There’s a certain point where a Wisconsin football player’s development stops being about projection and starts becoming about expectation and seeing what he’s actually ready to handle when the moment calls for it.

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That’s where Emmett Bork is beginning to live.

The redshirt freshman tight end from Oconomowoc, Wisconsin, still checks all the boxes you’d expect from a developmental piece. He’s 6-foot-6, 255 pounds, a former three-star recruit who flipped from Michigan State late in the cycle, and a player who saw the field just once as a true freshman (1 snap) in 2025, making his debut against Middle Tennessee State. On paper, that’s the profile of someone still waiting his turn.

But inside the program, the tone around Bork is starting to change.

“From a physical standpoint, you look at his body type — he’s a well put-together kid,” tight ends coach Nate Letton said. “He’s done a great job working incredibly hard, and one of the things I’m most impressed with about Bork is his work capacity. He rarely fatigues, gets tired, or hits a wall, and that’s a skill — a gift. He keeps pushing his limits, which is really cool.

“And in terms of football growth, there are some tangible fundamental techniques he’s worked hard at becoming proficient in.”

The physical traits were never the question. Wisconsin knew what it was getting when it flipped Bork late in the recruiting cycle, an in-state prospect with a wide catch radius, strong frame, and enough athletic upside to project as a legitimate mismatch in the passing game with time to develop. The early enrollment last spring only reinforced that belief.

What has mattered more over the past year is everything that doesn’t show up in a measurables column.

“We had to lay a year-long foundation of football — learning how to approach the game, how to prepare for practices, and putting himself in position to make decisions post-snap that fit within the offense,” Letton explained.

“He’s done a really nice job of learning and growing on that front, and I’m excited for where he’s going. I want our mindset in that room to be a relentless pursuit of continuous improvement.”

That growth tends to show itself in the moments most fans never think about. It’s one thing to know the play call in the huddle. It’s another to process everything that can happen after the snap, especially at a position that lives in the gray area between the line of scrimmage and the passing game. In Jeff Grimes offense, a single concept can branch into multiple outcomes depending on the front, the leverage, and how the defense rotates late. For Bork, that means stacking practice reps and getting to the point where the right decision becomes second nature.

“That’s the essence of playing tight end in this system,” said Letton. “Emmett and the rest of the group have to continue being exposed to different looks, seeing different fronts and defenses, and making those decisions correctly.”

That’s the tradeoff with young tight ends in this system. The role demands more than just catching passes or setting an edge. It’s about processing, reacting, and making the right decision when the picture changes after the snap. Bork is still climbing that curve. But the staff believes he’s doing it the right way and likes what Bork can become.

Part of that belief comes from something harder to quantify.

“Emmett’s personality is exactly what you want in a college football player,” Letton said. “He never comes into the building and sucks the energy out of the room. He’s excited to be there. He’s tight with everybody in the locker room. When you’re around him, you feel happier.

“As we got to know him through the recruiting process, you felt that. He’s a guy from the state who loves Wisconsin, wears the logo with pride, and takes ownership of his opportunity to be here. That’s really cool. I’m really pleased he’s going to have the chance to affect the game on Saturdays.”

That in-state connection matters here. It always has. Players who understand what it means to wear that jersey tend to carry themselves a little differently, especially when the expectations start to rise.

And those expectations are coming.

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For the first time in nearly half a century, the Wisconsin football program didn’t hear a single player’s name called during the NFL Draft.

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The Badgers went without a selection across all 257 picks in the 2026 NFL Draft, ending a 47-year streak of producing at least one draft pick. It was a run that dated back to 1978. In a sport where draft results often mirror the health of a program, it reflected the reality of a 4-8 season and back-to-back losing seasons under Wisconsin head coach Luke Fickell.

But even in a year without a selection, there were still decisions being made. And one of the more notable ones came after the draft.

That’s where players like Wisconsin edge rusher Mason Reiger come into focus. There are always a handful of players throughout this process whose path feels less about what they were on tape and more about what they proved they could still become. Reiger fits that mold, ultimately landing with the Miami Dolphins as an undrafted free agent — a surprising outcome for a player widely viewed as a potential Day 3 pick, whose lone season in Madison checked many of the boxes NFL scouts look for.

“Walk on out of high school. Told to medically retire-Only 1 offer out of the portalUDFA,” Reiger wrote on Instagram. “The best part about this is that it’s nothing new to me. I’ve been proving everyone wrong for the last 6 years. Thanking God for the opportunity to do it again. Stay tuned.”

At 6-foot-5, 248 pounds, Reiger joined the Badgers as a graduate transfer from Louisville, carrying more uncertainty than guarantees. He missed the entire 2024 season due to injury, and when coach Fickell and his staff brought him in to play a significant role on defense, it wasn’t based on recent production. It was a calculated bet on traits, tape, and the belief that the version of Reiger they saw before the injury was still in there.

That belief didn’t take long to be validated.

During Reiger’s senior season with the Wisconsin Badgers, he appeared in all 12 games and emerged as one of the most disruptive players along a defensive front that desperately needed pass-rushing juice off the edge. He finished with 33 total tackles (18 solo), along with 6.0 tackles for loss and five sacks. But the impact went a lot deeper than the counting stats.

Reiger generated 45 total pressures, consistently affecting quarterbacks even when he wasn’t finishing the play. That kind of down-to-down disruption showed up in the advanced metrics, too. According to Pro Football Focus, the Illinois native posted an 82.3 overall defensive grade across 514 snaps, including an 82.5 pass-rush grade and a 78.4 mark against the run.

That’s not just production. That’s high-level efficiency.

And in a league that increasingly values players who can win their reps consistently — not just occasionally — and do it against high-level competition like Reiger faced in the Big Ten, that matters. But beyond the on-field production and talent for the former walk-on, Reiger’s off-field qualities and his pro-like demeanor make him a worthwhile investment.

Inside Wisconsin’s football program, Reiger was viewed as a foundational piece in the locker room — someone whose approach to preparation and accountability elevated the group around him. Coaches trusted him. In a disappointing 2025 season that came with no shortage of challenges, he became a steady presence, the kind of player who showed up the same way every day regardless of circumstance. That resilience is important.

Because for NFL teams, especially in the undrafted market, you’re not just betting on film and traits. You’re also betting on habits. You’re betting on the ability to handle adversity, develop, and carve out a role over time.

Reiger has already done that once.

Now, he’ll be asked to do it again at the next level.

He wasn’t the only former Badger to find an opportunity after the draft.

Several former players landed undrafted free agent deals across the league, headlined by a pair of signings with the Atlanta Falcons in offensive tackle Riley Mahlman and wide receiver Vinny Anthony II. The Los Angeles Rams added multiple pieces as well, bringing in edge rusher Darryl Peterson and cornerback Nyzier Fourqurean, while safety Austin Brown signed with the Indianapolis Colts.

Elsewhere, tight end Lance Mason landed with the Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks, fullback Jackson Acker joined the Buffalo Bills, and defensive lineman Ben Barten secured a spot with the New York Giants. Along the defensive front, Jay’Viar Suggs signed with the New Orleans Saints, and Parker Petersen found a home with the Carolina Panthers.

A few others will get their shot through rookie minicamps. Wide receiver Jayden Ballard earned invites from both the Tennessee Titans and Colts, while kicker Nathanial Vakos earned an opportunity with the Buccaneers.

It’s not the path most envision when they arrive to play for a program like Wisconsin. But for this group, it’s the one in front of them now.

