Wisconsin football X-factors: A deep dive into WR Trech Kekahuna
The shifty slot receiver plays football like it's in slow motion. Can Trech Kekahuna put it all together for the Wisconsin Badgers in 2025?
In Year 3 of the Luke Fickell era, Wisconsin football has a handful of players who are known quantities.
Yet a good chunk of the roster is comprised of players who are difficult to project for 2025. Whether they have yet to don the Cardinal and White or appear to have untapped potential, the Badgers have plenty of “X-Factors” slated for key roles this fall.
Our breakdowns of these players continue with slot receiver Trech Kekahuna.
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I still remember the first time I saw Trech Kekahuna play football in person. He was just a lad at the time, a true freshman early-enrollee trying to make an impression in spring practice.
It’s safe to say he succeeded, because after watching him practice, I formed an opinion I still hold to this day: Kekahuna is the most dangerous player on the team with the football in his hands.
It’s not because of his recruiting hype as a blue chip prospect out of high school or a once highly sought-after transfer. It’s not even because he once complimented my Off White sneakers.
I think Kekahuna is the most dangerous Badger with the football in his hands because the first time I saw him catch a pass and put his foot in the ground to make a move, he easily shed a would-be tackler and seemingly glided across the field as if he wasn’t even touching the ground.
Simply put, no one on that roster moves like Kekahuna. But don’t just take my word for it. The tape tells the same tale:
By the way, that was his first career target. Oh, and the linebacker he just juked out of his socks? That would be Harold Perkins Jr, a multi-time All-SEC selection.
The ReliaQuest Bowl against LSU was a coming out party of sorts for Kekahuna, who was still a true freshman at the time. These days, non-New Year's Six Bowls are like a preseason game for the upcoming year. It’s a time to see what players buried on the depth chart can do, and there was a concerted effort to get Kekahuna the ball in this game.
Below, he’s the inner-most receiver in a trips formation. This is a nice design by ex-offensive coordinator Phil Longo to scheme him open, but if you’re gonna give Kekahuna a 10-yard cushion in coverage, you’re essentially conceding the catch.
His shiftiness is his calling card, and even as a true freshman or redshirt freshman last season, he seemed to have an excellent feel for the game and spatial awareness beyond his years.
That understanding of space helps him both before and after the catch, and the next play is a great example of both. On the longest play of his career thus far, Kekahuna is sent in motion and runs a comeback route, only to be surrounded by Purdue defenders.
Still, when he senses a defender vacate his zone, he runs to the open space, catches the ball in stride, and uses his speed to take it to the house:
Now, there are plenty of receivers who are fast and hard to tackle in a phone booth. That doesn’t necessarily make them elite, or the kind of player that keeps defensive coordinators up at night. But what’s so exciting about Kekahuna is that he’s flashed a diverse skillset, one that offers promise of a potentially complete player.
Digging through his tape, the thing that impressed me most after his signature twitch/speed was his hands. For a while last fall, I was also convinced he had the best hands on the team, too. He stands at just 5-foot-10, 185 pounds, but his smaller stature didn’t stop him from making some impressive contested catches.
Even with a defender draped all over his back, he had the wherewithal to track the ball and look it right into his hands. That concentration was a recurring theme on a lot of his tougher catches.
The best receivers make their quarterbacks look great as well. That might be pushing it when it comes to Braedyn Locke. Kekahuna could only do so much in that department, but he certainly bailed his quarterback out of a few awful throws.
Below, Locke’s throw is directly to the Rutgers defensive back, forcing Kekahuna to extend and essentially pluck the ball out of his hands: