After two seasons playing quarterback for Southern Methodist University, Tanner Mordecai announced his intention to declare for the 2023 NFL draft.
The decision felt justifiable considering the numbers the Texas native amassed during his time as a Mustang. At Southern Methodist University, Mordecai rewrote single-game program records and registered some seismic performances.
In 2021, during his first game as a starter, Mordecai spearheaded a 56-9 blowout win with seven passing touchdowns. Despite the record-breaking performance, the quarterback’s magnum opus would not arrive until November of 2022 against a Houston team that would finish the year with eight wins and a bowl win.
Houston dropped 63 points on SMU, yet still lost by multiple scores as Mordecai threw for nine touchdowns and ran for another en route to a 77-point Mustang monsoon.
These performances, plus others, left Mordecai confident his name would be called on draft night. Despite the success, scouts told him otherwise.
“I was about 90% sure I was going to put my name in the draft and do the whole pro route,” Mordecai said to reporters. “I got some feedback from some scouts and teams about where I’d be drafted, and I wasn’t super-fired up about the feedback.”
Mordecai felt that earning an NFL roster spot would mean performing outside the confines of the less-prestigious American Athletic Conference.
Moving to another school to prove his talent may not have been Mordecai’s original plan, but it was something that the now 23-year-old quarterback was not unfamiliar with. Mordecai originally began his college career playing under Lincoln Riley at the University of Oklahoma.
The then-freshman was redshirted in 2018 during Kyler Murray’s Heisman run, and played backup to Jalen Hurts in 2019, unable to hold off the upstart Spencer Rattler for the starting job in 2020.
Mordecai knew a change of scenery would be in order if he wanted to see playing time, which culminated in his decision to transfer to SMU in 2021. Two years later, Mordecai was once again on the move in an effort to prove himself. He just needed to find a situation where a promising Power Five school was looking for a quarterback.
Despite shortcomings in Pullman, Badgers remain focused, optimistic
Purely in terms of roster makeup, the University of Wisconsin is among the most consistent programs in college football. The always-productive offensive line has sent 14 players to the NFL since 2010 and the running backs who ran behind these lines have also flourished on the professional stage.
On the other side of the ball, opposing offenses have been tormented by a defense that has landed in the top 10 in scoring in seven of the last 10 years. Unfortunately for the Badgers, perhaps their most consistent position might be quarterback, where they have been steadily average throughout their history.
The exception was 2011, when Russell Wilson played his final year at Wisconsin and led the highest scoring offense in program history. Before Wilson, the last drafted Wisconsin quarterback was Jim Sorgi — a sixth round pick in 2004 who went on to win a Super Bowl as Peyton Manning’s backup in Indianapolis.
Wisconsin’s lack of quarterback dependence has been the subject of much ire over previous seasons as the league has shifted to pass-first offenses. Luke Fickell’s hiring was an acknowledgement of the shifting winds, but any sound philosophy regarding a passing offense is not complete without a capable quarterback at the helm.
The team needed a hungry, veteran quarterback they could plug into their air raid offense. Suddenly, Tanner Mordecai’s transfer to Wisconsin became the perfect win-win move.
Mordecai announced his decision to transfer to UW in late December and he spent the offseason adjusting to the change of scenery. Despite being a new addition to a team with many established players, Mordecai immediately asserted himself as a team leader.
“If there’s a guy that, on a consistent basis every single day, has been a great leader in my eyes so far, one would be Tanner Mordecai,” Fickell said to reporters in August.
A week before game one, the players agreed by naming Mordecai one of the team’s two offensive captains. Three weeks into the season and how has Tanner Mordacai performed?
Wisconsin overcomes shaky first half, pummels Georgia Southern at home
Mordecai’s game one performance against the University of Buffalo did not parallel his first game with SMU. The now graduate student threw two interceptions, yet Wisconsin’s ground game propelled the Badgers to a win.
Week two saw Washington State University shut down Wisconsin’s run game and force Mordecai into two fumbles. After two weeks, ESPN’s QBR metric ranked Tanner Mordecai as the 12th best quarterback out of the 14 in the Big Ten. But, he showcased flashes of potential in both games.
Against Buffalo, drops and communication issues prevented multiple chunk plays. Against Washington State, Mordecai rallied Wisconsin back from a 24-6 deficit and brought the game within two points with an electric touchdown pass to Skyler Bell.
Week three against Georgia Southern acted as a step forward — Mordecai played his first turnover-free game and accounted for three total touchdowns.
Wisconsin and its quarterback will need to sharply improve if the team intends to reach their season goals. For Tanner Moredecai, the track record speaks for itself. Wisconsin has a quarterback who is capable of winning big games.
Whether that possibility comes to fruition remains to be seen. But for Wisconsin football, any given Saturday has the potential to become “The Tanner Mordecai Game.”
