Wisconsin football mailbag: Setting expectations for 2025, non-obvious breakout candidates, & more

What does success look like for Wisconsin football in 2025? Plus, some under-the-radar breakout picks, QB room thoughts, and WRs to watch.

Photo Credit: Badgernotes.com Photographer Dane Sheehan.

A handful of Wisconsin football questions rolled in from our BadgerNotes subscribers—and as always, you guys didn’t disappoint.

This mailbag touches on everything from what success might look like for Wisconsin in 2025, where the quarterback room stands, and a few under-the-radar breakout candidates I’m keeping tabs on heading into the fall.

Plus, we get into which Badgers wide receiver I’m betting on the most to produce this season—and which one has me a little more cautious.

Let’s dive in...

If this Wisconsin football team's ceiling is as low as many people seem to think it is, what would success look like in 2025?

When you look at Wisconsin’s 2025 football schedule, it’s hard not to let out a deep sigh. You’re talking about a lineup of games that feels closer to an endurance test than a season—road trips to Alabama, Oregon, Michigan, Indiana, and Minnesota. Home games against Ohio State, Iowa, Illinois, Maryland, Washington, and a couple of smaller nonconference matchups.

That's seven, maybe even eight games against ranked teams if things shake out the way we think they will at this point (they won't).

There’s no way around it: this is a brutal schedule. But nobody’s going to feel sorry for Wisconsin or head coach Luke Fickell. And honestly, after years of the Big Ten West setting the table with manageable crossover games and easier paths to wins, those days are over. This is the new world they’re living in now, and the Badgers must find a way to adapt.

So when you ask, "What would success look like in 2025?" — you’ve got to adjust your lens. It’s not just about the win total at the end of the year. At least not in my eyes. It’s about how the Badgers look while they’re taking punches from the contenders. Do they play with fire? Do they play with passion for four quarters? Can they execute and punch up a weight class now and then? Those are the things that will tell the real story.

Five wins, to me, is the absolute floor where you avoid disaster.

And I mean that in the sense that if they get to five, look organized, play tough, and show some progress in identity and execution, it wouldn’t feel like that bad of a season. It would still be disappointing, but it wouldn't be program-wrecking. And if I’m being honest, that’s my personal expectation right now. Maybe that sounds pessimistic, but this staff hasn’t done anything yet on the field to prove they can beat a quality opponent.

Until they do, I’m keeping the bar for 2025 right there.

But if they got to six wins and a bowl appearance? That’s solid. Beat the teams you're supposed to—Middle Tennessee, Miami (OH), Maryland, maybe Washington—and then split against teams like Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, and Minnesota. That would be real progress, especially after how far off Wisconsin looked in some of those types of matchups last season.

Seven wins? Now you’re talking about turning a corner. That would mean no slip-ups in toss-up games and maybe pulling off an upset against a heavyweight. It wouldn’t just be something you could sell to recruits—it would be something that fans could feel good about heading into 2026.

Eight or more wins? Look, anything’s possible in college football. But if they somehow pulled that off, I don’t think “success” would even be the right word. It would be a full-blown breakthrough and I’d be elated. Because with this schedule, that type of season would mean they figured things out faster and came together better than anyone outside that building believed.

"From within the building, it's all about this mountain to climb. We didn't accept every [potential] transfer guy that we had a chance to get," Fickell said. "Every transfer that was possibly coming in here, the first thing we did was set the schedule down in front of him to say, "Look, just want to make sure you understand what this mountain looks like." So not only emphasizing what this thing will look like, but understanding that the humble and hungry mindset and attitude has got to be that you're willing to do what we need to do, because it's not going to be easy.

"We know that there's going to be some peaks and valleys in this climb, but I think it's got to start from within. I don't talk about the schedule a lot, but we just talk about it being a mountain to climb."

Bottom line: Success in 2025 isn’t about chasing a College Football Playoff spot. It’s about showing that this program has a real identity again. It's about competing, playing with toughness, and proving that the changes coach Fickell made this offseason are starting to bear fruit.

