With all the good developments that come along with spring football, there are usually a couple setbacks.

Unfortunately, the first major injury news of the spring season for Wisconsin occurred at a position of supreme importance.

Head coach Bret Bielema confirmed Tuesday that redshirt sophomore Curt Phillips, the backup to senior quarterback Scott Tolzien, tore his ACL in practice last week.

“Right now we’re just waiting for the swelling to go down, and he’ll have surgery here in the next couple of weeks,” Bielema said. “Obviously disappointed for him, but all indications are that he’ll come back and be able to rehab. There is probably a potential hope for the season next year, but really that’s up in the air.

“Every knee injury comes about a little bit differently.”

The dual-threat signal caller was doing what he does best — rolling out of the pocket and charging up field, when his right foot planted and his knee gave out. Now, just like that, there is only one quarterback on the depth chart with any game experience.

The injury obviously hurts UW. Healthy competition between quarterbacks last spring helped Tolzien emerge as the starter, but now there is one less teammate to push him in practice, and it’s officially Tolzien’s show from start to finish.

If used properly (key word being ‘if’) and on a consistent basis by the coaching staff, Phillips’ running ability could be utilized to make the UW offense even more dynamic than it already is. Even if he’s just the backup.

Instead, a bad break means Phillips has to endure a two-hour surgery and a 12-month recovery.

So, the injury does some damage to UW’s depth behind center and takes away some competition from last year’s starter, but this ACL tear is most devastating for Phillips’ individual future.

All of the sudden, the quarterback position at Wisconsin is filling up with talent, and there is no guarantee Phillips will ever get his chance to sit atop the depth chart. That’s because redshirt freshman Jon Budmayr is healthy and ready to step in behind Tolzien.

The redshirt freshman is now one play away running a team with Big Ten title aspirations.

Some quick background on Budmayr: He is about 6-feet tall and throws the best ball on the team. He’s got the most fluid motion and the greatest arm strength.

After suffering a collarbone injury during his senior year in high school, Budmayr came to UW as the No.1 quarterback prospect from the state of Illinois according to Rivals.com (He even turned down Notre Dame, which nowadays means he probably wanted to experience a winning season or two).

Another injury though, this time to the forearm, sidelined him for a while during his first season, but Budmayr is finally back on the field with a year’s worth of playbook material stuffed into his brain.

And through the first few spring practices, Budmayr has been pretty darnn impressive. He has found a connection with speedster Jared Abbrederis, making deep routes look effortless (Hopefully that’s more a positive for Budmayr than it is a negative for the defensive backs).

Even before Phillips tore his ACL, Budmayr looked like a talent who would challenge for the starting job after Tolzien moves on. Now Phillips’ injury allows Budmayr to get all those extra snaps, and Phillips won’t have any time to waste if he wants to be the No.1 guy.

Budmayr is a year younger, a better passer and by year’s end will have just as much knowledge of Paul Chryst’s offense. Phillips will return as a quarterback with a surgically repaired knee and questionable passing abilities.

Keep in mind, Phillips’ greatest attribute is far and away his running ability. You see, when Tom Brady tore his ACL he just needed to recover to the point where he could bounce around in the pocket.

Phillips, on the other hand, needs the same full recovery that a running back would need.

Will the speed remain after the rehabilitation? Will Phillips have the same confidence and fearlessness needed to tuck the ball and run through defenders?

We won’t know the answers to such questions for a while, but Phillips can’t make it as a Big Ten starter if he loses any of his mobility. His arm just wont cut it if that’s all he can bring to the table.

Plus, Bielema knows he’s got something special in Budmayr. When asked about the play of his young quarterback in spring ball the UW head coach couldn’t help but smile.

“He’s looked good. He’s got an arm and he’s not afraid to throw it; you can tell that,” Bielema said. “He’s really progressed.”

Fans were giddy with excitement when Phillips and his dual-threat talents came to Madison. Everyone wanted to see how such a multi-dimensional quarterback could fit in with the powerful Badger rushing attack.

But due to an unfortunate injury and Budmayr’s continued development, we may never see it happen.

Max is a junior majoring in journalism. Think the Badgers’ quarterback depth will be an issue this fall? E-mail him at [email protected].