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For at least a few days, there was some hope that Wisconsin had a legitimate chance to land Caleb Williams from the transfer portal. The addition of the former Oklahoma starting quarterback would have resulted in an incredible amount of hype for the Badgers entering the 2022 season.
How close was Williams to committing to Wisconsin? Or was it just another school to toss out in an attempt to see how serious USC and head coach Lincoln Riley were about bringing the former 5-star recruit to Los Angeles?
Speaking with reporters on Friday, new offensive coordinator Bobby Engram spoke about the rumors, making some interesting comments about the situation.
“I think people might have linked us together more than what it might have been,” Engram said, per Jeff Potrykus of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel.
So, while there might have been a conversation or some level of interest, it doesn’t sound like Wisconsin was really much of a contender.
#Badgers OC Bobby Engram had some interesting quotes. One on how people ran with/made assumptions about how his hiring = Caleb Williams coming to UW: "I think people might have linked us together more than what it might have been."
— Jeff Potrykus (@jaypo1961) February 4, 2022
Another element of the speculation is how current Wisconsin quarterbacks Graham Mertz — a two-year starter — and backup Chase Wolf felt about this situation.
Per Engram, everyone is fine with what happened.
“I’ve already talked to Graham, talked to Chase. Those guys are good,” he said. “They understand the nature of college football now. They’re excited. I’m excited. We’re ready to go to work.”
#Badgers OC Bobby Engram on talking to Mertz/Wolf about Caleb Williams: "I’ve already talked to Graham. Talked to Chase. Those guys are good. They understand the nature of college football now. They’re excited. I’m excited. We’re ready to go to work."
— Jeff Potrykus (@jaypo1961) February 4, 2022
Engram will be entering his first season as the offensive coordinator with the Badgers. Paul Chryst worked with his new OC while he was serving as the head coach at Pitt. Engram was a wide receivers coach.
Dustin grew up in the heart of Big Ten country and has been in sports media since 2010. He has been covering Big Ten football since 2014. You can follow him on Twitter: @SchutteCFB