What’s your take on the state of the QB room? I know it was basically a full reset this offseason, but honestly, I feel like they’re in a pretty good spot. Am I just drinking the offseason Kool-Aid?

No, I don’t think you’re off base at all. In fact, I’d say you’re seeing it pretty clearly.

Billy Edwards Jr. feels like a legitimate mid-tier Big Ten starting quarterback, and that’s a massive upgrade from what Wisconsin’s been forced to deal with during the Luke Fickell era.

And I want to be fair here: losing Tanner Mordecai for parts of their first season under this staff and having to roll with Braedyn Locke for a few games was tough, especially for a team that didn’t even know who it wanted to be offensively. Then losing Tyler Van Dyke to a torn ACL last season and being stuck starting Locke the rest of the way? Just brutal.

Great kid. Future coach. But if we’re being real, Locke is the definition of a backup quarterback if I’ve ever seen one.

So, just having a guy like Edwards—someone who handles himself like a pro, has Big Ten experience, can execute the offense on time, and mentors some of the younger guys—is a big win for the Badgers. It stabilizes Kenny Guiton's room in a way Wisconsin desperately needed.

“Everything is kind of what I thought it would be with him—and maybe just a little bit more,” Jeff Grimes told reporters. “Everything led me to believe that he was going to be a smart, tough, competitive kid who would do everything that he could to be successful and a leader.

"And he’s been all of that. His preparation, I would say, is well above what most college quarterbacks are. Just what he does before he shows up is significant in terms of getting ready for practice from a physical, mental, and emotional standpoint. He shows up ready to go every day."

Then you add Danny O’Neil from San Diego State, who started as a true freshman for the Aztecs, and that’s a nice grab. You don’t want to need him to play this year, but if he does? In my eyes, he’s good enough to be an upgrade over Locke.

“He steps into the huddle, and you feel his presence,” Grimes said. “He’s got a good vibe. He’s got upbeat energy, and I think guys generally feed off that. He’s continued to learn the offense and improve as a thrower and operator.”

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O’Neil’s athletic enough to extend plays and force defenses to account for him as a runner. Solid arm strength, but nothing you’re writing home about. Still—a nice pickup.

And Carter Smith is the wildcard. He’s a four-star recruit in the class of 2025 with a ton of upside. He’s not ready to see the field right now, but if they can keep him in the program long enough to develop, they might have something.

That’s a big “if” in today’s world, but the tools are there.

Wisconsin’s got what I feel like is the model for how you want to build a quarterback room moving forward. You’ve got the solution for the season at hand in Edwards, a younger backup with some real experience who could develop into the future answer in O’Neil, and a long-term developmental piece with upside in Carter Smith. I feel good about that setup.

All in all, it’s a much better spot than they were in last year. It’s not elite, but it’s functional. And given where they’re coming from, that’s progress.

Everyone always talks about the obvious breakout candidates for Wisconsin, but who are a couple of under-the-radar guys you think could make a real jump this season?

I’ll give you one on each side of the ball.

On offense, I’m going with Emerson Mandell. He’s a former four-star recruit who spent a lot of last season learning the ins and outs of pass protection because he came from a high school program that basically just ran the ball.

Even before Kevin Heywood’s injury, Mandell was right there in the mix to win the right guard job coming out of spring. But now that Heywood is out with a torn ACL, there’s been some reshuffling up front—and I fully expect Mandell to grab a starting spot at guard for AJ Blazek.

The upside here is really high. He’s big, athletic, and powerful enough to move bodies in the run game. It won’t be perfect all the time—you’re talking about a young lineman still learning some of the finer points of playing in space—but for a team that wants to get back to running the ball with physicality under Jeff Grimes, Mandell feels like the type of guy you want learning on the job if he's consistent enough. It may not always be clean, but there’s a ceiling you can build around if it clicks.

Defensively, I’ll go with Austin Brown.

