Two freshmen emerge as standout players at Wisconsin Badgers fall camp practice Wednesday

PLATTEVILLE, Wis. -- The Wisconsin Badgers took to Ralph E. Davis Pioneer Stadium on Wednesday to continue its fall camp. With the pads on, the session provided an extended look at 11-on-11 action.

Here's four players who stood out during Wednesday's practice:

Geimere Latimer

Latimer continues to stack quality practices. He out-muscled Tyrell Henry during one-on-ones, never letting Henry come out of his break on what was supposed to be a slant.

He had an equally impressive rep against Trech Kekahuna, playing blanket coverage before batting the pass down.

Latimer's third pass breakup came in team portions, when he came off the edge on a blitz. He read Billy Edwards' eyes and smacked the football into the turf as Edwards attempted to throw a check-down pass around Latimer.

Emerson Mandell

Mandell has drawn praise for his strength this offseason, especially for his age as a redshirt freshman. Jake Renfro said Monday that he'd never seen a guy as young as Mandell really dent defensive linemen after the snap.

As Mandell begins to settle in at the right guard position, it's easy to see the excitement about him in 2025. He was excellent in the run game Wednesday, attacking and displacing defenders to open up running lanes for tailbacks. The first unit had great success running up the middle.

Danny O'Neil

The backup quarterback made some really nice throws and has seemingly established a solid rapport with freshman wideout Eugene Hilton. He found Hilton after baiting Owen Arnett into jumping offside, throwing the ball up during the free play for Hilton to high point for a 30-yard gain.

The SDSU transfer also squeezed a ball between two defenders to Hilton for a gain of 15 to 20 yards, lacing a tight spiral just past the outstretched hands of Cooper Catalano.

O'Neil has flashed with exciting plays since stepping on campus, and he offered some of the consistency Wednesday that he'll need to compete for the starting job in 2026.

Nicholas Clayton

It's difficult to poke holes in Clayton's capabilities from a physical standpoint. The true freshman outside linebacker has shown time and time again that he is capable of competing with and beating some of the best offensive linemen Wisconsin has to offer.

The bigger question was how fast he'd adjust to the mental pace required to play at the collegiate level. He showed his growth in that department Wednesday, making a pair of nice plays late in the session.

He didn't bite on what looked to be a jet sweep, instead staying in his gap and stuffing the ballcarrier. On the very next play, Clayton was the quarterback's primary read for what appeared to be a read option.

He parked his feet long enough to bait the signal caller into handing the ball off, and then broke on the running back to make a tackle at the line of scrimmage.

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