Thomas Heiberger has already taken the long road to a bigger role in Madison, and 2026 looks like the first real chance for “Tommy Turbo” to turn that patience into production.
That’s not because the path is wide open. It isn’t.
Wisconsin’s inside linebacker room is loaded, and Heiberger is still staring up at Mason Posa and Cooper Catalano, two younger players who aren’t going anywhere. But the job he’s chasing now is different from the one he would have been fighting for in the past.
Heiberger isn’t trying to crack the two-man inside linebacker rotation. He’s competing with Kansas transfer Jon Jon Kamara for the third ILB spot, the STAR role in Mike Tressel’s defense.
That matters. The STAR is a more specialized piece, an off-ball linebacker who can move in space, work off the edge, and fit into Tressel’s more exotic packages.
It’s not a base-defense role, which means the snaps won’t come easy. But it also gives a player like Heiberger a clearer lane to matter.
“Tommy’s done an unbelievable job to this point. He’s done everything we’ve asked of him.
Like Jon Jon, he gives a different skillset than the other two. He’s a guy that, while you can reduce down and walk him up on the edge and do some of the front multiplicity stuff, he also has enough movement skills to play off the ball and in space," inside backers coach Tuf Borland said this spring.
That versatility is the selling point. Heiberger has the length and range to fit the same general mold as Kamara, and he gives Wisconsin another athletic option behind its top two linebackers.
In the best version of this setup, he’s not just depth. He’s a piece the Badgers can use alongside Posa and Catalano, someone who can line up in different spots and force offenses to keep tabs on him every snap.
Borland also pointed to the growth Heiberger has shown behind the scenes.
"Just a really good feel for the game that will flash in practice," Borland continued. "Tommy is a guy that, most people don’t understand how young and inexperienced he is, just with the injuries he’s had over the course of his career. Done an unbelievable job approaching it the right way this offseason and has set himself up in a really good way.”
Still, the reality is that Heiberger could again find himself buried in a crowded room. A third straight season with fewer than 100 defensive snaps is very much on the table. If Kamara becomes the clear answer at STAR and the staff wants him on the field often, Heiberger may be left with only scattered chances.
The upside case is obvious, though. If Heiberger pushes Kamara, or even matches him, he could carve out a meaningful role and finally turn that offseason progress into game-day impact. If that happens, he could end up with a light but useful workload each week, and maybe even make a few plays as a blitzer off the edge.
The floor is quieter. The guess here is that Heiberger’s numbers stay modest, though he could finally get into double-digit tackles and maybe add a sack or two if the opportunities come.
Either way, the talent is there. The question is how often Wisconsin can actually get him on the field.
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