On Tuesday afternoon it was revealed that Wisconsin junior quarterback Joel Stave would be shut down for the rest of spring with shoulder issues. This injury couldn’t happen at a worse time, as Stave is locked in what appears to be a heated battle with fellow junior, Tanner McEvoy, for the starting quarterback job.
#Badgers Stave (shoulder) shut down for rest of spring. Says he will be ready for camp but had MRI last night.
— Jeff Potrykus (@jaypo1961) April 8, 2014
After sitting out early on this spring, Stave made an earlier than expected return to the practice field, surprising many in the media and around the program by returning before the Badgers went on spring break.
However, that may have backfired with the news on Tuesday. It brings up a serious question about what this does the QB derby at Wisconsin.
Sure, the coaching staff went in to spring saying Stave was the starter, but they also made it clear that his job wasn’t nearly as safe as one would think for a nearly two-year starter.
Sitting out nearly all spring long with a shoulder injury is one way to loose your job. Having another player play well enough to earn the job while you’re on the sideline nursing yet another injury doesn’t help the situation either.
It’s not just this injury that hurts Stave’s ability to enter the fall as the No. 1 guy against LSU—let’s not forget the guy has been injury prone over his career at Wisconsin. Breaking your collarbone on a freak hit can be chalked up to bad luck, but when you’ve shown a propensity to continue to be injured over and over again, it does factor in to the decision-making process.
The fact is, good teams have stability at the quarterback spot and great teams find ways to make their quarterback a dynamic playmaker for their team.
Enter one Tanner McEvoy.
While McEvoy appears to have separated himself from Bart Houston and early entrant freshman D.J. Gillins, just how serious a challenger he was to Stave was up in the air. Of course, splitting reps with the first-team offense on a nearly 50/50 basis gave us all a pretty big clue, the fact remains that practice is one thing and a game-like atmosphere is another.
So, as the Badgers look toward the annual spring game on Saturday, it’s a huge opportunity for McEvoy to prove himself in front of a crowd as a quarterback. If he can provide a spark to the Badgers offense with his arm and feet, it will give Gary Andersen and offensive coordinator Andy Ludwig a lot to think about heading in to the fall.
The battle may not be over by a long shot, but Stave’s injury history and a good performance by McEvoy in the spring game could vault the newcomer over the incumbent. The fact is, football is a “what have you done for me lately” business…and Stave’s shoulder issues leave the door wide open for someone to take his job.
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