Three Bold Predictions for Wisconsin Football Fall Camp

Battles at quarterback, left tackle and pass-rusher should produce fireworks in August.

Wisconsin quarterback Ryan Hopkins. | Christian Borman.

Whereas spring practice can sometimes feel like college football's equivalent of OTAs, fall ball more closely resembles training camp.

The spring is a more exploratory phase. Coaching staffs need to get a feel for what they have on the roster. There's often much more positional shuffling and experimentation in spring practice, as even at the end of the spring the season remains months away. Fall camp and the 15 practices it promises are still on the horizon.

But by the time fall camp arrives, it's all hands on deck. There's jobs to be won and lost. There's pecking orders to be solidified. There's roles, both vital and niche, to be claimed.

As we continue to preview Wisconsin's fall camp here at Badgers On SI, here's three bold predictions for when Fickell and company take the field under the August sun:

1. Ryan Hopkins wins the QB2 gig — and it isn't particularly close

Wisconsin quarterback Ryan Hopkins. | Christian Borman.

Wisconsin currently has one of the best problems you can have in college football; they appear to have an abundance of competent quarterbacks.

Colton Joseph is obviously the starter and he figures to take every rep with the ones as he did in the spring. The Badgers brought in Deuce Adams from Louisville to be a promising, capable backup with Power Four experience, but the true freshman early-enrollee Hopkins is already neck and neck with him.

Through 15 practices, Hopkins already looks like the future of the quarterback position in Madison. As surprising as that is, Wisconsin doesn't gain anything from burying him on the depth chart. The Badgers thought they'd need Adams because they didn't know Hopkins would be this good this quickly. Now that he is? It's a tough break for Adams, but if Hopkins is the future, why let him waste away at QB3?

“I’ve been in college for two seasons, so I definitely think I can teach him some things, cause I have the experience," Adams said of Hopkins this spring.

That sounds like a man feeling the heat from the Hopkins, who's nipping at his heels in hot pursuit of the backup quarterback gig. If Hopkins looks just as good as Adams in fall camp, there's no good reason why he shouldn't be QB2. It may sour the relationship with Adams, but that's life in college football. The Badgers have a locked-in starter and a young gunslinger of the future; that doesn't leave much room for the third-year journeyman Adams.

2. Left tackle comes down to the wire

Wisconsin offensive tackles PJ Wilkins (71) and Lucas Simmons-Johansson. | Christian Borman.

Ole Miss transfer PJ Wilkins is currently the frontrunner to hold down Wisconsin's blindside tackle spot. He'll open fall camp as the starter and for now, is the odds-on favorite. But I see the battle between him and Florida State transfer Lucas Simmons-Johansson raging to the bitter end.

Former consensus top-60 national recruit Kevin Heywood is penciled in as the starting right tackle, and that won't change. That means Wilkins and Simons-Johansson are battling for the same spot in true mano a mano fashion.

Again, Wilkins was the starting left tackle in spring ball. However, the former Seminole Simmons-Johansson began to press him at the end after a slow start. Towards the end of the spring, Simmons-Johansson took reps with the starters at tackle. What's more, he's apparently attacked the offseason with a purpose — offensive line coach Eric Mateos said he's already put on 12 pounds since spring ball and was one of the more impressive players during summer workouts.

Thus, Simmons-Johansson is picking up steam at the right time. This position battle should be fireworks for 15 practices.

3. Young pass-rusher flies up the depth chart

Wisconsin OLB Nick Clayton. | Christian Borman.

The two positions I'm most concerned about on the 2026 Badgers? Wide receiver and outside linebacker. I'm not sure the pass-catchers do much to assuage our concerns this fall, but I do see a young pass-rusher really coming into his own in fall camp.

That would be Nick Clayton. The former blue-chip prospect garnered significant praise all offseason, to the point where outside backers coach Matt Mitchell said he might be his best pass-rusher despite playing just 15 snaps last fall as a freshman.

Wisconsin desperately needs pass-rush juice on the outside. Sebastian Cheeks is very solid in that department, but the Badgers need to be able to generate pressure off the edge in defensive coordinator Mike Tressel's scheme. Listen to the staff talk about Clayton, and it's hard to imagine him without a sizable role this fall.

“The kid’s a freak. He’s a freak of nature, god has blessed him no doubt genetically. He has traits that you just can’t coach. The pass-rush, the twitch, the instincts," strength and conditioning director Brady Collins said.