The University of Wisconsin football team’s 54-10 win over Eastern Michigan offered something the first two weeks couldn’t: an extended look at what this roster might have a chance to become if it all clicks.
The Badgers didn’t dominate from the opening kick. They trailed 7-3 after the first quarter and had turned the ball over on a careless interception. But Wisconsin responded by scoring 51 of the game’s final 54 points, finishing with 479 yards of offense while holding Eastern Michigan to 216.
The snap counts tell an equally interesting story.
Wisconsin continued settling into some rotations that emerged against Western Illinois, but there were also meaningful developments. Emerson Mandell made his season debut and immediately entered the offensive line rotation. Tyrell Henry’s role continued expanding. The Badgers shuffled their secondary while getting more players involved defensively. And with Big Ten play beginning at Penn State, the experimentation period is essentially over.
Here’s what stood out at every position from Wisconsin’s Week 3 snap counts.
Quarterback
Colton Joseph: 64
There was no quarterback rotation this week.
Joseph played all 64 offensive snaps and responded with his best performance in a Badgers uniform, completing 23-of-33 passes for 362 yards, three touchdowns, and one interception. He also carried nine times for 46 yards and added another score on the ground.
PFF gave Joseph a 72.9 offensive grade, including a 70.3 rushing grade. The passing grade was a more modest 67.7, which tracks with what we saw. Joseph missed some opportunities downfield and underthrew the first-quarter interception on a ball that shouldn’t have been thrown, but Wisconsin continued attacking vertically and hit several explosive plays.
That said, Joseph was credited with three turnover-worthy plays.
The more notable development might be that Joseph accounted for 46 of Wisconsin’s 117 rushing yards. His legs remain a significant part of this offense, and Luke Fickell made it clear afterward that part won’t change.
Unlike Week 2, when freshman quarterback Ryan Hopkins played eight snaps late, Wisconsin kept Joseph on the field deep into this one.
Running back
Darrion Dupree: 34
Nate Palmer: 17
Bryan Jackson II: 13
Mason Lane: 1
This was the clearest running back hierarchy we’ve seen yet.
Dupree jumped from 19 snaps against Western Illinois to 34 and comfortably led the room with Abu Sama III unavailable. Fickell said afterward that Sama practiced most of the week and warmed up Saturday before Wisconsin made the game-time decision to hold him out.
Dupree rushed eight times for 29 yards and a touchdown, while Palmer added 29 yards on seven attempts and Jackson finished with 17 yards on five carries.
The production still leaves something to be desired. Wisconsin’s running backs combined for 75 yards on 20 carries, with Joseph supplying much of the team’s overall rushing production. But Fickell has emphasized taking what the defense gives them and staying disciplined between the tackles rather than constantly searching for the home run.
Even if the box score doesn’t necessarily reflect it, Dupree ran hard and largely understood the assignment, forcing six missed tackles and earning a 76.2 PFF rushing grade, the best among Wisconsin’s running backs.
Wide receiver
Chris Brooks Jr.: 54
Eugene Hilton Jr.: 43
Tyrell Henry: 37
Shamar Rigby: 27
The snap counts don’t fully capture Tyrell Henry’s afternoon.
Henry was on the field for only 37 of Wisconsin’s 64 offensive plays, yet Joseph targeted him 18 times. Henry caught 14 of those passes for 160 yards and a touchdown, breaking Wisconsin’s single-game receptions record.
PFF gave him a 92.9 offensive grade and 91.9 receiving grade, both easily the best marks on Wisconsin’s offense.
That’s becoming more than a nice early-season development. Henry played 45 snaps against Notre Dame, 27 against Western Illinois, and 37 on Saturday. When he’s on the field, Wisconsin is actively looking for him.
Brooks remained the snap leader and produced the game’s biggest offensive play, turning a reception into a 75-yard touchdown. He finished with three catches for 91 yards.
Hilton played 43 snaps but caught only one pass for six yards on three targets. Notably, he was the intended target on Joseph’s interception.
Beyond the top group, Wisconsin is still looking for more. Rigby has yet to make much of an impact through three games, while Malachi Coleman missed Saturday with the upper-body injury he suffered against Western Illinois. Jaylon Domingueaux also remains sidelined with an injury, leaving the Badgers without two receivers expected to factor into the rotation.
Tight end
Grant Stec: 32
Jacob Harris: 31
Emmett Bork: 29
Nizyi Davis: 2
This position is more or less a three-man rotation.
