August always has a way of sorting out the hopefuls from the real contenders, and Wisconsin is stepping into fall camp with a roster that still has a few open-ended questions. The Badgers know more about their 2026 group than they did in spring, but with the season just over a month away, there’s still room for movement. Fifteen practices can change a lot, and they tend to shine a light on the names that were easy to overlook before camp opened.
Three players stand out as strong candidates to make that leap.
JD Domingeaux started turning heads late in spring, when he settled into the offense and stacked together a handful of big plays. The former FCS Southeastern Louisiana transfer may be coming from a lower level, but the tools look ready for Big Ten football. His hands and body control have already shown up, and the production is there too: last fall, Domingeaux caught 52 passes for 857 yards and 11 touchdowns.
“Nah, JD’s special. He’s came in, been like a sponge,” wide receiver Tyrell Henry said. “He's become one of my best friends on the team.”
Wisconsin needs someone to stretch the field, and that search makes Domingeaux even more interesting. The room has several intriguing options, but he brings production, spring momentum and traits that seem built for this league.
New wide receivers coach Ari Confessor also noticed the way he carries himself, saying this spring, “He’s just a competitor, he’s another guy that brings some leadership,” and adding that he handles his day to day like a professional. That kind of maturity can go a long way toward earning a steady role.
On the defensive side, Mason Clayton has been building buzz since early in the offseason, when Matt Mitchell compared his 2026 potential impact to that of Mason Posa in February. Clayton also changed his body in a big way this offseason, getting up to 247 pounds without losing the twitch and explosion that Mitchell said rival Sebastian Cheeks for the best on the team.
Wisconsin has older, bigger outside linebackers in Justus Boone and Michael Garner who look like early-down options, guys whose jobs are to hold the edge and stop the run. But the Badgers also need real pass-rush juice, and ideally they’ll find it without having to bring extra pressure from elsewhere.
That’s where Clayton comes in. If he really is one of the top pass-rushers on the roster, the staff will have to get him on the field.
The outside linebacker room is crowded, and snaps won’t come easy, but Clayton may be the most gifted player in the group. “The kid’s a freak.
He’s a freak of nature, god has blessed him no doubt genetically. He has traits that you just can’t coach.
The pass-rush, the twitch, the instincts," strength and conditioning director Brady Collins said this spring.
Then there’s Ryan Simmons-Johansson, who looks like a player arriving at exactly the right time. Like Domingeaux, he picked up steam late in spring, even working with the ones at left tackle and taking reps away from the presumed starter there, PJ Wilkins.
That momentum appears to have carried into the summer. Offensive line coach Eric Mateos said Simmons-Johansson has been one of the more impressive players in summer workouts, and he’s now listed at 323 pounds, up 15 pounds from his original listing when he got to Madison.
If that rise continues, he could push Wilkins at blindside tackle. At the very least, Wisconsin may be heading toward a good kind of problem: three starter-level tackles in Wilkins, Simmons-Johansson and right tackle Kevin Heywood.
In Other News...
Former Badger AJ Storr Suddenly Has One More Shot To Recapture It
AJ Storrs college path has taken another unexpected turn, and it gives the former Wisconsin wing one more chance to keep his career going. Storr has been granted an injunction against the NCAA that allows him to play an additional season beyond his original eligibility, putting him back in the mix as a potential late addition for a program looking for experience and scoring on the wing.
Storr is also part of a broader legal challenge to the NCAAs eligibility rules for current and recent players, a case with implications well beyond one former Badgers next stop. For now, the practical result is straightforward: he has entered the transfer portal and will look to spend his final season at a new school, with the larger fight over eligibility still playing out in the background. [Read more 🡒]
Wisconsin Could Get An Unexpected Lance Mason Boost After All
The possibility of Lance Mason back in Madison has gone from remote to at least worth monitoring. A recent court ruling in Colorado ordered the NCAA to allow class of 2022 athletes a fifth year of eligibility, a development that could create a path for older players to return to college football if the ruling holds up.
For Wisconsin, the idea only matters if several things line up, including Masons NFL situation and whatever happens next with the eligibility fight. He is currently with the Seattle Seahawks as an undrafted free agent, so a return to the Badgers would require the next few weeks to break a certain way, and Wisconsin would also have to have the roster room and need once the dust settles. [Read more 🡒]
Braeden Carrington Twist Could Give Wisconsin One More Summer Surprise
A Colorado judges ruling this week could open another unexpected lane in the college basketball calendar, and Wisconsin has reason to keep an eye on it. The order directs the NCAA to allow all athletes who started in the 2022-23 season and have exhausted four years of eligibility by the end of the 2025-26 season to receive an additional year under a new five-year eligibility framework, a move that would ripple across Division I rosters and the portal market.
Braeden Carrington is among the athletes tied to the ongoing litigation, which means the story is far from finished even after the ruling. The NCAA is expected to appeal, and until that process plays out, the practical impact for Wisconsin and other programs stays murky, with another summer roster wrinkle suddenly on the table if the decision holds. [Read more 🡒]