Luke Fickell's Final Thoughts From 'Really Good Spring' in Madison

Wisconsin football's spring practice period is officially wrapped up, and head coach Luke Fickell liked what he saw:

“All in all, a really good spring, to be honest with you," he told reporters. "A lot of really good work. We got the physicality of things but we also went live action too.”

Next up for the Badgers are the doldrums of the summer, a few months of quiet before media days and fall camp pick up. There's plenty of summer conditioning to be had in that time, but the Badgers' won't hit the practice field again until August.

With spring practice in the rear view mirror, here's Fickell's final thoughts:

Wisconsin is mostly healthy

Wisconsin Badgers offensive lineman Kevin Heywood. | Mark Hoffman/USA TODAY Network via Imagn Images

The Badgers emerged from spring ball with a few bumps and bruises associated with play, of course, but overall, they're largely healthy. That's a far cry from last year, of course, when Wisconsin lost its presumed starting left tackle Kevin Heywood to a torn ACL about midway through spring camp.

“A little bit of injuries here and there, nothing that’s gonna hold us back as we roll to the fall," Fickell said. "Normally you'll have some guys get cleanups after the season, we didn't really have much of that. We'll have some guys that have some little surgeries here at the end of spring ball, probably slows their process down in the summer with some of the lifting and running stuff. But all are on target to say, 'Hey, we should be in good shape as we start fall camp.'"

Injuries have been a defining characteristic of the Fickell tenure; it's an excellent sign that Wisconsin made it out of spring ball with no significant ailments.

Fickell likes what he sees from the O-Line

Erica Mateos — Offensive line coach Eric Mateos. | Christian Borman.

Unprompted, Fickell mentioned the offensive line as a group that's impressed him this spring.

“A lot of really good things. In particular, up front on the offensive line, I’m really excited about where we’re headed with some depth and some guys and a little bit of an edge that we’ve gotta continue to build on," he said.

This should be music to Badgers' fans ears. Not only does Fickell like the depth — which of course was a major issue last fall, particularly at center and tackle — he mentions their "edge," which should be attributed to new offensive line coach Eric Mateos. Heywood said that Mateos "lit a spark" in the offensive line room this offseason; expect them to play with a tenacity and nastiness we haven't seen for several years in Madison.

QBs galore

Wisconsin quarterback Ryan Hopkins. | Christian Borman.

Quarterbacks have been the talk of Wisconsin's spring practice period, especially in the latter half of camp. Prized Old Dominion transfer Colton Joseph has of course drawn eyeballs, but it's the play of true freshman Ryan Hopkins that's generated the most buzz as the early enrollee appears to be significantly further along in his development than anyone could've predicted.

“He’s got a uniqueness of a confidence walking in the door that he can play and is willing to compete," Fickell said of Hopkins.

Still, the competition from top to bottom has been good as well, leading to what is arguably the deepest quarterback room Fickell has had in Madison, something he says will do wonders for the program.

"I think in that room, you can’t slip up," he added.

Extra intel from Fickell

On where he's seen the most growth in the quarterback room: “I think just understanding the offense...They grew a lot in recognizing and understanding the offense, but we even grew offensively recognizing where they’re most comfortable."

On Florida State transfer offensive tackle Lucas Simmons earning some reps with the starters: “You’ve gotta have guys that are ready to roll in there. We wanna continue to create the competition. He’s had some opportunities the last few weeks to roll in there and play with the ones. You’ve gotta have those 1As and 1Bs, whether they’re listed as the starter or backup."

On wanting to see improvement at gunner on the punt team: "Last year, our coverage was bad...everybody just assumes that's the punter, but it had to do with the coverage, in particular the gunners."

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