Wisconsin Veteran Identifies 2 Key Differences With the 2026 Badgers as Fall Camp Ends

Program stalwart Chris Brooks Jr. sees some important differences in the 2026 Badgers.

Wisconsin WR Chris Brooks Jr. | Christian Borman.

Wisconsin football has just one more practice left in fall camp before everything it does will revolve around prepping for Notre Dame.

Fall camp, as it usually does, has answered some questions and posed some new ones. We know a lot more about this team than we did at the start of the month, even as position battles rage on and injury question marks remain.

The 2026 edition of the Wisconsin Badgers is comprised of, among other things, a great deal of transfers, many of whom are expected to come in and make an immediate impact. Through 30 total practices between spring and fall camp, it's clear that many of said transfers are the plug-and-play starters Wisconsin envisioned.

Players like Old Dominion transfer gunslinger Colton Joseph and Arizona State transfer cornerback Javan Robinson will drive their respective units while being some of the top leaders on the team. That much we know for certain.

Plenty of returning players, however, are slated to play a key role as well. And those returning players have a better perspective on how the Badgers have improved, as they've obviously been around the team for longer.

Team captain and fifth-year wideout Chris Brooks Jr. is one of the players, and speaking after practice this week, he illustrated two areas with the Badgers where he sees significant change:

Quarterback play

Wisconsin quarterback Colton Joseph runs with the ball during spring practice. | Christian Borman

Wisconsin had some of the worst quarterback play in the country last season; that much is well-documented. It deployed the fifth-worst passing game in the FBS, ahead of only Northern Illinois and three triple-option offenses.

“I hate to say it, but I think just the quarterback play. That was always the big difference, like, I always felt there was a drop-off after Danny (O'Neil) last year," Brooks said. "This year, I don’t really feel like there’s a drop-off anywhere…I feel good with who’s in charge.”

This is somewhat surprisingly honest from Brooks, but I felt he could've been even more forthcoming — even the drop-off from Billy Edwards Jr to O'Neil was significant with how much the Badgers' passing game changed (regressed).

Still, this is of course very encouraging to hear, as Wisconsin has been starved for competent quarterback play.

Effort and attitude

Wisconsin football fall camp. | Christian Borman.

The want-to and camaraderie in Wisconsin's locker room last season has been called into question many times and eventually, straight-up lamented. We know the Badgers didn't have the tightest, most bought-in team last season. That's common knowledge at this point. Brooks says it's a different story in 2026.

“The defense is good, they’re gonna get the best of us sometimes, but we haven’t deferred to them. We come back and we fight. That’s something I’m happy to see. We don’t have a team of people who are gonna give up when things don’t go right," he said, which of course implies that wasn't the case last fall.

"I think we have a lot of guys who are ready for the fight," he continued.

This is a big deal. Brooks, who's been in Madison his entire college career, has seen it all. He's seen multiple regimes, he's seen a variety of levels of connectedness between his teammates. The fact that Brooks feels like he has teammates that are ready to go to war with him is a tremendous sign — especially with what awaits in Week 1.