In a lot of ways, Wisconsin’s absence from the draft board is a reflection of where the program stands right now. This isn’t just about adjusting to a new era of college football, which they’ve been slow to adapt to; it’s about identifying, developing, and producing NFL-level talent, and that hasn’t happened consistently enough under Fickell. The draft numbers make that clear. Fifteen FBS programs produced seven or more picks in 2026, and 231 of the 257 selections came from Power Four conferences.

That’s the gap.

It doesn’t close overnight, but with an influx of resources and a clearer understanding of what it takes to compete at the highest level, the hope is that Wisconsin is at least moving a step closer to what it’s chasing.

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There’s a reason inside linebacker is the one spot on the University of Wisconsin football team’s roster that feels rock solid right now — and it has very little to do with spring depth charts or offseason hype.

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It’s about proof.

When Mason Posa and Cooper Catalano were forced into bigger roles late in the 2025 season, they didn’t look like placeholders. They didn’t look like players treading water until help arrived. They looked like answers. Not finished products, to be clear, but real solutions. The kind you build a defense around instead of continually searching for difference makers.

That matters more than ever in college football’s current climate.

Posa and Catalano weren’t just serviceable during a lost season that ended in 4-8. They were legitimately impactful. And they did it without the benefit of having the long runway so many young players get now.

Catalano enrolled early last spring. Posa didn’t. That detail gets glossed over, but it shouldn’t. Posa arrived in the summer, went through fall camp, and climbed the depth chart on the fly. Even still, Posa ended his true freshman season as a third-team All-Big Ten linebacker. That’s not a normal development curve. That’s accelerated growth under live fire.

What’s changed now is the expectation.

“It is,” Posa said when asked if his approach is different heading into Year 2. “Everybody just looked at us as freshmen who could make some plays, but before spring ball, Coach Tress and Coach Tuf pulled us aside, telling us it’s our defense now. We’re going to run the show. We need leaders.”

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The University of Wisconsin football program has landed its first out-of-state commit in the 2027 recruiting class.

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And it’s not just any addition.

Four-star quarterback Jack Sorgi, a legacy prospect with deep ties to the program, announced his verbal commitment to the Badgers over offers from Arkansas, Louisville, and Memphis, giving Luke Fickell and his staff a talented prospect at the most important position on the field.

The last name carries weight in Madison.

Sorgi is the son of former Wisconsin quarterback Jim Sorgi, who starred for the Badgers in the early 2000s before being selected in the 6th round of the 2004 NFL Draft by the Indianapolis Colts.

That connection doesn’t guarantee anything on Saturdays, but it does give the younger Sorgi a built-in understanding of what the position demands and what it means to play in this program.

“You’ve loved Wisconsin football for as long as we can remember… now watching that dream become reality has been so amazing and seeing you continue your dad’s legacy makes it even more special,” Sorgi’s parents posted on social media. “We are so proud of you, Jack! On Wisconsin ❤️”

Still, this wasn’t a recruiting win handed to Wisconsin.

Sorgi had previously been committed to Louisville, building a strong relationship with Jeff Brohm and the Cardinals’ staff. For a while, it looked like that landing spot would stick. But Wisconsin’s staff, led by Kenny Guiton and offensive coordinator Jeff Grimes, stayed involved behind the scenes, continued building that relationship, and ultimately positioned themselves well when his recruitment reopened earlier this spring.

That persistence paid off.

The 6-foot-4, 205-pound quarterback out of Tri-West High School in Indiana brings a combination of size, arm talent, and athleticism that fits what Wisconsin is trying to build offensively. As a junior, Sorgi completed 61.2% of his passes for 2,911 yards and 31 touchdowns to 14 interceptions, while also adding 156 yards of production on the ground.

The traits show up on film.

He’s a quarterback with the arm strength to drive the ball outside the numbers, but what stands out just as much is his ability to operate within structure. He’s comfortable getting the ball out on time, working through progressions, and delivering with touch when needed. When plays break down, he has enough athleticism, evidenced by his reported 4.67 40-yard dash, to extend and create without turning things into backyard football.

That balance matters.

There’s still development ahead. Like most high school quarterbacks, he’ll need to continue adding strength and adjust to the speed of the college game. But the baseline is there, and the tools are easy to see.

Quarterback commitments often set the tone for a class, and landing one rated among the 25 best nationally in the cycle can have a ripple effect across the rest of the offense. In this case, though, that tone was already being established by the deep in-state group Wisconsin has locked in early, making Sorgi more of an amplifier than a starting point. He still gives the Badgers staff something to point to when recruiting skill talent.

Sorgi now joins a group that already has a strong in-state foundation.

Wisconsin has secured commitments from edge rusher Isaac Miller, tight end Korz Loken, running back Kingston Allen, along with a strong group up front that includes offensive linemen Cole Reiter, Ethan McIntosh, and twins Hunter and Reece Mallinger, plus safety Dustin Roach.

It reinforces the staff’s emphasis on locking down talent within its footprint, and adding Sorgi gives that group another blue-chip recruit, signaling that the Badgers are willing to go beyond state lines to land the right pieces.

It’s early in the 2027 cycle, and there’s a long way to go. Nothing is final until the ink is dry on National Signing Day, but in this case, it brings a familiar name back to a program that knows exactly what it’s looking for at quarterback.

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The Wisconsin football team will be down a starting offensive lineman for the remainder of spring practice.

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That loss comes in the form of redshirt sophomore Emerson Mandell, a projected starting right guard who started all 12 games last season and logged 704 snaps, the most among Wisconsin’s offensive linemen.

Head coach Luke Fickell confirmed Mandell underwent foot surgery and will miss the rest of Spring practice, though the expectation is that he’ll be back in time for fall camp.

“Emerson’s out for the rest of Spring,” Fickell said. “He had a little surgery on his foot, and he’ll be down for the rest of Spring.”

That matters because Mandell wasn’t just another guy in the rotation last year. He was one of the few constants on a line that never quite put it together during Wisconsin’s 4-8 season.

Originally working at guard, Mandell kicked out to right tackle out of necessity and held his own through a season that asked a lot from him.

His overall Pro Football Focus grade landed at 63.2, but that number doesn’t fully capture the trajectory. There were early growing pains, particularly in pass protection, but his run blocking and overall comfort level improved as the season went on. By the end of the year, Mandell looked like someone the staff could trust.

And heading into this Spring, the plan was clear. Slide him back inside to right guard, his more natural position, and let him anchor a group that’s trying to establish a new identity under offensive line coach Eric Mateos.

Now, that plan hits pause.

In the meantime, Wisconsin is getting an extended look at its depth on the interior. Colin Cubberly and Blake Cherry have reportedly taken first-team reps at guard during the Spring, with Cubberly seeing the bulk of the work so far. It’s not a finished competition either. Stylz Blackmon has also worked at guard since arriving, but if he pushes his way into the mix, there’s some flexibility to shuffle pieces around and find the best five.

That’s really what this stretch becomes about.

With Austin Kawecki locked in at center and Kevin Heywood and P.J. Wilkins emerging as the top options at tackle, the focus now shifts to finding the right combination on the interior. This group needs to fit together in a way that makes sense, but also needs the time and continuity to become cohesive.

While losing a projected starter is never ideal, especially in an offense trying to re-establish its physicality up front, it does force answers to come a little sooner. Who can hold up in pass protection? Who can create movement in the run game? And maybe most importantly, who can be counted on when things aren’t perfect?

