I see an ugly pattern approaching for the Wisconsin football team.

This year, head coach Bret Bielema named senior Allan Evridge as UW’s starting quarterback. Last season, senior Tyler Donovan was the Badgers’ signal caller. Both will end up as one-and-done starters, lining up behind center for just one season apiece.

I have nothing wrong with either as a quarterback. Donovan — who beat out Evridge last year in a QB battle — was serviceable in 2007, leading Wisconsin to a 9-4 overall record and a 5-3 mark in the Big Ten.

In all honesty, though, it was a bit of a disappointing season for a veteran team that won 12 games the year before. But the difference in 2006 was that UW had a three-year starter at quarterback in John Stocco. By his senior year, Stocco was comfortable with the system, and the fans and coaching staff knew what to expect from him.

So now exits Donovan and in enters Evridge, who has just one year left of eligibility after transferring from Kansas State as a sophomore.

Evridge has looked decent but not outstanding in the spring and narrowly took the job from junior Dustin Sherer. The problem, though, is that he has zero starts with Wisconsin, though he did start six contests for the Wildcats as a freshman. He saw time in seven games last season, although that action was limited.

See the trend developing?

When Evridge’s one year at the Badger helm is finished, it’ll be time to find another replacement — the fourth quarterback in as many years. If Bielema wants to establish his program as one of the country’s elite, up there with the Ohio States of the world, a little consistency at quarterback may be a step in the right direction.

There are currently five quarterbacks on the Wisconsin roster — one senior (Evridge), one junior (Sherer), one sophomore (Scott Tolzien) and two freshmen (Curt Phillips and James Stallons). That means when Evridge leaves, it’ll likely be Sherer’s turn to grab the reins. Once he’s done  — after just one season, no less — it’ll be up to Tolzien to lead the team in his senior year. By the time Tolzien’s gone, Phillips or Stallons will have one season to fill the starting role, although Phillips may still redshirt.

Do the math: five years, five one-year starters.

If you look around the Big Ten conference, you won’t find this trend in many other teams. Ohio State’s Todd Boeckman will be entering his second year as the Buckeyes’ quarterback. At Illinois, junior Isaiah “Juice” Williams will now be starting for his third season. Purdue’s Curtis Painter has established himself as a Heisman hopeful in his fourth year as the Boilermakers’ signal caller. Even lowly Minnesota will have a veteran presence under center in second-year starter Adam Weber, as will Northwestern with C.J. Bacher.

Wisconsin could — and should — be among them.

Some of the most memorable quarterbacks in recent Badger history — keeping in mind Wisconsin isn’t typically a QB factory — have all been multi-year starters. Darrell Bevell, Brooks Bollinger and Stocco all started for three or more years.

Although he’s already named a starter, it’s never too late for Bielema to let one of the young guns get some experience — and not just in the fourth quarter of a blowout game against Akron. Depending on how Evridge pans out, I wouldn’t hesitate to put in Sherer or even Phillips, who was ranked one of the top freshman quarterbacks in the nation.

The approach college football teams take to building winning programs is different from that of the NFL. With players coming and going every few years, there’s not always time to put together a veteran group. But when a team has the chance to develop a quarterback and get a few years’ use out of him, why wouldn’t you do it?

Also unlike the NFL, the college game doesn’t hinge entirely on the play of the quarterback. As one of only two teams in the Big Ten that doesn’t run a spread offense, Wisconsin instead relies on its smash-mouth style of football to win games. The Badgers have all the talent they need in the backfield, as running backs P.J. Hill, Zach Brown and John Clay will all fight for carries. With a running game like UW’s, you can afford to shy away from the passing game a bit more than you would in other programs.

Bielema has made his “1-0” mantra well known around campus. But the “one-and-done” theme is catching on just as quickly.

I think it’s time for a new catchphrase. 

Tyler is a senior majoring in journalism. Who do you think is the best man for the UW quarterback job? Let him know at [email protected]