Wisconsin football impressed with Thomas Heiberger’s movement skills at inside linebacker
Wisconsin Badgers linebacker Thomas Heiberger is healthy, adjusting to a new role, and is eager to push for defensive snaps this fall.
It wasn’t all that long ago that Thomas Heiberger looked like a guy who could crack the Wisconsin football team's linebacker rotation right out of the gate.
Last fall, the then–true freshman from South Dakota was in position to see snaps at outside linebacker under position coach Matt Mitchell before a lower-body injury in camp took that opportunity off the table. By the time he got healthy enough to play, the season was already in its home stretch. He saw the field in just four games, exclusively on special teams.
Now, less than a year later, Heiberger is not only trying to bounce back physically, but he’s also learning a brand-new position. When Wisconsin made changes to its defensive scheme in the spring, the staff decided to move him inside. The thought process was simple: his skill set and athletic profile might be even better suited to the “Mike” or “Will” roles.
The move was also prompted by Wisconsin’s decision to load up on edge talent in the portal, giving the defense more flexibility and the chance to be package-heavy against different looks. With Mason Reiger, Corey Walker, Micheal Garner, and Tyreese Fearbry joining a returning group that includes Darryl Peterson, Aaron Witt, and Sebastian Cheeks, there just wasn’t much of a runway for Heiberger to carve out snaps on the edge.
That plan hit a delay when another injury kept Heiberger off the field for much of spring practice, but he is back in fall camp and working to make up some ground. And according to the Badgers staff, the traits that made them pull the trigger on the position change are still very much intact.
“Number one, I’ve really been impressed with his movement skills for an inside linebacker,” defensive coordinator Mike Tressel said.
“He stays square, doesn’t want to turn his hips and run sideways, and doesn’t want to cross over. He naturally has good inside linebacker movement skills. He’s also a really sharp kid, confident out there communicating, and understands who needs to be communicated with at a given time. We can put a lot on his plate in that regard. The combination of natural movement skills and football IQ puts him in a good spot.”
The reality is, Heiberger’s fall camp isn’t just about getting comfortable with new reads and responsibilities. It’s about showing he can compete for snaps in a room that has quietly built up some intriguing depth. The likes of Tackett Curtis, Christian Alliegro, and even true freshman Cooper Catalano have been getting most of the reps with the first and second units. They also have transfer linebacker Antarron Turner in the mix for snaps, and highly touted prospect Mason Posa is making up for lost time.
Still, Heiberger’s background suggests he’s not the kind of player who will be content standing on the sideline for too long. This is a two-time all-state selection out of Jefferson High School who racked up double-digit tackles for loss in back-to-back seasons and helped lead his high school to a perfect 12-0 state title season as a senior. The 6-foot-4, 233-pound backer also checked every box the Badgers look for in a prototype athlete, boasting a 39-inch vertical leap, a 10-foot-7 broad jump, and a 4.6-second 40-yard dash, which are rare traits you simply can’t teach.
Heiberger arrived in Madison as a composite four-star recruit in the 2024 class, rated the No. 463 overall player nationally, the No. 40 linebacker, and the top-rated prospect out of South Dakota.
"To the moon," Brady Collins, the Director of Strength and Conditioning, said of Heiberger’s athletic upside last offseason. "Man, he's twitchy, he's fast, he can bend, he's strong, and his body's growing. He's a big, long kid. He's a great young man, and I'm very impressed with Tommy Turbo."
He’s proven he can make plays in practice when healthy. Now, the challenge is compressing a learning curve that most players get over the course of a full offseason into a matter of weeks. If he can do that, the move inside might end up being one of those quiet spring position changes that could pay dividends by the time the season hits its stride.
Of course, Alliegro and Curtis are expected to shoulder the lion’s share of snaps inside, and right now Catalano probably has the edge as the next man up at the Mike spot. Still, Heiberger has put himself squarely in the mix for reserve reps, and in a league as physical as the Big Ten, that depth will almost certainly be tested at some point. With the athletic tools Heiberger brings to the table and the edge he plays with, you can also expect him to carve out a role on the Badgers' special teams in 2025.
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