Wisconsin OL Coach Eric Mateos Names the Player Who's Impressed Him This Summer

It's something of a general consensus at this point that if Wisconsin football is going to return to — and eventually surpass — its glory days, the offensive line must lead the charge as the Badgers re-establish their physical, pound-the-rock mentality.

The man tasked with leading this renaissance in the offensive trenches, new offensive line coach Eric Mateos, has looked every bit up for the task since arriving in Madison this winter.

For starters, he's killed it on the recruiting trail, locking up a strong class of five offensive lineman, all from the state of Wisconsin. The crown jewel of the haul is blue-chip offensive tackle Cole Reiter from Germantown.

But Mateos has also seamlessly fit into the culture at Wisconsin, or at least, the culture it's trying to reconstruct. He's taken veiled shots at the Badgers' previous air raid offensive scheme, clearly favoring and meshing well with the pro-style, inside zone-predicated downhill rushing attack orchestrated by Jeff Grimes.

Mateos has also been one of Wisconsin's coaching staff's more visible online presences, and he and new running backs coach Jayden Everett got into it with Minnesota fans on X recently. But Mateos also commented on a post from yours truly promoting the Badgers On SI article naming a sleeper at each position on offense. We highlighted Florida State transfer Lucas Simmons-Johnansson, and Mateos wholeheartedly agreed:

Couldn’t agree more. @LucasSimmons55 has been one of the more impressive players during summer workouts!! Already put on 12 lbs since spring ended.
— Eric Mateos 🦡 (@CoachMateos) June 22, 2026

What Lucas Simmons-Johansson's big summer means

The former Seminole being "one of the more impressive players" this summer should be music to Badgers fans ears. Simmons is projected to be a second-string offensive tackle (likely the No. 3 player at the position overall) behind Kevin Heywood and PJ Wilkins.

But that's exactly the kind of news you want to hear in the offseason: backups showing serious growth and competing, potentially pushing starters for reps. That kind of competition up and down a roster can create a dangerous team.

In essence, it'd be one thing to hear Heywood and/or Wilkins was killing it this summer. That'd obviously be welcome news too. However, Simmons-Johansson's progression indicates the depth and competition at offensive tackle is trending upwards, which is arguably better news.

Here's how I'd project Wisconsin's offensive tackle two-deep at the moment:

Left Tackle	Right Tackle
PJ Wilkins (R-Jr)	Kevin Heywood (R-So)
Lucas Simmons-Johansson (R-Jr)	Barrett Nelson (R-Sr)

Again, Wilkins and Heywood are locked in as starters currently. But Barrett Nelson was out for spring ball, and I'd firmly put Simmons-Johansson ahead of him regardless, especially with this new intel detailing his stellar summer thus far.

Last fall, the Badgers ran into a huge tackle problem when they immediately had to pivot to Plan C following Week 1 after Heywood tore his ACL in the spring and his replacement, Davis Heinzen, allowed two sacks against Miami (OH) in the opener.

That forced them to play Emerson Mandell at right tackle, out of position, and it wasn't pretty at times. Now, Wisconsin appears to have three legit tackles it should trust on game day. That's a huge upgrade from last season, when it barely had one.

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