Wisconsin football starting OL Emerson Mandell out for Spring with injury
Wisconsin offensive lineman Emerson Mandell will miss the rest of spring practice after surgery, creating competition at guard ahead of fall camp.
The Wisconsin football team will be down a starting offensive lineman for the remainder of spring practice.
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.
We appreciate you taking the time to read our work at BadgerNotes.com. Your support means the world to us and has helped us become a leading independent source for Wisconsin Badgers coverage.
You can also follow Site Publisher Dillon Graff at @DillonGraff on X.
Was it an injury? A chronic condition in need of repair?