5 Standouts From Day 13 of Wisconsin Fall Camp

It’s been a rough week for Wisconsin’s offense as fall camp nears its conclusion. Friday morning however, Jeff Grimes’ group bounced back with a nice day, which ended with some fun situational work.

The defense, as it has all camp, continued to force turnovers, but it didn’t feel like it dominated the day as it had early throughout the week.

There was a lot to like on both sides of the ball leading Friday morning, so here’s five players who stood out in practice No. 13, including a few honorable mentions.

Honorable mentions

Chris Brooks Jr—He isn’t the flashiest receiver in the room, but he’ll be a stable, veteran presence all season. Today, he had a contested grab along the sideline to set up a field goal in end-of-game situational work, and also was wide open deep for what would’ve been a walk-in touchdown, but Colton Joseph missed him. It was another subtly strong day for Brooks.

Matt Jung—Like Brooks, Jung hasn’t had a flashy camp, but he’s quietly been productive. On Friday, he dropped an interception after reading Joseph’s eyes, and defended a pass down the field later in the practice. He also got home and deterred a pass in the backfield, a good sign as he, along with other safeties and middle linebackers, have been working on pass rushing throughout camp.

Colton Joseph—It wasn’t an outstanding day from Joseph, but I thought he was solid, especially given how the week has gone. There were a few throws he’d like back, but aside from the aforementioned near-pick by Jung, it didn’t feel like he was putting himself into bad situations, and there were a handful of nice connections between him and a handful of receivers.

Gavin Lahm

Wisconsin ended practice with end-of-game scenarios, ending in “game-winning” field goals. Lahm had five chances to kick, and it earned him a spot on today’s standouts. He attempted kicks from 51, 56, 41, 58 and 40 yards out. He nailed four of his five attempts in the late-game scenarios, missing only from 41 yards.

Kicking in a game is obviously an entirely different animal, but it was extremely encouraging to see Lahm drilling kicks from nearly 60 yards.

Kash Brock

What the role looks like for Brock this season is to be determined, but right now, it feels like he needs to see the field in some capacity. The freshman wideout had an outstanding day Friday.

Between 7-on-7 and 11-on-11 work, he connected with Ryan Hopkins four times, and was the target of a number of additional throws. Brock was making plays across the middle, along the sidelines and down the field, showcasing a versatile skillset.

On what was arguably the play of the day, Deuce Adams lofted a ball up to Brock, who was surrounded by three defenders. Brock elevated and high-pointed the ball, coming down with the catch despite being swarmed by defensive backs.

Brock is making a case to see the field this season, but at the very least, he and Hopkins’ developing chemistry as a future duo is one of the most encouraging things to come out of camp.

Donovan Dunmore

The talk of the cornerback room throughout camp has mostly been who will start between Jai’mier Scott and Eric Fletcher, but Dunmore has quietly put together a great camp.

It was a balanced day for the freshman. He got home on a blitz for what likely would’ve been a sack, but it’s hard to tell with no pads. In work from inside the 5-yard line, he came down with an interception, and in the situational work at the end of practice, he broke up a deep pass intended for Brock, keeping it a difficult field goal attempt for Lahm.

His success likely won’t translate to snaps on gamedays this fall, but as a long-term piece at corner, Dunmore has looked the part of a quality defensive back.

Mason Posa

Posa has been dominant throughout camp, especially when he’s been allowed to hit, or at least wrap-up. Today, with no pads, he flashed the strides he’s taken in other aspects of his game.

Today, he had the opportunity to get into space and make plays against the pass. On a few occasions, he was in the right spot across the middle, and when the ball was thrown in the flat, he flew across the field to stuff the play around the line-of-scrimmage.

His best play of the day came when Eugene Hilton made a catch across the middle. Posa was there to prevent Hilton from turning it into a big play, and landed a punch on the ball, forcing a fumble.

Posa’s impact is often not going to be getting his hands on the ball, rather stuffing the run and getting to quarterbacks in the backfield, but it’s good to see growth from that standpoint, as forcing turnovers is one of the main ways he can level up his game.

Eugene Hilton

Hilton has produced highlights all camp, but between those plays, he’s shown real growth as an all-around receiver. That growth was apparent once again on Friday.

In an early live period, he broke free from his defender as Joseph rolled to his right, and while the throw wasn’t perfect, Hilton reached out and made a great catch. Shortly after, working from inside the five, Joseph and Hilton connected again, this time in the left corner of the end zone.

Wisconsin will need more than just an occasional spectacular catch from Hilton, and he’s shown that he can potentially be that receiving threat around the line of scrimmage, over the middle and down the field. He’s the likely No. 1 target for Joseph, based on what we’ve seen.

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