The Wisconsin football offense has reached the point in fall camp where Jeff Grimes has a much better idea of what its strengths might be.
There are also areas that remain very much a work in progress.
Colton Joseph has continued to grow into his role as Wisconsin’s starting quarterback; the Badgers are seeing the benefits of having a legitimate running threat at the position, and a wide receiver room without clearly defined roles has become one of the groups Grimes feels best about.
The offensive line, however, is still trying to establish continuity after injuries forced Wisconsin to shuffle personnel throughout camp. And with the opener approaching, Grimes still wants to see better timing between his quarterbacks and receivers.
Here were the biggest takeaways from Grimes’ latest fall camp media availability.
Colton Joseph is growing as a leader, but the passing game still needs work
When Wisconsin brought Joseph in from Old Dominion, much of the attention understandably centered around what he could provide physically.
Grimes has seen meaningful growth elsewhere.
“I would say the most would be leadership,” Grimes said in terms of where Joseph’s grown the most. “As he’s gotten more comfortable with the team and with the offense, he’s become more comfortable in his role as a leader too.”
That progression makes sense.
Joseph, the Sun Belt Player of the Year in 2025, spent much of his first several months in Madison learning a new offense and adjusting to new teammates. Grimes believes becoming more comfortable with those responsibilities has allowed more of Joseph’s personality to emerge.
The next step is to develop the same comfort in Wisconsin’s passing game.
Grimes believes the quarterbacks and receivers still need to improve their timing and develop a better understanding of how routes change against different coverages. There is also an adjustment involved in learning the individual players throwing and catching the football.
“We’ve got to get our timing a little bit better in the passing game,” Grimes said. “Just got to get in sync a little bit more, understanding when certain routes are going to break, how that route’s going to look versus zone versus man and then understanding how to throw to specific receivers.”
That receiver room has nevertheless become one of Grimes’ biggest sources of optimism.
Chris Brooks Jr. and Tyrell Henry have grown as leaders, while Jaylon Domingeaux and Malachi Coleman have become increasingly vocal. Eugene Hilton Jr. has positioned himself for a significant role with his consistency in camp, while Shamar Rigby has come on after working his way back from injury. Together, they give Wisconsin several guys who could factor into the rotation alongside the players Grimes mentioned.
Grimes went as far as calling the position group the “heartbeat” of Wisconsin’s offense.
“They have shown more than any group on our offense,” Grimes said. “Energy, enthusiasm, leadership, toughness, more than any other group on our offense,” Grimes said. “In some ways, it kind of feels like they’re the heartbeat of our offense right now.”
Wisconsin believes Colton Joseph can change the math in the running game
One of the more encouraging developments throughout camp has been the number of explosive runs Wisconsin’s offense has produced.
Personnel has something to do with that. So does Joseph.
The Badgers haven’t had a quarterback with his rushing ability in quite some time, and Grimes believes simply forcing defenses to account for Joseph changes how they can defend Wisconsin’s running game.
“When you’re forcing the defense to account for the quarterback, you change the math a little bit,” Grimes said. “The defensive guys say, ‘Well, then the math is in the offense’s favor because it’s a plus-one running game.’ But we’re still playing 11 on 11.”
Grimes sees it a little differently.
“I just say we brought the math back to even when we start running the quarterback,” Grimes said.
Joseph carrying the football is only part of the equation. He rushed for 1,007 yards and 13 touchdowns last season, with 529 of those yards coming after contact, per PFF. Joseph also forced 28 missed tackles and produced 37 runs of at least 10 yards. Defenses having to account for that kind of legitimate rushing threat at quarterback can create better opportunities and running lanes for Wisconsin’s running backs.
That room is still working through some injuries, but Grimes has seen development from Abu Sama and the other newcomers beyond simply carrying the football.
Running routes, catching passes, and handling blocking assignments were all areas that required significant growth after arriving in the program. Pass protection, in particular, is something Grimes believes running backs often learn last.
“I would say from Abu, those areas are where he’s grown the most,” Grimes said. “And really the same for the other guys.”
Darrion Dupree entered camp further along because of his previous experience in the system. He also returns as Wisconsin’s leading rusher from a year ago, when he totaled 363 yards and two touchdowns on 83 carries. Still, the Badgers need a complete backfield if Grimes intends to build the offense around the running game, particularly after averaging 116.7 rushing yards per game last season, which ranked 115th nationally.
Wisconsin has more offensive options, but the line is still trying to come together
Grimes has reasons to feel better about Wisconsin’s skill-position depth.
True freshman Kash Brock has continued earning opportunities at wide receiver and has already convinced Grimes he can contribute in some capacity this season.
“He’s bright-eyed, he’s intelligent, he’s competitive, he’s vocal,” Grimes said. “I think he’s got natural leadership capacity, especially once he gets older.”
Brock isn’t the only young player forcing his way into the conversation.
Stylz Blackmon has earned first-team opportunities along the offensive line, where injuries to Kevin Heywood and Emerson Mandell have forced Wisconsin to dig deeper into its rotation than anticipated.
Grimes likes Blackmon’s physical tools and approach, but the constant movement up front has come at a cost. PJ Wilkins, Colin Cubberly and Austin Kawecki appear to be locks for starting roles, while injuries have created extended opportunities for Blake Cherry and Lucas Simmons to work with the top group and push for spots on the first team line.
“I think that certainly held us back from being maybe where we’d like to be right now,” Grimes admitted. “We’re a group that is still growing together in terms of their gel, camaraderie, ability to work together, and still growing in terms of our toughness and our technical expertise.”
That process now becomes about getting the offensive line comfortable playing as one unit and establishing the continuity Wisconsin will need up front.
The situation at tight end is more settled from a depth standpoint.
Grimes believes Wisconsin has more playable options than it did a year ago, with several players possessing slightly different skill sets. Grant Stec has become particularly dependable after another year of physical development and experience in the system.
“He’s bigger, he’s stronger, he’s faster, he’s had a year in the system, and he’s just gotten to where he’s one of our most dependable guys,” Grimes said.
That probably captures where Wisconsin’s offense stands as the end of fall camp approaches.
There are more options across the board. Joseph’s legs provide Grimes with something Wisconsin hasn’t recently had at quarterback. The receivers have become a source of energy and legitimate competition, and the tight end room offers meaningful depth. But the offensive line still needs continuity, and the passing game needs better timing.
Wisconsin has spent fall camp identifying more ways it believes it can create offense. With Week 1 approaching, the question is how quickly all of those pieces can begin working together when the results actually count.
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