Russell Wilson to Wisconsin and Blazing A New Frontier

Russell Wilson is taking his talents to Madison. An ESPN text eliminated the suspension from Wilson’s planned announcement on College Football Live, and my killed my dream of Jim Gray asking Wilson if he still chews his fingernails. Hope remains for Wilson, Montee Ball and James White to dance through smoke at a Camp Randall presentation though.

Similar to that other televised decision, there are already plenty of pundits are lining up to anoint the transplanted star’s new team champion. The road from Wisconsin to Indianapolis is a long one that detours through East Lansing and Columbus, and the all-important chemistry/playbook factors have been discussed at length though it’s worth reiterating. While Wilson will be surrounded with two top flight running backs in the aforementioned Ball and White, the quarterback’s reckless abandon both in throwing and rushing is a vast departure from Scott Tolzien’s more conservative style of play. It won’t be so easy as Bret Bielema telling Wilson, “snap, handoff, get out of the way.” To use Wilson in such a menial way neutralizes what he brings to the offense. But he will need shorter reins than Tom O’Brien had for him in Raleigh. Finding a balance by the Badgers’ crucial Week 5 matchup with Nebraska is paramount to Wisconsin’s conference championship aspirations.

Wilson does have recent blueprints to follow. Until recently, most transfers who thrived did so at lower level programs, typically in the Championship Subdivision. But the transfer quarterback has had a profound impact on the FBS and BCS conference landscape over the last few seasons, most notably Cam Newton. His presence instantly strengthed Auburn’s portfolio from the nine-to-10 win territory, to national champions while individually, Newton had the best season of any collegiate player. Expectations for the Wisconsin version of Wilson may not be as high as meeting Newton’s myriad accomplishments, as it’s understood Newton was the ultimate exception.

Newton’s fellow SEC’er and BCS bowl participant Ryan Mallett also flourished after leaving Michigan for Arkansas. Mallett fit Bobby Petrino’s offense perfectly, eclipsing 7400 yards and scoring 62 touchdowns through the air in his two seasons at Arkansas.

Willie Tuitama graduated from Arizona the program’s all-time best quarterback, but Nick Foles made that a short-lived distinction since coming over from Michigan State. Foles is on track to become UA’s first NFL quarterback and is arguably the Pac-12’s second best quarterback behind Stanford’s Andrew Luck.

Mallett and Foles each benefitted from a redshirt season though and had over a year to immerse into the system. Even Newton came to Auburn from Blinn College in the spring, giving him a nearly half-year head start on Wilson. Should Wilson do what Jeremiah Masoli couldn’t at Ole Miss and immediately fit into the scheme, he’ll have blazed a largely unbeaten trail.