Wisconsin Football: Alex Hornibrook impresses at Manning Passing Academy

Wisconsin football’s Alex Hornibrook showed out during this year’s Manning Passing Academy, taking home the top award.

In recent years, the Wisconsin Badgers football program has seemingly been just a few missing pieces away from being a real national title contender year in and year out. Most of these missing pieces have come at the quarterback position as defense and a sound running attack has been the mantra for the Badgers program.

The same was true during the team’s 13-1 season in 2017, with defense and rushing offense being the main catalyst for the Orange Bowl Champs. Soon-to-be junior quarterback Alex Hornibrook certainly enjoyed some great moments, but other times the quarterback position appeared to be the one thing holding the Badgers back from taking a step to the next level.

That was all true until the Badgers victory over the Miami Hurricanes in the Orange Bowl. Not only were the Hurricanes the second best team Wisconsin had played all year behind Ohio State, it was also a de facto road game as the contest was played in Miami. Long story short: Hornibrook had by far the best performance of his entire career and was the sole purpose the Badgers were able to pull ahead to a double digit victory.

Of course, following that outing- Wisconsin fans have great expectations surrounding Hornibrook heading into the 2018 season. After seeing the potential and full capability he possesses, there is no reason why this team cannot take the leap to the College Football Playoff. Understandably, one game is not something to hang an entire fanbase’s hopes on, but the offseason can provide great opportunity for improvement for many players and programs.

As of now, Hornibrook continues to be right on track with this progress as he was recently crowned the winner of the 2018 Manning Passing Academy Air-It-Out competition. For over 20 years, the Manning Passing Academy- owed and operated by the great Archie Manning and his family, has helped young quarterbacks exemplify their full potential.

This year’s contestants were a popular and elite group, as Hornibrook went on against the likes of Trace McSorley (Penn State), Jake Fromm (Georgia), Jalen Hurts (Alabama), and Khalil Tate (Arizona)- to name a few.

While the purpose of the camp was presented for youth athletes, these college quarterbacks and others took place in an end-of-event competition that showcased precision and other attributes.

Hornibrook hit all three targets in the final leg of the competition, taking home this year’s award.

Certainly a casual summer competition cannot be much to put weight on, but for Wisconsin fans- it has to be encouraging watching their quarterback go up against some of the nation’s best talent, even if it is just a friendly outing.

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Wisconsin will enter 2018 as heavy favorites to return to the Big Ten Championship in Indianapolis, and even with a much tougher schedule, a first ever berth in the College Football Playoff is not out of the question.