Mandell’s absence doesn’t change the long-term outlook if he’s back for fall camp. But in the short term, it shifts the spotlight to a group that still has plenty to prove. And for a Wisconsin Badgers offense trying to take the step from being one of the worst Power Four units in college football a season ago, to something Big Ten caliber, that evaluation might end up being just as important as anything Mandell would have shown this Spring.

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The Badgers lost Preston Zachman to a season-ending injury after just two games, and Austin Brown (40 tackles, three pass-breakups), Matt Jung (49 tackles), and the rest of the room were nothing to write home about.

Wisconsin returned Jung, Matthew Traynor, and a handful of younger developmental pieces for the 2026 season. However, it needed a steady, veteran presence to roam the back end of the defense — enter Marvin Burks Jr.

Burks joins the Badgers with 1,287 career snaps, according to PFF, and invaluable experience as a two-year starter in the SEC. It’s something of a foregone conclusion that he’s going to hold down a starting safety role.

So what does Burks bring to Wisconsin football? Below, BadgerNotes dives into the All-22 Film to investigate:

Eye-Discipline/Instincts

One of the first things you notice when watching Burks (#1) play is that he wastes very few steps. The safety trusts his eyes and instincts, and for good reason; they tend to be extremely sound.

Auburn tries a little misdirection handoff here, but Burks calmly reads the play and meets the halfback in the hole, where he’s already been wrapped up by a Missouri defender.

Burks doesn’t take a single step in the wrong direction, and again isn’t fooled by the quarterback Jackson Arnold’s fake speed option.

I never saw the safety get duped when opponents tried to run tricky misdirection plays and reverses. He wasn’t always the first man to the ball, given the nature of his position, but Burks consistently snuffed out plays adorned with eye-candy:

Above, Burks is the free safety in the back end of the defense. Mississippi State fakes the give to the halfback and instead goes with the wide receiver end-around. But Burks sniffs it out, takes a direct route to the ball-carrier, and delivers a hit to limit the Bulldogs to a gain of one or two yards.

The safety’s instincts also showed themselves on more standard plays, not just when the offense was trying to manipulate defenders’ eyes:

Above, Kansas shifts into a trips formation and tries to get a screen off quickly, hoping it’ll catch the Tigers’ defense out of position. Burks ensures that doesn’t happen.

Again: few (if any) wasted steps, a direct route to the ball-carrier, and clearly trusting what he’s seeing. These are the kinds of instincts refined by two years as a starter in the SEC.

Tackling

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There are moments in college athletics where a move happens on paper, but the ripple effects stretch far beyond a title change.

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Chris McIntosh leaving the University of Wisconsin for a newly created deputy commissioner for strategy role with the Big Ten is one of those moments. And if you’re looking for where the impact will be felt most immediately, you don’t have to look far. It starts with Luke Fickell.

Whether anyone wants to say it out loud or not, those two have been tied together from the beginning.

McIntosh made the call to move on from Paul Chryst in 2022. He navigated the uncomfortable middle ground with Jim Leonhard, who served as interim head coach. Then he took the big swing, pulling Fickell away from Cincinnati on a seven-year deal that was supposed to usher in a new era of Wisconsin football. The expectation wasn’t subtle. Compete for championships. Modernize the program. Raise the ceiling.

Instead, three seasons in, Wisconsin sits at 17–21 overall and 10–17 in Big Ten play. That’s not just falling short. That’s a program that overpromised, underdelivered, and is now trying to dig itself out of a hole.

And now the guy who made the hire is gone. There’s also a fair question about timing. With the head coach he brought in entering what many see as a pivotal season, stepping away now leaves someone else to deal with the outcome of a direction that McIntosh helped set in motion.

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The University of Wisconsin will soon be in the market for a new athletic director.

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With Chris McIntosh reportedly stepping aside to take a role as Deputy Commissioner for Strategy within the Big Ten, Wisconsin is now staring down a leadership transition at a time when the athletic department can least afford uncertainty.

With Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin already on her way out and broader uncertainty across the university system, Wisconsin now faces the task of replacing two of its most important decision-makers in the middle of one of the most volatile eras in college sports history.

In the meantime, deputy athletic director and football general manager Marcus Sedberry is expected to step in as interim athletic director, while Eric Wilcots, set to become interim chancellor following Mnookin’s departure, will help oversee the hiring process moving forward.

McIntosh, who took over for Barry Alvarez in 2021, framed his departure with appreciation when speaking to Sports Business Journal.

“To be able to work for the University of Wisconsin and certainly for the last five years as athletic director, to be able to pour everything I had into transitioning Wisconsin into a changing world, it’s just been an honor,” McIntosh said.

“I’ve said along the way that the best thing about Wisconsin is the people. I’ve been surrounded by the best people and people who care about, first and foremost, our student athletes and about the university. They’ve just given everything to making Wisconsin the best it can be.”

And while that sentiment reflects the pride of a former player turned administrator, evaluating his tenure is more complicated.

There were real successes. The Badgers captured four NCAA championships during McIntosh’s time at the helm, with volleyball breaking through in 2021 and women’s hockey continuing its dominance with national titles in 2023, 2025, and 2026. Those programs didn’t just sustain excellence — they reinforced Wisconsin’s identity as one of the nation’s premier all-around athletic departments.

But the conversation around McIntosh’s legacy will almost certainly begin and end with football.

His defining decision came when he moved on from head coach Paul Chryst midseason in 2022, passing over Jim Leonhard for the job and hiring Luke Fickell away from Cincinnati. It was bold. It was aggressive. And it was meant to signal that Wisconsin was ready to evolve.

Instead, the results have been uneven at best. Even if the hire itself made sense at the time, the program wasn’t funded properly from the start. It took way too long to adjust, and that falls on the athletic director.

Fickell holds a 17–21 overall record and is 10–17 in Big Ten play through three seasons, with the program coming off back-to-back losing campaigns, including a 4–8 finish in 2025. Attendance at Camp Randall has dipped. Fickell is firmly on the hot seat, the fanbase hasn’t exactly rallied behind him, and his buyout still sits north of $25 million.

That matters because the next athletic director won’t be walking into a blank slate. They’ll inherit a high-stakes decision already in motion, one that may soon require another course correction.

At the same time, they’ll be tasked with navigating an NIL landscape that Wisconsin was slow to fully embrace. While recent efforts, including a legislative push that secured $14.6 million annually in public funding for NIL-related initiatives, show a program trying to catch up, the perception is that the department spent too much time reacting rather than leading.

In many ways, the push to get the football program back on track has led to an overcorrection. A significant share of resources is now being funneled toward football because it drives the department’s financial engine.

That reality has left programs like men’s basketball in a position where they’re still expected to compete at a high level despite operating with an NIL budget that sits in the bottom third of the Big Ten.

That’s the challenge ahead.

The next athletic director must be both steady and forward-thinking. Someone who understands that success in today’s college athletics isn’t just about hiring the right coaches, but about funding them, supporting them, and positioning them to win in an increasingly professionalized environment. It needs to be someone who can also raise the resources necessary to field rosters capable of truly competing in the Big Ten.

There is, however, a foundation to build on.

Wisconsin still boasts elite programs in volleyball under Kelly Sheffield, women’s hockey led by Mark Johnson, and men’s hockey under Mike Hastings, along with a men’s basketball program that has maintained national relevance under Greg Gard. The infrastructure is there.

The expectations are clear. But so is the pressure.

Because this isn’t the same job that Pat Richter held when he helped pull the department out of financial instability in the 1990s. It’s not even the same one Barry Alvarez handed off to McIntosh in 2021. The rules have changed. The stakes have risen.

