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WR Factory? Multiple former Wisconsin Badgers receivers thrived on new teams in Week 1

The Wisconsin Badgers know how to identify wide receivers, even if their success comes on other teams.
Lorin Cox|
Wisconsin wide receiver Keontez Lewis (3) celebrates after scoring a touchdown during a NCAA Big Ten Conference football game against Iowa, Saturday, Nov. 12, 2022, at Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City, Iowa.
Wisconsin wide receiver Keontez Lewis (3) celebrates after scoring a touchdown during a NCAA Big Ten Conference football game against Iowa, Saturday, Nov. 12, 2022, at Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City, Iowa. | Joseph Cress/Iowa City Press-Citizen / USA TODAY NETWORK

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Wisconsin Badgers

The Wisconsin Badgers are well known for the offensive linemen they produce, and the program is buliding a reputation for quality linebackers too.

If Week 1 was any indication, we might need to add wide receiver to the list.

Badgers fans are already plenty excited about what they have in Vinny Anthony II, Trech Kekahuna and budding freshman Eugene Hilton.

But even Wisconsin's castoff receivers are exceeding expectations.

Keontez Lewis was part of the Badgers offense in 2022 and briefly in 2023 before entering the transfer portal. Now, he's at Oklahoma, where he started the season with nine catches for 119 yards and two touchdowns against Illinois State.

That put him in the Top 20 of all receivers in the nation for Week 1.

He wasn't the only former Wisconsin wideout who shined to start the season.

Skyler Bell was teammates with Lewis in Madison for both seasons before he transferred to Connecticut.

The Huskies started the season against Central Connecticut with four catches for 135 yards and two touchdowns, including an 80 catch-and-run screen pass.

His performace was the sixth-most receiving yards of any WR in Week 1.

It was a much slower start for former fan favorite Will Pauling, who was not targeted on nine routes run in Notre Dame's season-opening loss to Miami (FL).

Expectations are high for Pauling as the season wears on, but for now, he's making it easier for Badgers fans not to miss him.

It's never fun to see a program's former players finding greener grass on another team, but at least it's a positive reflection of the school's ability to identify talent, even it it comes to fruition somewhere else.

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Lorin Cox
LORIN COX

Lorin Cox is the managing editor of Wisconsin Badgers on SI. He has been covering Badgers sports since 2014, when he was an undergraduate at the University of Wisconsin. He previously wrote for the Wisconsin State Journal, NBC Sports Chicago and USA Today Sports Media Group, and he is a former analyst for Pro Football Focus.

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