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Wisconsin Badgers starting center and running back ruled out for season with injuries

Luke Fickell revealed season-ending surgery for three injured players during the Wisconsin Badgers' bye week, including two key starters.
Lorin Cox|
Oct 18, 2025; Madison, Wisconsin, USA; Wisconsin offensive lineman Jake Renfro (57) provides pas protection during the fourth quarter of their game against Ohio State at Camp Randall Stadium.
Oct 18, 2025; Madison, Wisconsin, USA; Wisconsin offensive lineman Jake Renfro (57) provides pas protection during the fourth quarter of their game against Ohio State at Camp Randall Stadium. | Mark Hoffman-USA TODAY Network via Imagn Images

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Wisconsin Badgers

The Wisconsin Badgers were hoping to use their second bye week to get a little healthier.

Instead, the time off came with some bad injury news.

At his weekly press conference Monday, head coach Luke Fickell revealed three players are out for the season with injuries, including two starters.

The biggest blow is center Jake Renfro, who has been in and out of the lineup all year with injuries.

He started Week 1, Week 3, Week 7 and Week 8, but he missed the game against Oregon before the bye week and now won't return.

The sixth-year senior was one of their most reliable blockers when on the field, but injuries have followed him from his time with Fickell at Cincinnati.

Transfer lineman Davis Heinzen has emerged as his most consistent replacement and should remain the starter moving forward.

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Starting running back Dilin Jones also had surgery during the bye week and will miss the rest of the year.

He suffered his injury against Ohio State and didn't play against Oregon.

Jones was the No. 1 running back entering the season. The size of his role shrank as the year went on, but he remains the team's leading rusher with 300 yards and two touchdowns on 77 carries.

Expectations were higher for the redshirt freshman to take a bigger leap this season, but injuries and inconsistency along the offensive line made life difficult for all of Wisconsin's running backs.

The third player who was ruled out for the season is redshirt sophomore safety Matthew Traynor.

He has been a backup and special teams contributor this season after transferring in from Richmond this offseason.

Traynor could be in line to start at safety next season as the Badgers graduate starters Austin Brown and Preston Zachman.

All three losses hurt Wisconsin at a time where they're desperate for answers as they try to turn around a months-long losing streak.

Bad injury news is the last thing Fickell needs right now.

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Lorin Cox
LORIN COX

Lorin Cox is the managing editor of Wisconsin Badgers on SI. He has been covering Badgers sports since 2014, when he was an undergraduate at the University of Wisconsin. He previously wrote for the Wisconsin State Journal, NBC Sports Chicago and USA Today Sports Media Group, and he is a former analyst for Pro Football Focus.

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