Badgers News and Notes From Luke Fickell's Week 1 Media Availability
Here are the things to know from Luke Fickell's Week 1 media availability.
Wisconsin Badgers head football coach Luke Fickell took the podium to share his thoughts on where the team stands heading into the season opener against Western Michigan on Friday night.
Here are five key takeaways from Coach Fickell’s media availability ahead of the Badgers matchup against the Broncos:
James Thompson Jr. likely out for the 2024 season
On Monday, Coach Fickell confirmed a report that the Wisconsin Badgers will be without defensive lineman James Thompson Jr. for the foreseeable future, likely losing him for the entire 2024 season after getting surgery.
"No, it doesn't look like James is probably going to make it. I don't know that we'll have him for the year," Fickell said. "There's a lot of things that are still, wait and see, right? I don't know if it's a four to five-month thing. He had surgery, I think, last week. We really haven't really talked about it, but it's a big loss. It's tough, you know, a guy in his senior year that has been through so many things and has meant so much to us."
"Now he'll be in a little bit of a different role for us this year. I don't know that we'll have a chance to get him back."
In Thompson's absence, Curt Neal and Ben Barten are expected to be the projected starters for Wisconsin on the defensive line. Transfers Elijah Hills and Brandon Lane should also factor in, as well as Cade McDonald.
It will depend on health, but true freshman Dillan Johnson could get an opportunity to push for snaps as the year wears on. Either way, this position group couldn't afford to lose a starting-caliber player but will now have no choice but to pick up the pieces and mend them back together.
Chez Mellusi is healthy and confident heading into the opener
And then there's Chez Mellusi. Injuries have been his story, missing 17 of 39 possible games while in Madison. Still, Fickell shed some light on how far Mellusi has come in his recovery, which could be vital to the Badgers finding an identity on offense this season.
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