And now, the next person in that chair will be asked to navigate all of it while determining the department’s future, which still drives everything.

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Spring practice is underway for the Wisconsin football team, which means the Badgers have a clean slate. New faces, new systems, and a program that’s trying to find its footing after an underwhelming 4-8 season.

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Naturally, that leads to questions — about how critical it is for the starting quarterback to stay healthy and produce for Wisconsin’s offense, about where this roster actually stacks up in the Big Ten, and about what it all means for the program’s direction moving forward.

“We’ve got to try to stay as healthy as you possibly can in the spring,” head coach Luke Fickell said. “You get limited reps with the number of guys, so it’s hard to get younger guys work, but then you never have a chance sometimes to figure out what you can really do by going live.

“So we’re going to try to work this progression… because we do need to find out a lot about not just ourselves but all the guys in the program.”

Let’s get into it.

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During the Luke Fickell era at Wisconsin, there’s been a lot of debate around one topic in particular.

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In-state recruiting.

For a program that built its identity on keeping the best players in Wisconsin home since the Barry Alvarez administration, there’s been a belief that the Badgers staff wasn’t prioritizing it the way it once did, and that relationships across the state had taken a hit along the way.

Now, at least in the 2027 cycle, that narrative is starting to shift.

The Wisconsin Badgers currently hold eight commitments in the class. Notably, all eight verbal commits are from prospects inside state lines — a group that currently includes tight end Korz Loken, offensive linemen Cole Reiter, Hunter and Reece Mallinger, Ethan McIntosh, running back Kingston Allen, edge rusher Isaac Miller, and safety Dustin Roach.

That’s not something you stumble into.

“It’s everything,” Fickell said regarding what’s changed with in-state recruiting. “I think that the good thing about it all is I think that you are seeing, at least on the recruiting side of things, there’s a confidence level in the things that we’re doing.”

That confidence hasn’t always been easy to see from the outside.

Fickell’s recruiting staff has faced an uphill battle landing in-state talent since arriving in 2023. Wisconsin consistently missed on several of its top targets early on. Many were considered high-end prospects that held Badger offers but chose to leave the state for other Big Ten programs.

In cycles where the local talent pool wasn’t especially deep, those misses stood out even more, leaving the Badgers with thin in-state hauls and raising real questions about the program’s footing within its own borders.

“Sometimes it’s hard to see because it always comes down to wins,” Fickell said. “But guys that are inside the program, guys that come to the program, they do see something that’s growing. That’s a big thing for us.”

Two things can be true at once.

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There was no shortage of things that went wrong for Luke Fickell and the University of Wisconsin football team during its 4–8 season in 2025.

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You can point to the countless injuries at quarterback. You can point to an inconsistency at the skill positions. You can point to a lack of offensive identity. All of it is fair. But if you really strip it down from an execution standpoint, most of those problems trace back to one place.

Up front.

“That’s the number one thing offensively is the continuity of those guys up front,” Fickell said when asked about the focus for Wisconsin’s offensive line this spring. “I’m not going to dwell upon the past, but if there’s something that has probably not gone in the direction, individually or unit-wise, it has been the O-line. With the history here and what the expectations are here — that’s one of the big things.”

That’s not a throwaway line. That’s an acknowledgment.

Because for as much as the quarterback carousel defined last season, the offensive line never gave the offense a chance to stabilize or improve. There was constant shuffling. Players were asked to play out of position. Others were forced into roles they probably weren’t ready for yet.

And the result showed up in the numbers.

Wisconsin fielded the least productive offense in the Power Four last season, finishing No. 134 nationally in scoring (12.8 points per game) and No. 135 in total offense (253.1 yards per game). The run game — a foundational piece of the program’s identity — never found traction.

Then, after the season, more experience walked out the door.

Starting left guard Joe Brunner transferred to Indiana. Center Jake Renfro left for Illinois. Offensive tackle Riley Mahlman exhausted his eligibility.

Whatever continuity existed up front didn’t last.

So the response was predictable. Wisconsin moved on from A.J. Blazek and hired Eric Mateos as the new offensive line coach, leaning on his prior working relationship with offensive coordinator Jeff Grimes in hopes that familiarity can help this new group get up to speed quickly.

The next step was to go out and add bodies. A lot of them.

Most notably, Austin Kawecki arrives from Oklahoma State as a veteran presence expected to take over the starting center job. Kevin Heywood returns from an ACL injury and is expected to factor in at tackle. And then there’s P.J. Wilkins, an Ole Miss transfer who has primarily played guard in college but is now working at tackle since arriving in Madison.

That last part matters.

Because Mateos didn’t just inherit this group — he’s reshaping it.

“That’s what I really love about it, to be honest with you,” Fickell said about the offensive line. “I love being in that room right now because there are all new guys. There are some guys who played a little bit in [Colin] Cubberly and Emerson Mandell. But the nature of it is it’s a new group.”

It looks like one, too.

Colin Cubberly brings experience after being thrown into the fire last season. Emerson Mandell, who opened last year as the starting right guard, has shown positional flexibility after sliding out to tackle last season, but is now back working on the interior. Arkansas transfer Blake Cherry is competing on the interior, while younger or depth options like Lucas Simmons and Stylz Blackmon add competition behind them.

Even someone like Barrett Nelson, currently working back from another injury, is viewed as a candidate for the two-deep at tackle when healthy. There are more options. The challenge is turning that into answers.

“Look, we’ve got to get back to that group being a group,” said Fickell. “It’s not individuals. There are a lot of things we’ve got to be able to do... Yes, they understand the history. Yes, they understand the past. But it’s time to kind of say, ‘Look.’ This is a group that’s got to kind of reestablish the things that we believe in, and we are.”

And that’s where everything ties together. Because this isn’t just about fixing the offensive line in isolation, this is about supporting a completely reworked offense.

Nobody’s expecting this group to snap back to the gold standard of offensive line play that Wisconsin built its identity on overnight. But this is still a program that wants to run the ball, play with physicality up front, and lean into a system that now includes mobile quarterbacks.

Even if returning to an elite level immediately isn’t realistic, they do have to become a Big Ten-caliber unit — one capable of holding its own, creating movement, and giving the offense a chance to dictate terms instead of constantly reacting. Wisconsin has a new quarterback room led by Old Dominion transfer Colton Joseph. A reshaped running back group featuring Abu Sama and Darrion Dupree. A completely different mix at wide receiver. Changes at tight end. All of it depends on what happens up front.

If the line comes together, the Badgers’ offense has a path toward meaningful improvement after what was one of the least productive units Wisconsin has fielded in decades. If it doesn’t, it’s hard to see much changing, regardless of who’s under center or carrying the ball.

Fickell knows it. The staff knows it. The returning players know it.

Now it’s about proving it.

“I think that’s where a lot of the youth and the newer guys have been really refreshing — a little bit of a changeover,” Fickell said.

Refreshing is one way to put it. Necessary might be a better one. Because for Wisconsin to take a step forward and make it back to a bowl game for the first time since 2023, it starts where it always has. Up front.

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Sometimes recruiting momentum feels manufactured. Sometimes it’s real. Right now, the Wisconsin football program is on a heater with in-state recruits in the 2027 class — and this one is another significant domino.

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Four-star running back Kingston Allen announced his commitment to the Badgers, giving Luke Fickell and his staff a dynamic, homegrown playmaker to anchor the class. Allen chose Wisconsin over scholarship offers from Northwestern, Eastern Michigan, North Dakota State, and North Dakota, continuing a trend that’s become impossible to ignore.