Stec led the group for the third consecutive week, but there was essentially no separation in playing time between him, Harris, and Bork.
The bigger development was Harris.
After playing 17 snaps against Notre Dame and 21 against Western Illinois, Harris jumped to 31 and provided Wisconsin with a vertical element it hadn’t gotten consistently from the position. He caught three passes for 89 yards, including an impressive one-handed grab downfield.
PFF graded Harris at 81.0 overall, including an 80.2 receiving grade and 75.9 run-blocking grade.
Bork also caught a seven-yard touchdown and drew four targets.
Wisconsin entered the season looking for answers at tight end. Three games in, it increasingly looks like the answer might be using all three. Ryan Schwendeman, likely next in that rotation, was unavailable with an injury, while Nizyi Davis mixed in for two offensive snaps.
Offensive line
Kevin Heywood: 64
Colin Cubberly: 64
Austin Kawecki: 64
PJ Wilkins: 62
Stylz Blackmon: 38
Emerson Mandell: 26
Lucas Simmons-Johansson: 2
Here’s one of the more interesting developments from Saturday.
Wisconsin finally got Emerson Mandell onto the field.
Mandell played 26 snaps at right guard in his season debut after working his way back from injury, splitting time at the position with Blackmon, who played 38. Blackmon had handled every first-team snap against Western Illinois after splitting the Notre Dame game with Blake Cherry.
Mandell made a strong first impression. PFF gave him an 81.0 overall grade, including an 82.7 run-blocking grade and 80.2 pass-blocking grade. He did not allow a pressure on 15 pass-blocking snaps.
Blackmon was also excellent in protection, earning an 82.9 pass-blocking grade without allowing a pressure.
The rest of the line was largely unchanged, but there are still areas to clean up. Wilkins, who has struggled, allowed four pressures and received a 42.6 pass-blocking grade. Cubberly surrendered two pressures.
Wisconsin allowed seven total pressures but no sacks.
Mandell’s return is the development worth watching. Fickell said earlier in the week that Wisconsin hoped to begin working him back into the mix as Big Ten play approached. The timing couldn’t be much better.
Defensive line
DeNigel Cooper: 25
Hammond Russell IV: 21
Jacob Anderson: 20
Dillan Johnson: 17
Nolan Vils: 16
Charles Perkins: 15
Junior Poyser: 11
Wisconsin continued spreading the workload extensively up front.
Nobody played more than 25 snaps, and seven defensive linemen received at least 11. That’s an even deeper rotation from position coach E.J. Whitlow than we saw against Western Illinois.
The results, as you’d expect, were better, too.
Eastern Michigan managed only 62 rushing yards on 30 attempts, one week after Western Illinois ran for 154.
PFF graded Anderson — an Illinois State transfer — at 78.6 overall with an 80.9 run-defense grade. Russell, who had two pressures, earned a 75.8 overall mark, while Perkins graded at 74.9 against the run.
Vils also made his presence felt, finishing with five tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss, a sack and three defensive stops.
There isn’t one defensive lineman Wisconsin appears determined to build the unit around. Perkins and Russell will start, but the rotation is clearly the plan. Saturday was the first time the results really matched it.
Inside linebacker
Cooper Catalano: 37
Mason Posa: 29
Taylor Schaefer: 28
Thomas Heiberger: 26
Jon Jon Kamara: 25
Aaron Witt: 11
This looked considerably different from Week 2.
Catalano had played 57 snaps against Western Illinois, with Posa at 33 and Heiberger at 24. Against Eastern Michigan, Wisconsin was able to spread the workload much more evenly.
Catalano remained productive, recording four tackles and three defensive stops while earning a 75.6 PFF grade.
Posa supplied the bigger moment.
Playing through the turf toe injury he suffered against Notre Dame, the sophomore intercepted Noah Kim in the second quarter for Wisconsin’s first takeaway of the season. The Badgers scored two plays later.
Heiberger also continued to get meaningful work, while Schaefer (three tackles) and Kamara saw their largest roles of the season. Witt continues to mix in when appropriate and is a nice veteran option behind them.
The depth here is becoming real. The question entering Big Ten play is how much of it Wisconsin will actually trust when the games tighten up.
Outside linebacker
Tyreese Fearbry: 43
Sebastian Cheeks: 33
Justus Boone: 19
Nicolas Clayton: 16
Michael Garner: 12
Jayden Loftin: 10
Will McDonald: 6
Fearbry actually led the group in snaps, but Cheeks continued to be Wisconsin’s most disruptive edge defender.
