Updating Wisconsin Football's Right Tackle Situation With Kevin Heywood Injured

The Badgers are in something of a bind along their offensive line early in fall camp.

Nothing catastrophic has happened yet — we're not quite at Defcon 1 like we were last season, when projected starting left tackle Kevin Heywood tore his ACL in spring camp, setting off a chain reaction of shifts and adjustments in the offensive trenches that were a big culprit of the doomed Wisconsin offense.

Still, the Badgers are currently down two starters on the right side of their offensive line: guard Emerson Mandell and tackle Kevin Heywood.

Mandell underwent surgery on his foot midway through spring camp, and has yet to participate this fall. But Heywood, the Badgers' prized tackle whom many consider to be the team's best NFL prospect, is dealing with an ailment of his own.

The lineman sustained an injury on Friday's practice, the second session of fall camp. He has yet to practice since.

The (relatively) good news? Heywood's injury, at least to the naked eye, doesn't seem extremely significant yet. He's suited up yet still a non-participant in practice. The tackle is present and interacting with his fellow linemen, still being a vocal leader while remaining sidelined.

How Wisconsin has handled Heywood's absence

Wisconsin right tackle Kevin Heywood. | Christian Borman.

There's no telling what the extent of Heywood's injury is at this juncture. He's officially "day-to-day," per UW communications, but that doesn't mean a whole lot at the moment.

It's no secret that this is a massive story developing in fall camp. If Heywood is indeed dealing with something serious, it would be a significant handicap — once again — on the Badgers' offense. Wisconsin's line looks deeper this year, sure, but no offensive line unit in the country is fully prepared to lose potentially its best player.

But again, there's plenty of reasons for optimism at the moment. It's early yet. Heywood is suited up and around the team, and "day-to-day" doesn't sound that bad on paper.

For the time being, Wisconsin has replaced Heywood at right tackle with Florida State transfer Lucas Simmons-Johansson. That's pretty unsurprising considering he was thought to be battling PJ Wilkins for the starting left tackle gig; in theory, the Badgers should still have two tackles they believe to be starter-caliber.

At the moment, the Badgers' starting offensive line is as follows, from left to right: Wilkins, Colin Cubberly, Ausin Kawecki, Blake Cherry and Simmons-Johansson.

While losing Heywood for an extended period of time would be a massive blow, Wisconsin is still in a better place than it was a year ago in that same situation. Though nothing truly devastating has unfolded along the offensive line, it's getting dicey with two starters out just four practices into fall camp.

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