Running backs coach Jayden Everett, who recently took over the role following Devon Spalding’s departure, served as the lead recruiter for the First Team All-State selection, building a strong relationship and helping position Wisconsin as the clear leader throughout the process.

“Blessed to make the commitment to the University of Wisconsin-Madison!!! Staying home 🦡🦡🦡,” Allen wrote.

The best players in the state are starting to stay home again.

And Allen isn’t just another name on the recruiting board. He’s widely viewed as one of the top players in Wisconsin — No. 1 in the state, depending on the service — and a top-10 running back nationally in the 2027 cycle. At 6-foot-1, 195 pounds, he brings the kind of size, burst, and versatility that fits exactly what Wisconsin has traditionally leaned on at the position, while still offering some explosiveness in the open field.

If you watched his junior season, the production speaks for itself.

Allen carried the ball 356 times for 3,436 yards and 57 touchdowns — both single-season state records — averaging 9.7 yards per carry and over 260 yards per game. That’s not just dominance. That’s control of a game from start to finish and doing so as an absolute workhorse.

And it didn’t stop when the lights got brighter.

During the WIAA state playoffs, Allen went on a run that bordered on absurd — 986 rushing yards and 15 touchdowns across his first two postseason games, including back-to-back performances of 477 and 509 yards. The junior tailback led Notre Dame Academy to a 13–1 record and a Division 2 state runner-up finish en route to Gatorade Wisconsin Player of the Year honors.

That matters.

Because it’s one thing to project talent. It’s another to watch a player consistently impose his will on defenses, regardless of situation or stage.

Allen’s game isn’t complicated. It’s efficient, explosive (runs a 4.50 40-yard dash), and physical. He sees it, hits it, and has the ability to run through contact or make defenders miss in space — traits that have him ranked as a top-200 recruit nationally in the 247Sports Composite.

There’s enough there in the passing game to keep defenses honest, and even some defensive experience that speaks to his overall athletic profile.

But zoom out for a second, because this is bigger than one player.

With Allen now in the fold, Wisconsin is up to eight commitments in the 2027 class — and all eight are from inside state lines. That group includes tight end Korz Loken, offensive linemen Cole Reiter, Hunter and Reece Mallinger, Ethan McIntosh, edge rusher Isaac Miller, and safety Dustin Roach.

That’s not accidental.

For a coaching staff that, at times, has been criticized for falling behind or neglecting in-state recruiting, this is what a course correction looks like. Identify the top players early. Build relationships. Stay consistent. Close.

And to their credit, they’ve done that.

This isn’t just about volume, either. On paper, this is shaping up to be one of the stronger in-state classes Wisconsin has seen in a while, and the Badgers are taking advantage of it — something that undoubtedly helps the program’s optics. Luke Fickell and his staff have hit on premium positions, stacked the offensive line, found projects, and now added a difference-maker at running back, with increased investment from the administration playing a role in helping make that push possible.

There’s still a long way to go. There always is in recruiting. But if you’re looking for signs that Wisconsin is serious about reestablishing its identity — not just on the field, but within its own borders — this is what it looks like. And with Allen in the class, that momentum just got a little more real.

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The University of Wisconsin football team’s coaching staff is doing everything it can to change the narrative around in-state recruiting — and so far, it’s working.

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The Badgers added another statement to that effort, landing verbal commitments from Sussex (Wis.) twin offensive linemen Hunter and Reece Mallinger, two prospects in the 2027 class who became priority targets.

Both held a strong list of Power Four offers — including Missouri, Iowa State, North Carolina, and Kansas — with Hunter drawing even more attention individually, picking up additional offers from programs like Duke, Illinois, Indiana, and Kentucky.

The decision didn’t come out of nowhere. Both prospects had been on Wisconsin’s radar for some time, and after several visits to Madison, the twins narrowed their recruitment down to Wisconsin and Kansas before ultimately choosing to stay home.

That matters.

“It means the world. It’s every kid’s dream to play for the home state school, and I get the chance to live it,” Reece Mallinger told BadgerNotes.

Because for a program that has taken some criticism in recent years for letting in-state talent slip away, stacking wins like this — especially with players who had legitimate Power Four options — is how you begin to rebuild trust both inside the state and with high school coaches across it.

Hunter Mallinger headlines the commitment from a recruiting rankings standpoint.

“I’m blessed to say I’m committing to the University of Wisconsin! Badger Nation, I’m home!🦡,” Hunter wrote.

The 6-foot-6, 290-pound offensive lineman checks in as a composite four-star prospect, ranked inside the top 400 nationally according to the composite. While he spent much of his junior season working at tackle, the expectation at the next level is that he’ll likely slide inside, where his frame, physicality, and developmental upside project well at guard.

He’s the type of prospect Wisconsin has built its identity around for years — long, athletic, mauling, and moldable in a strength program that has historically turned traits into production.

Reece Mallinger brings a similar profile, even if the recruiting rankings aren’t quite as high.

“Getting the chance to play with my twin brother is something truly special. We have an opportunity that people rarely go through, and I’m just excited to see where it goes,” Mallinger said.

At 6-foot-6, 285 pounds, Reece is ranked inside the top 1,000 nationally and projects as an interior offensive lineman at the next level. Like his brother, he spent time at tackle for Hamilton, but also showed the flexibility to move around the formation and play wherever needed.

Both brothers earned WFCA All-Region honors last season, further validating what the staff saw on tape.

And just as important as the evaluation is how Wisconsin got here.

Offensive line coach Eric Mateos played a significant role in building the relationship, establishing a connection quickly after taking over for AJ Blazek. Offensive coordinator Jeff Grimes, Casey Rabach, and head coach Luke Fickell were also involved throughout the process, helping reinforce the vision for what these players could become in the program.

That level of involvement shows up in decisions like this.

Because when a recruitment comes down to relationships and trust, especially for in-state prospects, it’s often less about selling a pitch and more about reinforcing a belief.

“Relationships were the biggest factor for me. Everyone at Wisconsin has been very supportive and caring,” Mallinger said.

With the Mallinger twins now in the fold, Wisconsin is up to seven commitments in the 2027 recruiting class — and notably, all seven are from inside state lines. Hunter and Reece join fellow in-state prospects, Cole Reiter (offensive line), Korz Loken (tight end), Isaac Miller (edge), Dustin Roach (safety), and Ethan McIntosh (offensive line).

That’s not accidental.

It’s a reflection of a staff that understands where it needs to improve and is taking tangible steps to address it. With four offensive line commitments now in the class — including McIntosh and Reiter — the Badgers are clearly prioritizing building a strong foundation up front.

There’s still a long way to go in the 2027 cycle. There always is. Verbal commitments aren’t worth anything until the ink dries on National Signing Day. But if Wisconsin is going to reestablish itself as a program that keeps the best talent in-state, it starts with moments like this — identifying priorities early, building relationships, and closing when it matters.

And in landing the Mallinger twins, they did exactly that.

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Many narratives have helped define the first three years of the Luke Fickell era at Wisconsin. Consistent quarterback play isn’t one of them.

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To say that durability at that position has been a problem would be an understatement. Injuries have dictated far too much of the offensive story, even though the plan since Fickell arrived has been to build around a mobile quarterback. However, the Badgers’ preferred starter entering a season has finished just 11 of 37 games, and only two of the last 24.

By the end of Wisconsin’s underwhelming 4–8 campaign in 2025, the Badgers had become the only Big Ten team to have four different quarterbacks attempt at least 10 passes in a single season, which is a level of instability the football program hadn’t seen since 1956.

