3 Former Wisconsin Badgers to Keep an Eye on in Week 0

After another seemingly endless offseason, college football is finally upon us.

In just two days, we'll have real games to watch, evaluate and overreact to. While Wisconsin must wait longer than most programs in the nation to play — the Badgers open against Notre Dame on Sunday, Sept. 6 — plenty of ex-Badgers will be in action when the season kicks off.

Without further ado, Badgers On SI takes a look at three former Wisconsin players worth keeping an eye on in Week 0 action.

QB Billy Edwards Jr, North Carolina vs. TCU (Dublin, Ireland)

UNC football quarterback Billy Edwards Jr. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

For most of the offseason, there appeared to be a real shot that Edwards was going to lose the Tar Heels' quarterback competition to Texas A&M transfer Miles O'Neill. Edwards was banged up during spring ball and got fewer reps than the former Aggie.

However, just a day after North Carolina's 247Sports sitereported that O'Neill was in the lead to be the Tar Heels' QB1, head coach Bill Belichick named the more experienced Edwards the starter. Now, in his final year of eligibility, he'll get another chance to lead a team at the Power Four level.

Can Edwards start off his Tar Heels career with a bang? TCU is a 9.5-point favorite in Dublin. Wisconsin fans never really got to see what kind of quarterback Edwards could be when healthy; how he looks in Carolina blue will be fascinating.

TE Tucker Ashcraft, USC vs. San Jose State

Former Wisconsin Badgers tight end Tucker Ashcraft. | USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Connect

It's somewhat puzzling that Ashcraft got a chance to play for the Trojans after he caught all of two passes for 10 yards last season in Madison. The former three-star recruit from Seattle is back on the West Coast for his fourth season of college football, and he should have some role with USC this fall.

The Trojans also have Mark Bowman, a five-star freshman tight end from Mater Dei who's poised to start immediately. But Ashcraft should be involved to some degree, and it'll be interesting to see how offensive wizard Lincoln Riley uses him.

CB Omillio Agard, Virginia vs. NC State

Former Wisconsin Badgers cornerback Omillio Agard. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

When the Badgers signed the Philadelphia native Agard out of high school, he was considered a major recruiting win. The 5-11 blue-chip prospect was the highest-rated cornerback to ever sign with Wisconsin in the Rivals.com era; he looked like a big part of the future of the Badgers' defensive backfield.

After two seasons, he elected to leave Madison. He didn't see the field as a freshman, and last season he played in 11 games with three starts and logged 21 tackles, one interception, one sack and two pass breakups.

Now, he's officially listed as a starter for Virginia, and he'll finally get his chance to shine in a full-time role. Wisconsin likely would've retained Agard if it could, but it ended up with a pretty promising secondary regardless ahead of the 2026 campaign.

Still, there might be a tinge of regret if he develops into a lockdown cornerback in Charlottesville. He has quite a matchup in his Virginia debut, as NC State quarterback CJ Bailey is one of the better gunslingers in the conference.

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