I've always thought there was something there with him, and he’s played a lot of football at Wisconsin already. Last season, he appeared in 12 games, made eight starts, posted 51 total tackles, three pass breakups, a sack, a forced fumble, and a fumble recovery. Solid numbers. Solid player.

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But I think there’s a real chance he becomes a lot more impactful this year, especially with how this staff wants to tweak the way they defend the ball. Brown’s versatility is a huge asset. He can play traditional deep safety, but he’s also got enough experience down in the box to function as a big nickel when needed and hold his own in coverage.

There’s a lot of value in having a veteran guy who can move around and handle multiple roles without becoming a liability. Brown has been steady to this point in his career, but if defensive coordinator Mike Tressel deploys him the right way, I wouldn’t be surprised if he ends up being one of the more important pieces on the back end of this defense in 2025.

If the Wisconsin WR rotation ends up looking pretty similar to what we saw and heard it might look like during spring practice from reporters, who’s the one guy you feel most confident will produce, and who’s the one you’re the least sure we can count on?

If we’re talking about the Wisconsin wide receiver rotation looking pretty similar to what we saw and heard during spring practice, the guy I’m most confident will produce for the Badgers this season is Vinny Anthony.

Started all 12 games last year, led the team with 672 receiving yards and four touchdowns on 39 catches, averaged 17.2 yards per catch—that’s the best mark for a Badgers player since 2005. And it’s not just the splash plays either. According to Pro Football Focus, Anthony had only one drop across 56 targets, good for the eighth-best clip in the Big Ten (2.5% drop rate).

"Vinny is a guy that doesn't want to sit back — he wants to go work," Jordan Reid said. He knows he still has things to work on himself. That's the competitor in him. We talk about the Mamba mentality all the time — never get tired, always find something to work on — and that's Vinny's mindset right now, especially going into this last practice. He's thinking, "I've got things to work on and improve on. I want to leave no doubt."

Anthony’s a guy who can beat you deep with his speed, sure, but what I really like is how decisive he is after the catch. No hesitation—plants his foot, gets vertical, and doesn't shy away from contact. He’s going to benefit from having a couple of other playmakers like Jayden Ballard and Trech Kekahuna on the field, in addition to better quarterback play. Some legitimate threats around him should help him be equally productive.

Now, on the flip side—the guy I’m least sure about is Chris Brooks Jr.

And I don't say that to be negative. There's definitely a role for him if he stays healthy. He’s big, he’s physical, he can catch passes over the middle, and he blocks his tail off. Brooks played in all 12 games for Wisconsin last season, mostly on special teams, and did record his first collegiate catch—a 27-yarder against Nebraska.

The problem is, he just hasn’t been able to stay healthy for the better part of his career. And every spring, it feels like we hear some version of the same story: “If Chris Brooks Jr. can stay healthy, he could really help this team.”

But credit where it’s due—by the end of spring practice, Brooks looked like he was doing it again. He made a real impression on the coaching staff throughout camp and positioned himself as someone the Badgers are going to need to play snaps at wide receiver on Saturdays this fall.

"Chris Brooks, without question, is the standard of the room right now," said Reid. "We talk in the room about being hungry, playing aggressive, and playing every play like it's your last. There's nobody that embodies that more than Chris Brooks right now. I'm talking about almost every play like it’s his last. He's dealt with injuries the past couple of years, and every time he's out there, you can tell he appreciates the blessing to be out there and to take advantage of the opportunity with his teammates. He doesn’t take that lightly.

“If we had a thousand Chris Brooks on this team, boy, we'd be in a special place. It's been fun to see him mature. He's been around a lot of ball, he knows the college football landscape, he's very smart, and he prepares the right way. We just have to continue to fine-tune some of the details and technique, but I'm really impressed with the way he's been transcending."

I see the vision. I get why the coaches like him. I’ll be rooting for it to work out. But if you’re asking who I’m least confident would step in and produce in the role he’s projected for if they had to play a game today, it’s Brooks—just because we haven’t seen him prove it yet in an actual game setting, and injuries have always seemed to be part of the story.

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