Transfer Wideout Healthy and Making an Immediate Impact in Badgers' Fall Camp

Who will step up in the receiving game for Wisconsin to erase a woeful 2025 offensive season?

It’s one of the largest looming questions of the offseason, and one that is starting to be answered in fall camp, but until Ari Confesor’s wideouts produce between the lines on Saturday’s it’s one that needs monitoring.

Eugene Hilton has been the breakout star of camp, Chris Brooks seems to be a stable veteran presence and Malachi Coleman had a breakout day, but there remains a need for someone to prove they will be a regular target for Colton Joseph this fall.

In recent days, Confesor has seen a fresh face make a big splash in his room, as Oklahoma State transfer Shamar Rigby has stacked consecutive quality days. The junior receiver started his career in the Big Ten at Purdue, and now he’ll have an opportunity to return to the conference in a higher-impact role.

The quarterback play at Oklahoma State in 2025 wasn’t nearly as bad as Wisconsin’s but it wasn’t good. The Cowboys averaged about 174 yards per game through the air, making it difficult for receivers to produce. Rigby tallied 351 yards on 25 receptions, but those numbers probably don’t tell the full story.

He would have nearly led Wisconsin in receiving with those stats, but if Grimes could draw nearly 400 yards out of a guy who’s not his top receiver in 2026, he’d likely feel pretty good about his offense.

Rigby started camp a bit dinged up, and didn’t participate in any live periods until this weekend, but since getting in on live action, he’s stood out as much as any receiver.

Watching him live, the speed stands out, but he’s shown that he can be more than just a deep-ball threat that can get behind a defense. On Sunday, he pulled down a nice back-shoulder catch for a gain of at least 25 yards. It was his best play of the day and a welcoming sight in the first opportunity to see him live this fall.

Rigby stacking good days

Wisconsin's Shamar Rigby — Shamar Rigby at practice on August 7. | Christian Borman

Monday morning, he put together another well-rounded performance, earning plenty of reps with the ones and twos, despite having been sidelined for live periods until recent days. On Monday morning, he had to shake off a rocky start, which included a few drops, but had a strong finish to the practice.

Everybody wants to see Wisconsin throw deep after being a non-threat through the air in 2025, and Rigby could be a guy who helps turn that narrative around. In run with the twos today, he caught a deep pass along the sideline from Deuce Adams, marking the offense’s longest play of the day.

He followed it up by scoring the last touchdown of the day for the offense, as he streaked across the endzone and made a contested catch during a period working from the 10-yard line.

The sample size is small at this point, as Rigby has only gone live a few times, but it’s clear that Confesor views him as a guy who could have an impact. Any guy Joseph can trust with a jump ball downfield is a plus, but if he can be productive in the short to middle-distance downs too, Rigby can be a major weapon.

With such a limited sample size, it’s hard to form any concrete conclusions about Rigby at this point, but he’s a power-conference transfer with some history of production, so there’s upside there that Wisconsin will look to tap into.

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