Colin Cubberly doesn’t need anyone to explain what playing offensive line for the Wisconsin football program is supposed to mean.
He also knows the Badgers haven’t lived up to that standard recently.
The 6-foot-6, 325-pound redshirt sophomore was thrown into the middle of those struggles last season, appearing in 11 games and making seven starts at right guard. Now, with Wisconsin rebuilding its offense with a new-look roster under coordinator Jeff Grimes and offensive line coach Eric Mateos, Cubberly believes that the room has something to prove.
“100%. There’s a chip on our shoulder,” Cubberly told reporters. “When Coach Mateos came in here, he said that from the jump, nobody believes in us. We have not lived up to the Wisconsin offensive line standard. And that is what we are working every single day to prove and to gain back.”
For the Lagrangeville (N.Y.) native, that isn’t some abstract perception from outside the program. He heard the frustration last season.
“You can’t turn your ears off,” Cubberly said. “You can hear it. So we know that nobody trusts in us. Nobody believes in us. And that’s good. Let’s go. That’s what we want.”
Cubberly experienced plenty of growing pains firsthand.
After appearing in one game and redshirting in 2024, Cubberly logged 393 offensive snaps as a redshirt freshman last season. According to Pro Football Focus, Cubberly earned a 59.2 overall offensive grade, including a 64.9 pass-blocking grade and a 57.4 mark as a run blocker.
There were encouraging moments, including Wisconsin rushing for 153 yards and three touchdowns in Cubberly’s first career start against Middle Tennessee State. But there were enough difficult stretches along the way for him to learn what playing an entire Big Ten season demands.
“It was a huge learning period for me, lots of ups and downs,” Cubberly admitted. “I learned so much from that experience. We had some games in there in the middle that we were playing great, and we had some that we weren’t. It was just the ups and downs and being able to learn the flow of the season, how to not get too high, not get too low, and just being able to deal with the adversity that comes throughout the season.”
Mateos is now trying to manufacture some of that adversity before Wisconsin ever plays a game. His early fall camp practices have intentionally pushed the offensive line room both physically and mentally, something Cubberly believes the group needs.
“In the moment, it might suck,” Cubberly said of Mateos’ tough love. “Everyone’s going through it, but we have to be able to push through it, push ourselves and push each other through it, and be able to lean on each other through the ups and downs of practice and fall camp.”
That challenge comes while Wisconsin is sorting through its starting five.
Kevin Heywood and Emerson Mandell — both viewed as the preferred starters at right tackle and right guard have been unavailable early in camp, creating some additional opportunities throughout the rotation.
Cubberly is expected to earn one of the starting jobs on the interior, likely at left guard, alongside Oklahoma State transfer Austin Kawecki at center. Ole Miss transfer PJ Wilkins has positioned himself as the starter at left tackle.
At the same time, Blake Cherry, who played for Mateos at Arkansas, appears to be the next man up at guard, filling in at right guard. At tackle, Florida State transfer Lucas Simmons has emerged as the top option behind Wilkins and Heywood, who is expected back from injury.
Cubberly, a member of Luke Fickell’s 2024 recruiting class, has made his case for playing time with the kind of physicality Mateos wants this offensive line to embody. During spring practice, Mateos even called him a “dirtbag” in the complimentary offensive line sense, a reflection of the toughness and edge he brings to the position. And Cubberly doesn’t think restoring Wisconsin’s reputation up front requires anything complicated.
“When you turn the tape on, you can feel the nastiness and the toughness,” Cubberly said. “That’s our biggest goal for this fall. When you turn on the tape, you should watch the tape and feel it. You should feel how nasty we are.”
That’s ultimately how Cubberly believes Wisconsin earns back what has been lost. The history of offensive line play in Madison isn’t going to make this group successful. Neither will the reputation attached to the uniform.
“This is Wisconsin football,” Cubberly said. “It’s got to be led up front with the offensive line.”
Cubberly understands the standard. After getting an early education from Mateos in what happens when Wisconsin doesn’t meet it, he’s now trying to help build an offensive line capable of earning that reputation back.
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@Dillon.....The way that I read thisv article, you used the verb "is" which indicates singular on Wilkins and Heyward returning. I hope that the verb is "are" meaning both will be returning. Please advise. Thanks.