5 positions to watch during spring ball

Fickell and the Badgers went through another offseason of significant assistant changes, with the biggest being the hire of offensive coordinator Jeff Grimes in December to replace Phil Longo, who was fired after the November home loss to top-ranked Oregon. Wisconsin saw more than 20 players depart for the transfer portal and have welcomed 19 new transfers into the program. Fifteen of the 2025 freshmen signees also started their collegiate careers early and are eligible to participate in spring ball.

Every position group will have battles to watch starting Thursday, but BadgerExtra will keep a keen eye on these five as spring practices commence.

It won’t be just who’s under center (or in the shotgun or in the pistol formations) for the Badgers this season as a main question, but just how new offensive coordinator Jeff Grimes plans to utilize this group within his “NFL-style” scheme.

The Wisconsin quarterback unit has changed 80% from last fall’s roster, and no one from Fickell’s first season as coach remains. Gone are starters Tyler Van Dyke − who left for SMU − and Braedyn Locke (Arizona), along with freshmen Cole LaCrue (FCS program Eastern Illinois) and Mabrey Mettauer (Sam Houston State). The lone holdover is redshirt freshman walk-on Milos Spasojevic. 

Redshirt senior Billy Edwards Jr. comes over from Maryland as the anointed QB1 with San Diego State transfer Danny O’Neil providing FBS starting experience as the key backup. Wisconsin reeled in highly-touted four-star 2025 recruit Carter Smith (Ft. Myers Bishop Verot, Florida) late in the recruiting process, and he was one of 15 freshmen to enroll early in January.

Edwards and Smith fit the mold of bigger, athletic quarterbacks Grimes craves to run his system, but how the group is used not just in formations but also the run game could change under Grimes. The unit’s performance will also dictate if they need to look at another signal caller during the spring transfer portal window from April 16-25.

The Badgers gave up 165 yards rushing per game on 4.6 yards per carry in 2024, which was their worst mark since 2018 (155.1 on 4.4 yards per attempt). Wisconsin allowed an average of 200.2 yards rushing and 12 rushing touchdowns during the final five games. 

Mike Tressel’s defense needs to improve up front and at the very least hold its ground at the line of scrimmage, but it won’t be easy with one of the toughest 2025 schedules in the nation on paper. The program addressed some of its needs of increased length and size via the transfer portal with three designated defensive linemen that should give assistant E.J. Whitlow some options: UT-Martin’s Charles Perkins (6 foot 2, 315 pounds), Tulane’s Parker Petersen (6-4, 315) and LSU’s Jay’viar Suggs (6-3, 299).

The extra size and gains made during winter conditioning under director of football strength and conditioning Brady Collins could help the line hold up move at the line of scrimmage.

Returning contributors Ben Barten (6-5, 323) and Dillan Johnson (6-2, 312) jumped between 18-19 pounds from their 2024 fall roster weight, while reserve Brandon Lane almost bumped up eight pounds to 320.

Where Whitlow initially places his linemen within his rotation starting Thursday, and who emerges at the end of spring ball within the first and second teams, will be worth monitoring.

The defense needs significantly more production from both the line and edge players, regardless of size and strength improvements, as the two position groups only combined for 21 tackles for loss and 10½ sacks in 2024. 

Wisconsin as a whole was credited with only 42 tackles for loss and 17 sacks last season. Diving into the programs’ archived stats – and excluding the COVID-truncated 2020 season where the Badgers registered 36 TFLs and 11 sacks in only seven games – that’s the lowest output from a Badgers defense during a full season since 1983 (38 tackles for loss and 18 sacks).

A couple of transfers who were initially projected as defensive linemen – 6-6, 300-pound Micheal Garner and 6-5, 297-pound Corey Walker – have now been listed as outside linebackers on Wisconsin’s spring roster. That signifies a change for how the program portrays its edge rushers. 

So Garner and Walker, along with fellow transfers Tyrese Fearbry (6-4, 249) and Mason Reiger (6-5, 250) beef up a room whose “largest” outside linebacker last season was 6-4, 250-pound John Pius. Seeing what these four bring to the room overall will be hampered by the loss of Reiger, a former starter at Louisville who could miss the majority of spring practices. He announced Feb. 27 on Instagram that he suffered a stress fracture in his right tibia and expected to miss 6-8 weeks.

But also coming back to Wisconsin are contributors Darryl Peterson, who’s bulked up to 260 pounds, Aaron Witt (6-6, 245) and Sebastian Cheeks (6-3, 241). Like the line, it’s not just how they handle potentially new responsibilities but also how assistant Matt Mitchell evaluates this talent in the weeks ahead.

There’s plenty of change with this position group, from scheme to coaches and contributors. 

There’s not just the adjustment in offensive scheme going away from Longo’s Air Raid passing attack to one where routes are defined under Grimes that can come out of play-action passing. There’s also potential variations in personnel groupings that could affect reps, and how the players will hold up blocking for the wide zone ground game Grimes loves. 

The Badgers no doubt lost a leader on and off the field in slot receiver Will Pauling to the portal. Pauling caught 116 receptions for 1,244 yards receiving and nine touchdowns in two seasons, and he’ll reunite with former position coach Mike Brown at Notre Dame. Also gone is Bryson Green, who turned heads at Wisconsin’s pro day last week with an impressive showing, and CJ Williams transferred to Stanford.

Reid inherits 2024 leading receiver Vinny Anthony II (39 receptions for 672 yards, four touchdowns), one of the lone bright spots of a disappointing 5-7 season, and Wisconsin reeled redshirt sophomore Trech Kekahuna (25, 339, two) back into the program after initially declaring for the transfer portal. 

But who emerges for reps behind them, or alongside them, is up for grabs with several talented players who are mostly unproven at the Power Four level. Redshirt sophomore Mark Hamper caught 49 passes for 961 yards receiving and six touchdowns in 2024 for FCS Idaho, and redshirt senior speedster Jayden Ballard comes to Wisconsin after catching only 11 passes in four years at Ohio State.

Returning are seniors Tyrell Henry and redshirt junior Joseph Griffin Jr., both contributors at other Power Four schools prior to Wisconsin. But neither made an impact last year. There’s also redshirt junior Quincy Burroughs, redshirt freshman Kyan Berry-Johnson and former four-star recruit Eugene Hilton Jr.

Paul Haynes’ group, along with the quarterbacks, were among the hardest hit by portal departure. The most notable was key contributor Xavier Lucas, who left school to join Miami after Wisconsin wouldn’t allow him to enter the transfer portal. Signees from 2023 in Amare Snowden (Toledo), Jonas Duclona (South Florida) and Jace Arnold (Sam Houston State) all departed. Slot corner Max Lofy moved on to Rice before having to medically retire.

Even with the current roster, there may be changes forthcoming later this spring. The good news is that redshirt senior Ricardo Hallman decided to play his final season at Wisconsin rather than declaring for the NFL Draft. Sixth-year senior Nyzier Fourqurean won a preliminary injunction last month to allow him to play at Wisconsin, though that ruling in and of itself is on the ropes with the NCAA appealing to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit in Chicago.

Omillio Agard and Jay Harper are 2024 signees who will enter their second season in Madison, and Wisconsin signed two transfers Geimere Latimer II (Jacksonville State) and D’Yoni Hill (Marshall/Miami) that could immediately compete for contributing reps with their FBS experience.

There’s also freshman early enrollees Jai’mier Scott, a former four-star 2025 recruit, and Cairo Skanes, but the team may need to dip into the transfer portal during the spring window in April if Fourqurean is later deemed ineligible or others don’t progress during these practices.