Badgers backup QB Chase Wolf out indefinitely with injury

Wisconsin will be without backup quarterback Chase Wolf indefinitely.

Coach Paul Chryst said Monday that the senior suffered an injury last week that will sideline him, though it’s unclear how long he’ll be out. A report from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel said it was a knee injury.

Wolf has served as the backup quarterback the last two years, though he has seen time when starter Graham Mertz went down with injuries. He engineered three scoring drives to help Wisconsin beat Minnesota in 2020 and saw extended action against Michigan last year. Wolf has had his moments but also has struggled to take care of the ball, having thrown four interceptions on just 25 career attempts.

If Mertz does miss time this fall, there are three other quarterbacks on the roster. It includes redshirt freshman Deacon Hill, true freshman Myles Burkett and walk-on true freshman Marshall Howe.

Off the three, Hill would likely be the next man in. A 3-star recruit out of Santa Barbara, Calif., in the the 2021 class, Hill redshirted last year. Listed at 6-foot-3 and 253 pounds, Hill has the strongest arm of any quarterback on the roster. In practices open to the media, he has impressed with some of the throws he can make, while also making some questionable decisions by throwing into coverage or just missing a wide open guy.

Hill’s first action could come Saturday against Illinois State

Injury report:

OUT vs Illinois State

OL Tanor Bortolini (leg)
TE Cam Large (leg)
ILB Spencer Lytle (leg)
DE Isaac Townsend (leg)
OLB Aaron Witt (leg)

OUT for season

S Travian Blaylock (leg)
DE Mike Jarvis (leg)
ILB Luna Larson (leg)

Depth chart observations

Wisconsin released its first depth chart of the season Monday.

— With Tanor Bortolini out with a leg injury, Trey Wedig is listed as the No. 2 center behind Joe Tippmann. The sophomore had been working mostly at right guard and right tackle during fall camp. Dylan Barrett, who had been the No. 2 center, is listed as the top backup at right guard to starter Michael Furtney.

— Redshirt freshman Riley Mahlman took hold of the No. 1 right tackle job midway through fall camp and did not give it up, beating out junior Logan Brown.

— Another injury impacting the two-deep is at defensive end. Isaac Townsend miss most of fall camp and won’t play against Illinois State. That allowed sophomore Cade McDonald to grab the backup job behind Rodas Johnson. McDonald had a really strong spring.

— The battle at inside linebacker was won by Jordan Turner and Maema Njongmeta. They beat out Tate Grass and Jake Chaney, respectively. You can expect to see all four to play quite a bit this year.

— Alexander Smith had missed the entirety of camp with a hamstring injury but was not on the Week 1 injury report. He will get the start at one corner spot with UCLA transfer Jay Shaw on the other.

— Kentucky transfer Cedrick Dort won the nickel back job ahead of fellow transfer Justin Clark. The latter missed time in camp with a leg injury.

— Vito Calvaruso, who missed a lot of fall camp with a leg injury, is listed as the starting kicker ahead of Nate Van Zelst. The junior has a massive leg and showed that in the spring. Van Zelst hit nearly every kick the media saw in fall camp.

— Running back Isaac Guerendo is listed as the top kick returner. The senior is an intriguing option with his speed and athleticism, assuming he can stay healthy.