As Wisconsin moves deeper into the summer and closer to media days and fall camp, the depth chart still feels very much up for grabs.
Colton Joseph is the one obvious exception. Beyond that, plenty of jobs are still there to be won, and the pressure only ramps up once August heat and live reps start sorting out the pecking order. Badgers On SI took a look at three spots where the biggest shakeups could be coming.
At receiver, true sophomore Trech Kekahuna looks like a player on the rise. He didn’t consistently run with the starters during spring camp, which leaves his fall outlook a little cloudy, but the expectation is that he eventually pushes into a starting role.
He already earned snaps as a true freshman, and this fall feels like a defining stretch for his Wisconsin career. He’ll have a role either way, but the real question is whether he can force his way into the first unit.
If he can’t, the path forward gets a lot murkier. Chris Brooks Jr. and Jaylon Domingeaux are the main boundary challengers standing in his way, though neither has proven himself at the Big Ten level.
Kekahuna hasn’t done that either, but he has flashed enough to remain a clear priority for the staff this offseason.
Tight end is another spot worth watching, and Jacob Harris already looks positioned to handle the starting job. The 6-foot-6, 270-pound transfer from Bowling Green brings the kind of size that jumps off the page.
Still, Grant Stec may be the name to watch if Wisconsin’s depth chart shifts. Entering his third season in Madison, Stec has drawn strong reviews this offseason and appears ready to pass Ryan Schwendeman, the other tight end transfer addition.
Tight ends coach Nate Letton said this spring, “Going into year three with Grant, I think that’s the year where a lot of guys make jumps. Again, they’ve been in the system, their body starts to change," tight ends coach Nate Letton said this spring.
"He’s always been a big kid, he was a huge kid coming out of high school. With some of the body fat, the change in the actual body type.
You’re starting to see him move, come in and out of breaks at the top of his route, become a more viable option for us in the passing game on a wider route tree.” Stec may not post huge numbers, but he’s clearly pushing toward a bigger role.
The biggest summer surge may be happening on defense, where cornerback D’Yoni Scott seized a major opening while Oklahoma State transfer Eric Fletcher dealt with an injury. Scott worked with the first unit and kept stacking strong days, drawing praise from teammates and coaches.
Cornerbacks coach Robert Steeples said, “He likes to solve problems with violence,” and added, “I think he’s got an extremely high ceiling.” Fletcher brings blazing speed and far more experience, but Scott’s ceiling has clearly caught the staff’s attention.
Defensive coordinator Mike Tressel summed it up this way: “He believes it's his time now.”
In Other News...
Wisconsin Just Raised The Stakes For Luke Fickell
Wisconsins football program has entered a familiar kind of waiting game, one that comes with a new face in the athletic department and plenty of questions attached to the head coach. Luke Fickell remains the man in charge in Madison, but the mixed results of his tenure have kept the conversation around the program from settling, especially now that Shawn Eichorst is the athletic director overseeing the next phase.
Eichorst brings his own history to the job, including a reputation for making hard coaching calls after moving quickly on the sidelines at Nebraska. For Fickell, that means the pressure around Wisconsins direction is not going away anytime soon, and the coming months will matter as the Badgers try to show whether the roster changes and portal additions can finally push the program forward. [Read more 🡒]
Eric Fletcher Jr. Could Change Wisconsin's Cornerback Conversation
Wisconsins secondary has been looking for another piece to help reshape the cornerback picture, and Eric Fletcher Jr. is bringing the kind of athletic profile that can make that conversation more interesting. The redshirt sophomore arrived from Oklahoma State with a little bit of game experience already on his rsum, and his speed and quickness have stood out as traits that fit what the Badgers need on the back end.
Fletcher is still in the early part of his Wisconsin story, but there is enough there to suggest he can push for a rotational spot and keep climbing from there. He showed some playmaking ability in his previous season, and if that carries over, the Badgers may have found a corner who can do more than just add depth. [Read more 🡒]
What Wisconsin Might Really Have In Malachi Coleman
Malachi Coleman arrives in Madison with the kind of recruiting pedigree that still makes coaches pause and project, even after the path has gone a little sideways. The 6-foot-5 receiver transferred to Wisconsin from Minnesota after earlier stops at Nebraska, and the appeal is obvious: a long, physical target who once looked like he could grow into much more than a depth piece. For the Badgers, the question is less about what he was supposed to be and more about what he can still become in a new setting.
Wisconsin does not need him to be the centerpiece of the passing game to make him useful, but it does need him to carve out a real lane. Colemans best chance may be as a rotational option who can give the offense a different look near the goal line, where size and catch radius matter more than polish. The challenge is earning enough snaps to matter, and for a player who has already changed schools twice, the next step has to come with actual on-field traction. [Read more 🡒]