And yet, here they are, leaning even further into a model that inherently carries risk.

Entering Year 4 at Wisconsin, Fickell sits at 17–21 overall and 10–17 in Big Ten play, and the urgency to turn the program around is obvious. The Badgers’ offense needs to turn the corner in a meaningful way after finishing No. 134 nationally in scoring offense (12.8 points per game) and No. 135 in total offense (253.1 yards per game) last season.

That’s why the staff made Colton Joseph a priority target in the transfer portal, bringing in the former Old Dominion standout on a two-year deal to help orchestrate the system offensive coordinator Jeff Grimes wants to run.

And what Joseph brings to the room is exactly what Wisconsin has been missing — production, explosiveness, and a true dual-threat element that forces opposing defenses to account for him on every snap.

Through 19 career starts, Joseph has already produced at a high level, totaling 4,251 passing yards (8.3 YPA) and 32 touchdowns through the air, along with 1,654 rushing yards and 24 scores as a runner.

But that’s also where the tension lives.

Because the very thing that makes Joseph dynamic — his legs — is also what raises the biggest question: how much is too much?

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The University of Wisconsin football team’s defense showed signs of progress in Year 3 under Mike Tressel, particularly against the run, where it consistently gave offenses problems and forced games into uncomfortable territory. But zoom out, and the picture still had its flaws.

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The secondary lacked consistency, explosive plays slipped through at the wrong times, and as sturdy as the front seven looked, replacing that type of production now becomes part of the challenge. According to Game on Paper, Wisconsin finished the 2025 season ranked 54th nationally in defensive EPA per play, 73rd in EPA per dropback, and 25th in EPA per rush, reflecting a unit that was good against the run but uneven overall.

“I think they’ve got a good beat on what we need to do and how we need to do it,” Luke Fickell said after the season finale. “They played well. The guys up front, in particular, were the strength and consistency of the defense, and they grew throughout the entire season. But the truth is, I think they’re in a good place and moving in a really good direction.”

That’s the reality of where this unit sits entering the spring. There’s something to build on, but also something to prove. Wisconsin attacked the offseason with that in mind, adding new pieces, reshaping the depth chart, and creating competition across multiple levels of the defense.

So when Tressel met with reporters during spring practice, the tone wasn’t about starting over; it was about what comes next.

Takeaways, third downs are areas for growth

If there was one place that Tressel didn’t hesitate to own the Badgers’ shortcomings a season ago, it was here.

“The critical areas are takeaways, and third and long being dominant,” Tressel said. “Those are two areas where you can’t survive and be a great team if you’re just okay in those areas.”

That’s the next step. And it’s not hard to see why.

Wisconsin got after the quarterback at times last season, something that had been a clear point of emphasis, but the production stopped short of turning into game-changing moments. The Badgers finished the year with just five interceptions and four forced fumbles. Of those, only one was recovered. Six total takeaways across an entire season is pretty limiting.

“A lot of focus in terms of takeaways,” Tressel added. “The focus is not just the count every day, but it’s the ball awareness and opportunity awareness. All the time I want to see it. They’re aware exactly where that ball is, and they know exactly when the opportunities are. So ball awareness, opportunity awareness will lead to takeaways, and you can see the confidence in the back end leading to more takeaways as well.”

That’s where the conversation shifts from effort to execution. Wisconsin has built out the roster to give itself a chance. The secondary has been reshaped with new faces and added competition. The defensive line has more veteran bodies to rotate through as pass rushers. And the inside linebacker group remains one of the more dynamic units on the roster.

On paper, the depth is better. The structure is there.

But for a defense that finished 24th nationally in total defense a year ago (323.5 yards per game), this isn’t about holding steady; it’s about finishing drives.

“A simple plan executed violently is always better than a plan where guys are thinking,” Tressel said. “So it’ll build, but the main thing is a simple plan executed violently.”

And that’s the line to watch.

Because if the front seven comes together again and the secondary proves to be better, there’s a path for this group to perform at a more familiar level due to a manageable schedule. But if the takeaways don’t come, if third-and-long continues to be a missed opportunity instead of a strength, it becomes harder to argue this unit is fully back on track.

Not yet, anyway.

Wisconsin likes depth and competition at inside linebacker

For all the attention that’s rightfully gone to Mason Posa and Cooper Catalano in the linebacker room, the more interesting development this spring might be what’s building behind — and alongside of them.

There’s a growing sense that Wisconsin is preparing to lean into more three-linebacker looks, and that only works if you trust the depth.

Right now, the staff does.

Thomas Heiberger is a big part of that. The 6-foot-4 linebacker out of South Dakota was a quiet but important retention win this offseason—someone the staff believes in as a developmental piece with real upside.

He appeared in 11 games a year ago, making three starts, logging 95 defensive snaps, per PFF, and finished with seven total tackles.

Then there’s Jon Jon Kamara, a transfer addition from Kansas who brings a different kind of juice to the room. Kamara played in all 12 games last season under Lance Leipold, totaling 13 tackles, three pressures, 1.5 tackles for loss, and 0.5 sacks across 238 defensive snaps.

Put them together, and you start to see the framework.

“What I like is that there’s a competition amongst a bunch of guys,” said Tressel. “Talking about Catalano and Posa. Of course, of course, they’ve proven they’re really good players. But I see Tommy and Jon certainly being in a position to push them. Because if you just have two, and there’s no one pushing them, how are we going to get better? We ultimately know you’ve got to get your best players on the field and do what they do best.”

That’s the point. This isn’t just about finding two starters; they have those. It’s about building out a room where you’re forced to get your best players on the field, even if that means adjusting the structure to do it.

“I think both of those guys can rush the passer. They have length in coverage. And they can run,” Tressel added. “I don’t feel like we’re losing a whole bunch in coverage other than maybe some man things when we’re out there with three backers.”

And when you pair those traits Heiberger and Kamara possess with what Posa and Catalano already bring to the table, it gives Wisconsin something it hasn’t had at that position in recent years — options.

What that ultimately looks like is still taking shape. But the competition for snaps is real, the depth feels improved, and the ceiling of that room under Tuf Borland will start to come into focus with time. Notably, JUCO transfer Taylor Schaefer and veteran Aaron Witt are still in the mix as well.

New-look secondary has Tressel ‘fired up’

If there was one position group that needed a reset this offseason, it was the secondary. And to their credit, Wisconsin’s staff didn’t tiptoe around those weaknesses; they attacked them in the transfer portal.

After struggling in man coverage and allowing too many chunk plays through the air, the staff made it a priority to upgrade both the talent and competition at corner. The result is a completely reshaped room, headlined by transfer additions like Javan Robinson (Arizona State), Bryce West (Ohio State), Cai Bates (Florida State), and Eric Fletcher (Oklahoma State).

On paper, it’s one of the more intriguing position groups on the roster. And early returns have caught the attention of Tressel and the staff.

“They had me really fired up,” Tressel said. “The competition that you can see between them is all positive. The energy in the corner room is as good as I’ve seen in quite some time. They’re all loving ball, pushing each other, they’re talented, and they can run.”

But as much as anything is, there’s a lot of juice in there where they’re pushing each other. The word “competition” keeps coming up. And it matters.

“There’s a lot of juice in there where they’re pushing each other,” Tressel added.

You can connect the dots here. For all the talk about increased resources and investment behind the scenes, this is where it shows up on the field.

