Winners and Losers From Day 4 of Wisconsin Football's Fall Camp

Which Badgers raised eyebrows Sunday, and who needs to bounce back?

Wisconsin WR Eugene Hilton. | Christian Borman.

The fourth practice of Wisconsin football's fall camp was quite an eventful one.

Donning at least partial pads and practicing for the fourth day in a row before the team's first off day of camp, the plenty of Badgers made statements Sunday morning inside the Kellner Family Athletic Center — both good and bad.

As we continue our coverage of fall camp at Badgers On SI, here's a handful of winners and losers from Sunday morning in Madison:

WINNERS

Wisconsin LBs Mason Posa, Cooper Catalano | Christian Borman.

WR Malachi Coleman

Coleman was the biggest standout Sunday morning. Do the Badgers finally have a playmaker emerging at a position where they desperately need it? They just might. Coleman was unguardable, catching everything thrown his way. He's clearly one of the more gifted players on this offense; he needs to accumulate his fair share of targets this fall in an offense that lacks explosiveness.

LBs Mason Posa, Cooper Catalano

Both linebackers played like their usual dominant selves at practice No. 4. Each inside backer had an interception: Posa picked off Colton Joseph in 11-on-11 work, while Catalano reeled in an acrobatic pick in 7-on-7s on a throw from Carter Smith, tipping the ball to himself mid-air. Both players are of course locked into starting roles, but it was good to see them look like themselves.

CB Eric Fletcher

Fletcher is in the heat of battle with Jai'mier Scott for the starting field cornerback role. The pair appear to be neck-and-neck, especially after Sunday's session. If Scott had a slight lead, which was the impression I entered practice with, Fletcher may have leveled the playing field Sunday morning. He had the most emphatic PBU of the entire practice, breaking up a short throw from Deuce Adams and immediately celebrating emphatically.

OLB Nick Clayton

Clayton simply has the feel of a player who's going to be essentially impossible to keep off the field. He was easily the Badgers' best pass-rusher Sunday, and he got into the backfield on almost every rep. On one occassion, he dusted Lucas-Simmons-Johansson twice in a row and made it look quite easy.

WR Eugene Hilton

Hilton still doesn't display any elite traits outside of maybe his hands. But he (unofficially) led Wisconsin in receptions Sunday morning, reeling in almost everything thrown in his vicinity and proving to be a reliable option for both Joseph and Adams. It's fair to say, at this juncture, that we can lock Hilton into one of the top three perimeter wide receiver spots. Whether that results in him technically being a starter is another story, but Hilton looks like Mr. Reliable at wideout.

LOSERS

QB Deuce Adams

Wisconsin quarterback Deuce Adams. | Christian Borman.

Adams made a few nice throws Sunday, but I thought his day was more negative overall. He missed a handful of receivers, like when he overthrew tight end Emmett Bork in the flat on what should've been a relatively easy completion. It was a sloppy day for the quarterback overall, as he and receiver Tyrell Henry also fumbled an exchange on a jet sweep. The good news? Ryan Hopkins, who he's battling for the backup quarterback gig, didn't have the best day himself.

OT Lucas Simmons-Johansson

It wasn't the best day for the offensive line overall, but Simmons-Johansson had a particularly rough go of it when he was forced to line up against Clayton. As mentioned, Clayton got past him easily on consecutive reps. If Kevin Heywood is forced to miss significant time in camp, the Florida State transfer should have more time and reps to get comfortable and settle in. Still, Sunday was rather forgettable.

Second-Team Offensive Line

Offensive line coach Eric Mateos unloaded on his second-team offensive line during a break Sunday morning. "That's a huge drop off from the first to the second group because of focus," he lamented with plenty of expletives sprinkled in. He wasn't wrong; one team period in particular suffered from some lack of cohesion along the Badgers' second-team offensive front.