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3 biggest questions for Wisconsin Badgers offense after spring football practices

The Wisconsin football team needs to find an answer at a crucial position heading into the summer, and there are a couple other units that are worth watching before preseason camp begins in a few months.
Jake Kocorowski|
Wisconsin assistant AJ Blazek worked with his offensive line during the Badgers' spring showcase April 19.
Wisconsin assistant AJ Blazek worked with his offensive line during the Badgers' spring showcase April 19. | Jake Kocorowski

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Wisconsin Badgers

The University of Wisconsin football team needs to find an answer at a crucial position heading into the summer.

Wisconsin lost left tackle Kevin Heywood, a former consensus four-star 2024 recruit, to an injury during their April 10 practice. Fickell confirmed days later that Heywood suffered a torn ACL and will probably not return this season.

Offensive line coach AJ Blazek has some options to replace Heywood, who is a key cog for Wisconsin’s offense in the future. Vanderbilt transfer Leyton Nelson, who did not play last season due to injury, was one of the players who jumped into first-team reps at the position thereafter.

One option could be starting left guard Joe Brunner, who received first-team left tackle reps in spring practices. That said, Brunner’s likely best on the interior at a more natural position pairing next to center Jake Renfro.

Fickell floated redshirt freshman Emerson Mandell as another potential option. The former four-star recruit worked at right tackle last season but was competing for the first-team right guard spot this spring against sixth-year senior Kerry Kodanko.

The team also will welcome former Central Michigan lineman Davis Heinzen to the program after he announced April 26 his commitment to Wisconsin. The Manitowoc Lincoln standout has experience at left tackle and left guard.

Here are two other questions for Wisconsin as summer conditioning begins weeks from now.

Who will emerge at tight end alongside Jackson Acker and Tucker Ashcraft?

Wisconsin Badgers tight end Tucker Ashcraft (38) during the game against the Western Michigan Broncos
Aug 30, 2024; Madison, Wisconsin, USA; Wisconsin Badgers tight end Tucker Ashcraft (38) runs with the ball during the game against the Western Michigan Broncos at Camp Randall Stadium. | Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images

The winter transfer of Tanner Koziol didn’t work out as planned, as one of college football’s most productive tight ends left and signed with Houston. Koziol was supposed to bring a passing threat for quarterback Billy Edwards Jr. and a Wisconsin offense that’s seen its tight ends wither in receiving production since Jake Ferguson still played in Madison.

Acker, the redshirt senior from nearby Verona, officially moved on from the backfield in position title. But his versatility and 6-foot-1, 250-pound frame allows him to move around the field for blocking, receiving, and (still) rushing with his running back/fullback résumé.

Ashcraft (6-foot-5, 260 pounds) had a solid spring overall as he enters his third season in the program, the first within Jeff Grimes’ pro-style scheme that is tight end friendly. Redshirt freshman Grant Stec (6-foot-6, 255 pounds) received some work with the first-team offense, and the team also has redshirt junior JT Seagreaves (6-foot-6, 254 pounds).

The answer could come from Missouri State’s Lance Mason, whose commitment was reported via On3 on April 25. From Rockwall, Texas – which is the same city that produced former Wisconsin quarterback Braedyn Locke – Mason caught 34 passes for 590 yards receiving and a team-leading six touchdowns on way to 2024 FCS All-America honorable mention accolades by the Associated Press.

How will the depth chart shake out at wide receiver?

Wisconsin Badgers wide receiver Vinny Anthony II (8) catches the ball during the second half against Rutgers
Oct 12, 2024; Piscataway, New Jersey, USA; Wisconsin Badgers wide receiver Vinny Anthony II (8) catches the ball during the second half against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights at SHI Stadium. | Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

Seniors Vinny Anthony II and Jayden Ballard, along with redshirt junior Chris Brooks Jr., all flexed their abilities during first-team reps this spring. Redshirt sophomore Trech Kekahuna missed the majority of spring practices due to injury but will also be among those called upon to produce when he returns.

Senior Tyrell Henry took advantage of Kekahuna’s absence, both catching and running the ball within Wisconsin’s new offense. He drew praise from receivers coach Jordan Reid at the end of spring ball. 

The Badgers likely won’t run as many three wide receiver sets under Grimes as it did under former offensie coordinator Phil Longo and his Air Raid passing scheme, But last season showed that injuries can decimate a position group.

Wisconsin's depth at receiver took a hit when Quincy Burroughs announced his intentions to hit the transfer portal in a now-deleted tweet, and according to 247Sports, Idaho transfer Mark Hamper also left the program.

Freshman Eugene Hilton Jr. displayed early maturity and potential during spring practices, and other scholarship receivers on the roster include redshirt junior Joseph Griffin Jr. and redshirt freshman Kyan Berry-Johnson.

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Jake Kocorowski
JAKE KOCOROWSKI

Jake Kocorowski has covered the Wisconsin football program since the 2013 season for a few outlets, most recently at the Wisconsin State Journal/BadgerExtra. He wrote, directed and edited BadgerExtra’s “Rags to Roses” series about the 1993 Wisconsin football team that won second place in the 2023 APSE Division C Project category.

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