Cheeks recorded a sack, two quarterback hits, a hurry and forced the fumble that Catalano returned for a touchdown. PFF credited him with four pressures on 18 pass-rush snaps and gave him an 82.1 pass-rush grade.
That’s now three consecutive productive weeks for Cheeks. He generated seven pressures against Western Illinois after recording three against Notre Dame, where he also forced a fumble on a strip-sack.
Clayton also earned a 76.8 overall grade and recorded two tackles and a TFL in 16 defensive snaps.
Wisconsin has plenty of bodies here. Cheeks is continuing to separate himself as the player most consistently affecting quarterbacks. But the Badgers will need a few more complementary players to emerge in Big Ten play if this group is going to make the impact they’ll need. The lack of pressure generated during the nonconference slate is a tad concerning.
Cornerback
Jai’mier Scott: 46
Javan Robinson: 40
Eric Fletcher Jr.: 35
Bryce West: 31
Donovan Dunmore: 11
This rotation is worth monitoring.
West played 31 snaps primarily in the slot and delivered the kind of physical performance Wisconsin wants from him. He recorded five tackles, two tackles for loss, and didn’t miss a tackle. PFF gave him an 82.0 tackling grade.
Fickell specifically mentioned afterward that Wisconsin may have overloaded West with information against Western Illinois and wanted him playing faster and more aggressively Saturday. They got just that.
Fletcher also played a season-high 35 defensive snaps after seeing 16 against Notre Dame and 25 against Western Illinois. He allowed one reception for 15 yards on two targets and earned a 79.7 overall grade.
The Oklahoma State transfer also blocked Eastern Michigan’s field-goal attempt on the final play and had an interception return for a touchdown that was wiped out by a penalty. All told, it was an encouraging showing from a player this staff has consistently expressed confidence in.
Robinson had a more difficult afternoon. He allowed one reception for 18 yards on two targets, and that catch went for Eastern Michigan’s touchdown on the opening drive. He also missed his only tackle opportunity and finished with a 58.7 overall grade.
The top of Wisconsin’s cornerback rotation appears settled, with Scott and Robinson on the outside and West established as the starting slot corner. Fletcher, however, continues to show signs of growth behind them. It’s also notable that Dunmore played 11 defensive snaps ahead of Cai Bates, who had seen the field in each of the Badgers’ first two games.
Safety
Marvin Burks Jr.: 49
Matt Jung: 46
Carson Van Dinter: 20
Cairo Skanes: 17
Raphael Dunn: 6
Matt Jung had arguably the best defensive performance on the field.
Jung played 46 snaps and earned a 90.6 overall PFF grade, Wisconsin’s highest defensive mark. He had three tackles, was targeted twice in coverage, allowing one catch for 23 yards, and came away with a leaping interception late in the second quarter. Jung’s coverage grade: 90.5.
Burks led the safeties with 49 snaps and had a strong afternoon of his own, finishing with three tackles and an impressive pass breakup in the end zone that prevented a touchdown. He earned a 76.5 coverage grade. Van Dinter again had a defensive role after playing seven snaps against Western Illinois, while Skanes dropped from 22 snaps last week to 17.
Jung’s emergence as a stabilizing presence in the secondary is becoming increasingly difficult to miss. The next step is for both he and Burks to continue growing together and give Wisconsin the kind of dependable safety tandem it will need in Big Ten play.
What did we actually learn?
More than we did a week ago.
Western Illinois gave Wisconsin an opportunity to expand its rotations. Eastern Michigan started showing which of those developments might actually matter when Big Ten play arrives.
Mandell immediately re-entered the right guard competition and played well. Henry has gone from interesting gadget player to featured target. Harris gave the passing game another way to create explosives. Cheeks continues generating pressure. West responded with a more aggressive performance. Jung produced his best game of the season.
There are still questions.
The Badgers rushed for only 117 yards, and Joseph accounted for 46. The offensive line protected him well enough to avoid allowing a sack but surrendered seven pressures. The secondary rotation remains largely intact, but is fluid on the back end, and we’ll find out quickly how much of the defensive depth Wisconsin actually trusts against better competition.
But the biggest difference Saturday was that some of these individual developments finally translated into the kind of collective performance Wisconsin has been trying to find. The Badgers didn’t just beat Eastern Michigan. After a shaky first quarter, they overwhelmed them.
Now the evaluation changes.
The first three weeks were about figuring out what Wisconsin has.
Penn State begins the process of finding out how much of it is ready.
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