Wisconsin Badgers 'very excited' about the future of in-state freshman tight end
Wisconsin Badgers tight end Emmett Bork may not see the field much in 2025, but the in-state freshman is impressing coaches in fall camp.
To understand where a position group is headed, it’s not enough to study the present — you also have to keep tabs on the players waiting in the wings. And for the Wisconsin football program at tight end, one name quietly generating buzz inside the building is true freshman Emmett Bork.
The Oconomowoc, Wisconsin, native is looking like a nice in-state win for Luke Fickell and his coaching staff. Originally committed to Michigan State, Bork flipped to the Badgers late in the 2025 recruiting cycle after a series of gameday visits, including one where he watched Wisconsin’s blowout over Purdue and the marquee matchup against Penn State.
Still, Bork wasn’t exactly seen as a headline‑grabber. The 247Sports Composite slotted him as the No. 1,439 player nationally, the No. 78 tight end, and the No. 14 prospect in Wisconsin. In other words, an under‑the‑radar win who’s starting to look like more than just a number.
For tight ends coach Nate Letton, Bork became Wisconsin's second commitment, and eventual signee at the position alongside Nizyi Davis.
At 6-foot-5 and 250 pounds, Bork already looks the part physically. He’s got a wide catch radius, strong frame, and the kind of athletic profile that suggests he’ll be a problem in the passing game once he’s been in the program long enough to develop. At Oconomowoc High School, Bork was a multi-sport athlete who hauled in 23 catches for 271 yards and four touchdowns as a senior, en route to WIAA first-team all-state honors.
It’s not hard to see why Wisconsin wanted to keep him home.
Still, meaningful live reps for a true freshman tight end are hard to come by, and in fall camp, they’re even more scarce. With returning starter Tucker Ashcraft, Missouri State transfer Lance Mason, and the hybrid fullback/H-back role Jackson Acker will handle, the rotation is crowded.
If the Badgers need more depth in 2025, JT Seagreaves, who has played some snaps for this staff, and Grant Stec are next in line.
That likely means Bork won’t see meaningful game snaps this fall, but it’s not like the coaching staff hasn’t taken notice. Getting on campus early for spring practice gave him a head start, and he’s been using that time to chip away at the steep learning curve every young tight end faces.
When asked if Bork is one of those young players who quietly excite him for the future, Letton's response left no doubt.
“More than quietly," Letton told reporters during fall camp. "I’m very excited about where Emmett is. I hope he doesn’t watch that, I don’t want to inflate his ego too much. For a young guy, his exposure to different football is going to take time with the learning curve. But he’s got all the tools we’re looking for, and I’m very excited about where he can go.”
Translation: This isn’t just a depth-chart body or an in-state flier.
The staff sees a player with all the physical traits you want in the room, paired with the work ethic to refine them. The message from Letton has been consistent throughout: keep developing physically, keep stacking good days, and the opportunities will come.
Tight end is also a position that often takes a couple of years in the system before a program truly knows what they have in a player, given everything they need to learn, the way they have to approach the weight room, and how they must take care of their bodies. And in Jeff Grimes offense, the position carries a lot of responsibility, something the offensive coordinator has acknowledged.
“That position is one of the most difficult positions to learn in this offense, but also to just get to the point where they’re able to excel at their jobs,” Grimes said. “They’re lining up all over the place. They have to know where to line up, like any receiver or running back would, as well as traditional tight end alignments.
“Their job responsibilities are larger. The volume of skills that we’re asking from them is high. They’ve got to be able to run block like an offensive tackle. They’ve also got to be able to run block like a receiver does, which is an undervalued thing. Then they’ve got to be able to pass protect, particularly in the play-action game. And then they’ve got to be able to run routes like a receiver would when we extend them out there."
Wisconsin has a long history of producing impact tight ends in the Big Ten, from Travis Beckum (Bork’s favorite Badger) to NFL products like Jake Ferguson, Troy Fumagalli, Lance Kendricks, and Owen Daniels, just to name a few. In Grimes’ offense, which leans back toward the Badgers’ traditional power identity while still mixing in modern passing concepts, there will be a premium on the usage of versatile tight ends who can run block, move around the formation, and make plays down the seam.
Bork may not be part of the 2025 on-field picture, but he’s firmly part of the long-term one. And based on early returns, Wisconsin's coaching staff feels very good about what he could eventually become.
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