Wisconsin went out and added a mix of proven production and high-upside talent — players who, in some cases, were waiting for the right opportunity to prove themselves on the field. And the Badgers had plenty of snaps to sell to corners on the open market.

There’s no guarantee it all clicks right away. That’s just the reality of rebuilding a room from top to bottom.

But internally, there’s a quiet confidence building, not just in the players themselves, but in what this group allows Wisconsin to be schematically.

More options. More speed. More attitude. And if that translates the way they believe it can, it changes the ceiling of the defense significantly.

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They say the best in-state products stay home. Around Wisconsin, that idea used to feel less like a pitch and more like a given — a natural pipeline from Friday nights to Camp Randall on Saturdays.

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Lately, though, that hasn’t always been the case.

Which is why this one matters.

Wisconsin football landed arguably its biggest domino in the 2027 recruiting cycle when four-star offensive tackle Cole Reiter announced his verbal commitment to the Badgers.

“Home!🏠” Reiter wrote.

The 6-foot-7, 315-pound offensive lineman from Germantown, (WI.) chose Wisconsin over a long list of Power Four offers, including Ohio State, Penn State, Michigan, Indiana, and Kansas. That’s the kind of offer sheet that typically tests just how strong those “stay home” roots really are.

In this case, they held.

Reiter becomes the fifth commit in the 2027 class, joining fellow in-state prospects Korz Loken (tight end), Isaac Miller (edge), Dustin Roach (safety), and Ethan McIntosh (offensive line). That’s not just a strong start to a class — it’s a statement. Or at least the early version of one.

Because for a staff that has, at times, struggled to lock down its own backyard, this is the type of win that carries weight beyond the recruiting rankings.

Reiter is viewed as a top-200 prospect nationally and a top-20 offensive tackle in the 247Sports Composite, checking in as the No. 3 player in the state of Wisconsin. He’s got the frame you can’t teach, and the kind of developmental upside programs covet at the position. On film, you can already see the tools in pass protection — length, feet, and the ability to mirror — while the next step will come with added strength and consistency in the run game, like most high school linemen making that jump.

What stands out just as much as the evaluation is how Wisconsin got here.

Former offensive line coach A.J. Blazek helped lay the groundwork early in Reiter’s recruitment. That was before Luke Fickell moved on from Blazek and brought in Eric Mateos, who now leads the offensive line room and has prior experience working with offensive coordinator Jeff Grimes.

Somewhere in that transition, there was an opportunity for Reiter’s recruitment to drift. It didn’t. Credit to the Badgers staff for maintaining that relationship and keeping Reiter from consistently looking over his shoulder at some of college football’s biggest brands.

And that part matters.

Because this isn’t just about landing a blue-chip tackle. It’s about reestablishing trust — with high school programs, with in-state prospects, and with a fan base that’s watched too many of these battles go the other way.

There’s still work to be done. Wisconsin hasn’t earned the benefit of the doubt in recruiting circles lately, especially when it comes to keeping elite in-state talent home. But this is what meaningful progress looks like. Not a finished product, not a flipped switch — just a sign that maybe, quietly, things are starting to trend back in the right direction.

And if that old saying is going to mean something again — if the best in Wisconsin are going to stay in Wisconsin — it starts with stacking wins like this.

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Some hires move the needle on Saturdays, while others quietly shape everything around them. This one falls into the second category, but don’t mistake that for it being insignificant.

Wisconsin football is bringing back one of its own.

The program announced that former Badgers fullback and team captain Bradie Ewing is returning to Madison as the Director of Football Alumni Relations. It’s a new role centered on reconnecting the present-day program with the players and traditions that helped build it.

And if you’ve followed where this program has been, and where it’s trying to go, that job carries more weight than the title might suggest.

“Bradie is a perfect fit for our alumni relations role,” Luke Fickell said. “He understands what makes the University of Wisconsin and Badger football special. He will do an excellent job fostering relationships with our alumni and maintaining the traditions and values that define our program.”

Ewing’s path back to Wisconsin is about as on-brand as it gets.

The 2012 graduate started his career at the University of Wisconsin as a walk-on from Richland Center, earned a scholarship, became a starter, and eventually, a team captain. Ewing was part of back-to-back Big Ten championship teams in 2010 and 2011, appearing in 52 career games while totaling 328 rushing yards and two touchdowns from the fullback position.

That stat line doesn’t tell the full story, of course.

Ewing’s value came in doing the dirty work, leading through contact, setting the tone at the line of scrimmage, and helping power a pair of offenses in 2010—11, that featured Russell Wilson, Scott Tolzien, Montee Ball, James White, John Clay, Nick Toon, Lance Kendricks, and Gabe Carimi during one of the most productive stretches in program history.

He went on to be selected in the fifth round of the 2012 NFL Draft by the Atlanta Falcons and spent three seasons in the league before a brief stint on Wisconsin’s strength staff in 2015.

Now, he’s back in a role that feels tailored to the moment.

“I’m honored to return to Wisconsin,” Ewing said. “I’m thankful for the opportunity to connect with former players and alumni that helped lay the foundation of Badger football. The culture here is rooted in the pride of being a Badger, and I’m excited to strengthen those ties and keep our alumni connected to the program moving forward.”

It’s hard not to view this through the broader lens of where Wisconsin football stands right now.

Fickell is entering Year 4, still trying to stabilize a program that’s lost its footing over the past three seasons, sitting at 17–21 overall and 10–17 in Big Ten play. The Badgers have also missed back-to-back bowl games and have come up empty in rivalry matchups as of late.

And fair or not, much of the criticism tied to that stretch has centered around identity, what Wisconsin football is supposed to look like, and whether the program drifted too far from it.

For decades, that identity was clear. Physical. Run-first. Built at the line of scrimmage. Developed, not assembled. The shift away from that, both schematically and culturally, hasn’t sat well with a large portion of the fan base or former players who helped maintain the Badgers’ high standards.

Ewing represents a direct connection back to that era.

Not as a symbolic gesture, but as someone who understands the standard because he helped uphold it.

This hire doesn’t fix everything. It doesn’t change a depth chart or rewrite last season’s record. But it does signal something — an acknowledgment, at least, that reconnecting with the program’s roots still matters.

And right now, that might be exactly where the rebuild has to start, if it’s not already too late.

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Still, many of the incoming transfers lack experience, meaning those that have been battle-tested with Power Four snaps figure to be relied upon heavily. One of those players is Oklahoma State transfer cornerback Eric Fletcher Jr.

With 301 career defensive snaps to his name — 271 of those coming last season in Stillwater — Fletcher is the second-most experienced cornerback in this room for new position coach Robert Steeples.

That experience should position Fletcher higher in the pecking order as offseason practices begin. But after watching the film, there are some definite areas in which Fletcher needs to improve (as well as some promising traits) as he looks to re-vitalize his career in Madison.

Below, BadgersNotes.com dives into Fletcher’s All-22 film to evaluate a cornerback Wisconsin figures to rely upon heavily in 2026.

When Fletcher (#13) had safety help over the top, he appeared to play much more soundly and with more confidence. However, when he was on an island one-on-one, the 6-foot-1 cornerback tended to get picked on in coverage. Below, he’s isolated at the top of your screen:

Fletcher doesn’t get his head turned around and is flagged for pass interference. This is physical coverage, and his receiver certainly isn’t open. That said, if Fletcher’s going to be that handsy, he needs to also try to play the ball or at least look for it in the air; otherwise, this is an easy call for the officials every time.

