Badgers Fall Camp Day 6 Notebook: Passing Game Fireworks, 1-on-1s Highlight Big Day

Wisconsin's offense took flight Wednesday morning.

Wisconsin QB Colton Joseph. | Christian Borman.

Wisconsin's fall camp is in full force now.

Six practices in, and the intensity is high, trash is being talked and the offense has begun to settle in.

Badgers On SI was present once again Wednesday morning. Here's our notebook from the day:

Badgers' passing game explodes

Wisconsin QB Colton Joseph. | Christian Borman.

We'll start with the elephant in the room. Wisconsin's offense, particularly it's passing game, had its way with the secondary during team periods. That was largely thanks to Colton Joseph's connection with Eugene Hilton; the pair connected for touchdown after touchdown.

Joseph and Hilton displayed tremendous chemistry. Joseph clearly trusted the wideout to come down with tough, contested catches, as evidenced by Hilton's spectacular grab in the back of the end zone that I thought was his best snag of the morning.

But Joseph looked good throwing to whoever he wanted. The secondary truly had no answer for him, aside from a couple of throws that were simply poor decisions. Otherwise, Joseph essentially had no problem shredding Wisconsin's secondary, which was certainly surprising considering how emphatically the defense won the previous two practices.

Lahm bounces back

Wisconsin's starting placekicker Gavin Lahm was much better on field goals Wednesday morning. I didn't get an exact count, but I also didn't see him miss. On Tuesday, he missed all of his long-distance attempts inside the Kellner Family Athletic Center.

It's worth wondering if it's more difficult to kick inside the new building. The ceiling appears to be higher, but punters still sometimes hit the roof. The uprights also hanging from the ceiling. That's entirely speculation, of course.

There's no real competition for the starting kicker gig, but Wisconsin is going to need someone competent back there if it wants to be able to win gritty, grind-it-out games.

1-on-1 session

The Badgers did a drill I hadn't seen yet at fall camp, running true pass-catcher/defensive back 1-on-1s from 10 yards out of the end zone. Every quarterback participated. Here's a few of the highlights:

- Javan Robinson blankets Eugene Hilton on a fade rote.

- Chris Brooks Jr. executes the fade route and snatches the ball away from Jai'mier Scott for the score.

- Bryce West goes stride-for-stride with Tyrell Henry and swats the ball away.

- Jaylon Domingeaux runs a fade, but Cai Bates (who also stands at 6-3) elevates higher and knocks the pass away at the catch point.

- Eric Fletcher denies Jackson McGohan on a quick inside release, breaking up the pass.

- Last but certainly not least, Hilton with a nasty inside-outside cut at the top of his route to easily shake Cairo Skanes for a walk-in touchdown.

Wisconsin needs help at center

Wisconsin center Austin Kawecki. | Christian Borman.

Oklahoma state transfer Austin Kawecki, who's firmly penciled into the starting center role, looks like a big upgrade over what Wisconsin had in 2025. But behind him, Ryan Cory has lacked consistency.

The third-year player from Pennsylvania changed his grip to more of a swinging motion than a true snap, per offensive line coach Eric Mateos, but he still struggled Wednesday morning. In the same 11-on-11 session, he had a snap go high that led to a TFL followed by a snap that went low the led to a lost fumble.

The Badgers have a couple of positions that look pretty thin should the injury bug bite the room, and center is one of them.

Top 3rd-team highlight

The third-team offense produced one of the best highlights of the day right up there with Hilton's catches. True freshman tight end Jack Sievers out of Washington mossed the defensive back in coverage on a fade route in the end zone, high-pointing the ball perfectly on a nice toss from Danny O'Neil, who has begun to play here and there.

Bork, Van Dinter go at it to cap things off

Wisconsin safety Carson Van Dinter. | Christian Borman.

On the final rep of team drills, tight end Emmett Bork hauled in a pass and made his way to the corner of the end zone, only to be stood up by safety Carson Van Dinter right at the goal line. There was some commotion about if the second-year player broke the plane, and after huddling his whole team very briefly, head coach Luke Fickell let the two go 1-on-1.

The whole team gathered in the corner of the end zone, clearing a space in the middle for the two to run what was essentially a blocking drill. The 6-6, 257-pound Bork won easily, driving Van Dinter backwards to the delight of the white jerseys of the offense.