Player Previews: Is the Third Season the Charm for TE Grant Stec?

The former blue-chip tight end looks poised for his best season yet.

Wisconsin tight end Grant Stec. | Christian Borman.

Over the course of the summer leading up to Big Ten Media Days and fall camp, Badgers On SI will extensively preview Wisconsin football's roster with a write-up for each player expected to be remotely involved in 2026.

We continue the series with a redshirt sophomore tight end, Grant Stec.

2025 Stats

Five catches (11 targets), 52 yards

Overview

Stec came to Wisconsin as a consensus four-star prospect, but has yet to do much of anything on the field. He began to see his snap count increase in 2025, and was the Badgers' third-most productive tight end last fall as a redshirt freshman behind Lance Mason and Jackson Acker. Now, with three years of eligibility remaining, he looks poised to have his biggest impact yet.

Stec is a capable pass-catcher who is also the second-biggest tight end on the roster at 6-foot-6, 260 pounds (projected TE1 Jacob Harris stands at 6-foot-6, 270 pounds). He drew some significant praise this spring, and the former blue-chip recruit could be coming into his own.

“Going into year three with Grant, I think that’s the year where a lot of guys make jumps. Again, they’ve been in the system, their body starts to change," tight ends coach Nate Letton said this spring.

"You’re starting to see him move, come in and out of breaks at the top of his route, become a more viable option for us in the passing game on a wider route tree.”

Best-Case Scenario

Former Wisconsin tight end Riley Nowakowski (left) takes on Grant Stec (right). | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

On paper, Stec is one of the most well-rounded tight ends Wisconsin has on its roster. Can he play like it? That's the big question.

The Badgers will use plenty of tight ends; offensive play-caller Jeff Grimes is quite fond of 12 personnel. Thus, there should be plenty of opportunities, and once again, this is a largely unproven tight end room.

Harris is coming off a nice season at Bowling Green, but he still needs to prove his traits translate to the Big Ten level. He's similar to Stec in that he's a big body that can still run routes and boasts soft hands. Those two should occupy the top two tight end spots, but Stec could absolutely become Wisconsin's TE1 this fall.

If Stec's blocking is or close to tops in the tight end room, and he makes a few nice plays as a receiver early, he should get every chance to become the top player for Coach Letton, who's stressed leadership as a key area of growth for Stec.

“I’m still doing my best trying to take over the leadership role considering I have been here three years already. Pulling those guys in, showing them the standard of what it means to play tight end at Wisconsin," Stec said this spring.

The tight end has also made it clear he's a big fan of the Badgers' tight ends coach.

"I think he’s the greatest coach in the country," he remarked during spring ball.

Worst-Case Scenario

Stec is a promising player in a wide open tight end room, but that has its drawbacks as well. He could be the cream of the crop, or he could falter and slide down the depth chart behind Harris, redshirt freshman Emmett Bork and/or FCS transfer Ryan Schwendeman.

If Stec proves to be a liability as either a blocker or receiver, he could fall out of favor with the staff. But the more likely worst-case scenario is that one of the other two aforementioned tight ends nipping at his heels breaks out in fall camp and leapfrogs him in the pecking order. That would likely result in another very quiet stat-line, and potentially his last season in Madison.

Prediction

Wisconsin tight end Grant Stec. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

I see Stec as the firm TE2 on this team at the moment. A lot can change in fall camp, but a lot of signs also point to Stec having turned a page this offseason.

Now, just how productive can the TE2 be in this offense? That's a good question, one that's hard to answer given how handicapped the Badgers were in the first season under Grimes.

I see the tight end at least doubling his production from 2025, which admittedly isn't saying much. Still, it's hard to project receivers in this passing game given the relative unknown of Colton Joseph in the Big Ten. Stec has a career year, but still lags behind Harris in terms of production.