Wisconsin quarterback Tanner Mordecai is out indefinitely after breaking his throwing hand against Iowa on Saturday, coach Luke Fickell confirmed Monday.
Mordecai had surgery Sunday to put a pin in his hand, a source told ESPN. A specific timetable on his return is unknown.
Mordecai, a sixth-year senior transfer from SMU, broke his hand late in the second quarter after it hit the helmet of Iowa linebacker Jay Higgins after a completed pass to Will Pauling.
Mordecai could be seen saying "I can't throw" on the television broadcast as he tapped his hand multiple times. After one more play, he left the game with less than two minutes remaining in the half and did not return.
"There's nobody that's more of a competitor than him, just like for the sheer reason he didn't come out after the play happened, right?" Fickell said at his Monday news conference.
Wisconsin lost to Iowa 15-6 to snap a three-game winning streak. The Badgers visit Illinois this week and then host No. 3 Ohio State the following week.
Wisconsin will start redshirt freshman Braedyn Locke moving forward, a source told ESPN.
"I think the biggest difference is just the experience," Fickell said. "And that was the beautiful thing about Tanner Mordecai is his ability to come in here, not just what's his experience of playing, but his experience of being through so many ups and downs. ... Braedyn just doesn't have those experiences, so that makes it more difficult in some ways for him. But I'd be honest with you, he's got a great head on shoulders."
Locke, a transfer from Mississippi State, completed 15 of 30 passes for 122 yards and one interception in relief of Mordecai against Iowa. For the season, he has appeared in only two games and will make his first career start at Illinois this week.
Mordecai has been solid for Wisconsin (4-2, 2-1), which is in second place behind Iowa in the Big Ten West. He's No. 8 in the league in passing yards with 1,127 yards and has thrown three touchdown passes and three interceptions. Wisconsin is No. 5 in the Big Ten with 398.5 yards per game.
The Badgers have endured injuries to two of their best players and leaders, Mordecai and star tailback Chez Mellusi, who broke his fibula and is out for the season.
Mordecai is a transfer from SMU and arrived at Wisconsin having thrown for more than 3,500 yards in both 2021 and 2022. He is in his sixth season of college after spending his first three years, from 2018 to 2020, at Oklahoma.