Sometimes when Fletcher was one-on-one, he got lucky. Below, he’s lined up at the top of your screen:

Here, he’s immediately beaten off the line of scrimmage by the receiver’s inside release. The wideout runs a simple fly pattern and easily has two or three steps on Fletcher. Texas Tech’s quarterback puts this ball right in the breadbasket, but the receiver inexplicably drops it. Fletcher should’ve gotten burned for a 65-yard touchdown on this play.

Other times, he wasn’t so lucky:

Fletcher is stride-for-stride with the Red Raiders receiver here, but right at the catch point, the wideout gets away with a subtle push-off, creating just enough space to come down with the deep ball.

Now, should this have been called offensive pass interference? Probably. But that means Fletcher either has to sell it better or not get so easily discarded at the catch point, and reciprocate the hand-fighting. As the last two plays illustrate, Fletcher is too easily manipulated by penalties or the lack thereof.

Still, Fletcher wasn’t a complete liability in single coverage. He certainly had his moments, like the suffocating coverage below:

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The University of Wisconsin football program opened spring practice Thursday inside the McClain Center, taking the first step toward a 2026 season that feels like it carries a little more weight than the last three.

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Luke Fickell enters a critical Year 4 at the helm after a 4–8 campaign and a second straight season without a bowl appearance.

This offseason, Wisconsin tapped into its newfound financial resources to retain key pieces while reshaping the roster to add improved depth through the transfer portal. There are a lot of new faces in the building, and internally, there’s a belief that this group has helped close some of the gap between where this program has been and where it needs to go.

“To me, regardless of what’s happened the last three years, it’s about starting anew,” Fickell said. “We’ve learned a lot from where we’ve been, but we’ve also learned where the gaps are that we’ve got to close.

“I’m most excited about whether we can bring this thing together. We’ve got a nucleus of leadership that has seen the struggles, and I think that’s going to shape who we are.”

That tone carried into Fickell’s first media availability of the spring, where he offered a few early insights as things get underway.

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The first projections from Vegas oddsmakers for the Wisconsin football team’s 2026 season are beginning to surface.

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FanDuel released its 2026 Big Ten win totals, offering an early glimpse into how the national betting markets view the conference heading into next season. For Wisconsin, the number opened at 6.5 wins — a projection that suggests bowl eligibility is within reach, but far from guaranteed.

And in many ways, that number reflects where Wisconsin football finds itself under head coach Luke Fickell entering Year 4.

Because after stumbling to a 4–8 finish a year ago, the program now faces a different challenge — convincing fans, NIL donors, and decision-makers outside the building that there’s still something worth investing in on the other side of this rebuild.

Through three seasons, Fickell sits at 17–21 overall at Wisconsin and 10–17 in Big Ten play — a far cry from the expectations that accompanied his hiring to elevate the program back into the conference’s upper echelon.

Last season was a difficult one by any measure.

Wisconsin cycled through quarterbacks due to injuries, struggled to find offensive consistency, and finished with one of the least productive offenses the program has fielded in roughly three decades. The Badgers finished No. 134 nationally in scoring offense (12.8 points per game), No. 132 in passing offense, and No. 135 in total offense last season.

At several points during the year, it felt like Fickell’s third season in Madison might be heading toward an inevitable conclusion.

Instead, the administration chose to double down.

There was plenty of outside speculation that Fickell could be on the hot seat after the Badgers missed bowl eligibility for a second straight season. But rather than move on, athletic director Chris McIntosh backed Fickell and promised increased investment in the football program.

“As a department, we must provide our coaches with the tools necessary to succeed,” McIntosh said. “That means more Athletics-funded investments into infrastructure, staffing, and, most importantly, student-athlete recruiting and retention. In this new era of collegiate athletics, the clear reality is that high expectations must be matched with an equal level of support. The results of this elevated support may not be immediate, but we are confident that the impact will be positive and long-term.”

Prominent donor Ted Kellner publicly acknowledged that the University of Wisconsin had been operating in the bottom third of the Big Ten in terms of spending and resources. His message was clear: the goal was to move into the conference’s top third moving forward.

“It changed dramatically in the last two years, and we did fall behind [in the NIL arms race],” Kellner said. “All I can say is… we will be competitive next year in the money. We were in the bottom third of the Big Ten in financial resources. Next year, we will be up in the top third in resources. We were at the lower echelons this last year. We won’t be next year.”

While it’s difficult to measure that claim in real time due to the lack of transparency across the sport, the offseason actions reflected a program attempting to respond.

Wisconsin signed the largest transfer portal class in program history, adding more than 30 players in an effort to improve depth across the roster. The Badgers also moved early to secure their top quarterback target, signing former Old Dominion signal-caller Colton Joseph to a 2-year deal in hopes of stabilizing a position that was in flux a year ago.

“Nobody’s naive to not think that there’s a gap between where we are and where we want to be and where the top of this league is,” Fickell said. “The great thing about last year is we got to experience what the very best looks like. And if I’m being honest, we are not there.

“There’s a gap between where they are and where we are. That gap can be closed with talent. I think we closed some of that gap with talent. But that gap’s not completely closed.”

The bet is simple: build enough talent and depth around the program to produce a strong season now while creating a foundation for sustained improvement later.

Still, the national perception of Wisconsin hasn’t changed overnight.

FanDuel’s early win totals offer a snapshot of how the conference is currently being viewed. The betting markets clearly separate the Big Ten into distinct groups, with Oregon (10.5), Indiana (10.5), Ohio State (9.5), and Penn State (9.5) projected near the top of the conference pecking order. USC and Michigan sit just behind that group at 8.5 wins, while programs like Illinois, Washington, and Iowa (7.5) are expected to remain firmly in the upper half of the league. Wisconsin, meanwhile, finds itself in the middle of the pack — a team the market believes can return to bowl eligibility but hasn’t yet proven it belongs among the actual contenders.

That placement reflects both cautious optimism and lingering skepticism surrounding the Badgers.

On one hand, there were signs late last season that the locker room’s culture and buy-in were still strong. Wisconsin closed the year with ranked wins over Illinois and Washington, victories that mattered for a team trying to prove it still believed in the program’s direction under Fickell.

On the other hand, the gap between where Wisconsin currently sits and the sport’s elite programs was difficult to ignore.

The Badgers faced one of the toughest schedules in the country last season and played four eventual top-nine seeds in the College Football Playoff — Indiana, Ohio State, Oregon, and Alabama. Those matchups exposed the margin Wisconsin still needs to close.

In those four games alone, the Badgers were outscored 124–28. That kind of disparity illustrates just how steep the mountain still is for Wisconsin to climb.

The encouraging part for Wisconsin is that the 2026 schedule appears significantly more manageable. Combined with the influx of portal talent, expanded coaching staff, and improved depth across several position groups, there’s a reasonable argument that the Badgers should take a step forward.

But until the offense proves it can consistently function — something that has eluded the program throughout the first three seasons of the Fickell era — questions will remain.

Defensively, Wisconsin showed signs of progress last season, even if the results still fell short of the standard Badgers fans grew accustomed to before Fickell and Mike Tressel arrived. Offensively, the search for an identity continues, with the hope that Jeff Grimes can be the answer.

So the win total FanDuel posted isn’t just a projection.

It’s a reflection of where Wisconsin football stands right now: a program expected to compete for bowl eligibility again, but one that still has plenty to prove before anyone believes it’s ready to flip the script entirely.

The path toward improvement is undoubtedly there — with a much softer schedule and increased financial investment. Still, until Fickell shows this program can be consistently competitive again, it’s fair to remain skeptical rather than offer “blind faith” without tangible progress on the field.

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