Wisconsin is heading into fall camp with a few spots already drawing plenty of debate, and the fan feedback on the Badgers’ projected depth chart has made the picture a little clearer.
One of the loudest points of agreement centers on redshirt freshman tight end Emmett Bork. The 6'6 tight end from Oconomowoc, Wisconsin, arrived as a 3-star recruit and sat out last season in a redshirt year.
In the initial projected chart, Bork was slotted as “depth,” but a lot of Wisconsin fans pushed hard for him to be higher. The most common view had him backing up Jacob Harris and Grant Stec alongside Nizyi Davis and Ryan Schwendeman, with true freshman Jack Sievers sliding down to “depth.”
That idea lines up with the feeling that Bork is more than a name to stash away. As one fan put it: “Emmet Bork is not depth.
He will get reps this year, and push for a starting role. The staff is high on him.
Having sievers a true freshman over him is very questionable”
The EDGE group drew just as much attention, and maybe even more disagreement. The current setup had a starter rotation of Jayden Loftin, Sebastian Cheeks, Justus Boone, and Liam Danitz, with Nicolas Clayton, Tyreese Fearbry, Michael Garner, Sam Lateju, and Jaylen Williams behind them, and Ashton Fickell, Yahya Gaad, Evan Van Dyn Hoven, and Will McDonald listed as depth.
That’s where fans made their strongest push. A number of them wanted both Loftin and Danitz moved out of the starting group, with Nicolas Clayton and Tyreese Fearbry stepping into the rotation instead. The revised version would look like this: Nicolas Clayton, Sebastian Cheeks, Justus Boone, and Tyreese Fearbry in the starter rotation, followed by Jayden Loftin, Liam Danitz, Michael Garner, Sam Lateju, and Jaylen Williams as backups.
The appeal there is obvious from the fan side. Clayton got a lot of love, and Fearbry was mentioned as a candidate for a real bounce-back season.
Still, Loftin and Danitz aren’t being written off. Danitz, in particular, has only this year to play, and there’s a sense he could still make his presence felt in spots.
There were also a few other notes that stood out in the fan discussion. One was the idea that Jake Anderson will see a lot of action on the defensive line. Another was the thought that Boone, Fearbry, Cheeks, and Clayton could end up as the four-man EDGE rotation, with Danitz or Garner possibly mixing in.
At cornerback, Jai'mer Scott came up repeatedly as a possible third option, and that’s a name worth watching. The staff is high on him, and the fan buzz suggests he’s someone to keep an eye on not just in camp, but all season long. The same goes for the rest of a defensive back room that figures to stay fluid.
Raphael Dunn is another interesting wrinkle. Fans are watching to see whether he ends up in a slot role, even though he’s currently listed as a safety. Grant Dean also came up as someone who could get safety reps rather than remain in a pure depth role.
At quarterback, there’s at least some curiosity around Ryan Hopkins and whether he can pass Deuce Adams as the QB2.
So there’s no shortage of moving parts as camp begins. The early fan reaction has already nudged the projected chart in a few directions, and there’s still time for more changes once fall camp gets rolling and Wisconsin releases its first official depth chart.
In Other News...
Former Badgers Guard AJ Storr Adds Another Twist To His Journey
AJ Storrs college career has already taken him from St. Johns to Wisconsin to Kansas and then Ole Miss, a winding path that now has him on the move again. The former Badgers guard was granted a fifth year of eligibility, and after a season of changing roles and varied production across those stops, he is once more looking for a new fit.
According to On3s Joe Tipton, Storr plans to transfer again, adding another layer to an already unusual journey. What comes next is still unclear, and for a player whose college story has been defined by movement, the next landing spot will say plenty about how teams view his value and how he sees the rest of his career unfolding. [Read more 🡒]
Mason Posa Just Gave Wisconsin Fans Another Reason To Believe
Mason Posas latest move says as much about his place in Madison as it does about the changing college football landscape. The Wisconsin sophomore linebacker has put NIL money into Mikies Dairy Bar, a local restaurant that already counts former Badger Joe Thomas among its co-owners, giving Posa a stake in one of the citys familiar neighborhood stops.
For Wisconsin fans, the investment reads as more than a business decision. It points to a player leaning into the community around him and signaling his intent to stay part of the Badgers future after a stretch that could have pushed him elsewhere. In an era when NIL deals can send players in plenty of directions, Posa choosing to tie himself to a Madison business offers another reason for the fan base to believe. [Read more 🡒]