Alex Hornibrook transfer ushers in Graham Mertz at Wisconsin

Alex Hornibrook has been the Wisconsin Badgers’ starting quarterback for the last three seasons, but he’s now the latest college quarterback to be on the move.

From Kelly Bryant to Jalen Hurts to Justin Fields, it’s become routine for experienced college quarterbacks to transfer and finish their careers elsewhere. Now, Wisconsin quarterback Alex Hornibrook has joined that parade with an announcement he’s transferring.

Hornibrook was 26-6 over the last three seasons as the Badgers’ starting quarterback. In nine games last season he completed 59.5 percent of his passes for 1,532 yards, 13 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. He missed time with a concussion, returning for the regular season finale against Minnesota before missing the Pinstripe Bowl against Miami. But he had returned to working out in January and was tentatively expected to be the  Badgers’ starter in 2019.

Jack Coan played in five games last season, burning a possible redshirt by starting in the bowl game when Hornibrook was unable to go. He completed just over 60 percent of his passes for 515 yards with five touchdowns and three interceptions. With Hornibrook gone, Coan should tentatively move to the top of the depth chart based on experience alone.

Badgers head coach Paul Chryst released a brief statement on Hornibrook’s transfer.

"Alex informed us of his decision to leave the team earlier today,”  “He contributed to a lot of our recent success and we want to thank him for all he did for our program. We wish him the best of luck."

Wisconsin has always had a run-oriented offense, and 2018 was no different as they had the No. 6 rushing offense in the country (273.4 yards per game) and were 119th in pass offense (157.7 yards per game). Running back Jonathan Taylor led the FBS in rushing (2,194 yards), and he returns as a top-tier Heisman Trophy candidate for 2019.

But the Badgers signed Graham Mertz, a four-star recruit out of Overland Park, Kansas. ESPN (No.1 pocket-passing quarterback, No. 21 overall player in the class), 247 Sports (No. 3 pro-style quarterback, No. 65 overall player in composite rankings) and Rivals (No. 2 pro-style quarterback, No. 42 overall player in the class) all ranked Mertz highly. It would be a departure for Wisconsin to start a true freshman under center right out of the gate, but Mertz looks like a special case. Chase Wolf came to Wisconsin in the 2018 class, and he may enter the mix for snaps too.

On the field, Hornibrook is not a substantial loss. If it’s Mertz, Coan or even Wolf under center next season, Taylor will still be the engine that drives the Badgers’ offense.