Wisconsin’s first half of fall camp has been relatively quiet, but one competition has stood out from the rest: the fight between Jai’mier Scott and Eric Fletcher for the starting field cornerback job.
The Badgers got through practice No. 8 on Friday, putting them past the midpoint of preseason camp. Outside of some injuries on the right side of the offensive line, there hasn’t been much in the way of major headlines out of Madison this August. Still, the cornerback battle has emerged as the clearest surprise so far.
That matchup has been close for a while, and it remains that way with the season getting closer. Fletcher missed time in spring camp because of an injury, which opened the door for Scott to get more reps than expected.
Scott made the most of that opportunity and earned plenty of praise. But once fall camp started and Fletcher was fully back, the two have been going back and forth for the job.
“I don’t know. I think that right now, there’s four guys in particular that are gonna play for us definitely.
Which one has the upper hand right there with Fletch and Jai’mier? I don’t know, it goes back and forth every day.
And I don’t think there’s anything better for us," head coach Luke Fickell said.
"But I think that we’re gonna have the ability to use both of those guys. Is it still gonna be a competitive situation? Yeah it is," he continued.
"We’re gonna have the ability to not just depend on two guys in particular and hopefully have the ability to keep a lot of those guys fresh.”
That’s a strong sign for Wisconsin. If Fletcher had come back healthy and Scott had clearly outplayed him right away, that would have raised bigger questions about the position and the depth behind it. Instead, the two have pushed each other, and Fletcher has clearly answered the challenge after Scott’s strong spring.
The Badgers have seen other camps battles develop too. True freshman quarterback Ryan Hopkins drew a lot of spring buzz and looked to have the edge for the QB2 role, but Louisville transfer Deuce Adams has stayed right there with him in fall camp.
For now, though, the field cornerback competition is the one that best captures where Wisconsin stands: competitive, deep and still sorting itself out as camp moves toward the season.
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