once Mordecai exhausts his eligibility.

There's only two reasonable explanations. The coaches told him Nick Evers would eventually get ahead of him on the depth chart (unlikely), or the former recruit from Connecticut got a look at how he stacked up and realized he could play sooner elsewhere.

Braedyn Locke ended spring practice as the unexpected QB2 for the Wisconsin Badgers. (Mandatory Credit: Mark Hoffman-USA TODAY Sports)

Now, with Marshall Howe out the door, Nick Evers is QB3. It's a long way from where he thought he'd be when he arrived in Madison, but welcome to college football. Things often don't go as planned.

Nick Evers moves up on the depth chart after Marshall Howe announced he's transferring. (Mandatory Credit: Mark Hoffman-USA TODAY Sports)

As for Howe, I'm sure he'll land somewhere. All the buzz and excitement from spring will definitely have G5 teams at a minimum interested. From here, it's QB1 Tanner Mordecai, QB2 Braedyn Locke and QB3 Nick Evers. May the best man play down the stretch.