Wisconsin’s fall camp is shaping up as a referendum on depth, development, and who can actually grab hold of a job before the season starts. Luke Fickell has plenty of questions across the roster, and the uncertainty runs deep enough that even the quarterback room isn’t fully sorted beyond the top names. With the transfer portal and the program’s rough recent stretch adding more churn, there are battles everywhere you look.
The most important one may also be the one everyone is already circling: offensive line. It’s not necessarily the most open competition on the roster, but it’s the group that can swing the entire season.
Eric Mateos is in charge of a room loaded with big bodies who are trying to prove they can carry the torch of OL-U. The expectation is that the starting line prediction from last month won’t change much before Week 1, but fall camp will still be the proving ground.
Wide receiver is another room packed with intrigue. There’s talent here, but most of it has not turned into production yet.
Several former four-star recruits are still trying to hit their ceiling, while Eugene Hilton Jr., Tyrell Henry and Chris Brooks Jr. are familiar names because they were part of the team last season. Wisconsin also added Malachi Coleman, Jaylon Domingeaux, Zion Kearney and Shamar Rigby through the portal, which only makes the top of the depth chart more open.
The first snaps at receiver will go to whoever wins the competition in camp.
Cornerback might be the most unsettled group of them all. Fickell brought in a couple of former starters, but the way the room sorts itself out is still hard to pin down.
It’s also a young group that will need to adjust to Big Ten experience. Javan Robinson and Eric Fletcher Jr. look like the names most likely to rise, with Bryce West and Cai Bates also in the mix.
Edge rusher is another spot worth watching closely, and for good reason: there are 12 OLBs listed on the roster. Beyond a handful of them, Wisconsin fans are waiting to see who breaks through.
Tyreese Fearbry and Sebastian Cheeks are both trying to turn potential into production, while true sophomore Nicolas Clayton is coming off limited action as a freshman. Justus Boone, who came from the SEC, could factor in too, and Liam Danitz brings a rare athletic profile to the conversation.
Tight end rounds out the list, and it’s a room that only the most plugged-in Wisconsin fans can probably name off the top of their heads. That’s partly because the expected starters are transfers: Jacob Harris and Ryan Schwendeman. Grant Stec and Niziyi Davis are also candidates to push for time, and true freshman Jack Sievers is another name to keep on the radar.
There are other spots with movement, but they look more like battles for backup roles or the final pieces of the rotation. Linebacker, for instance, has two clear starters in Mason Posa and Cooper Catalano, while the third spot is still open with Jon Jon Kamara, Taylor Schaefer and Aaron Witt in the mix. Behind Abu Sama III at running back, the pecking order is also wide open for the second and third reps.
Still, those five rooms - offensive line, wide receiver, corner, edge and tight end - are the ones that will tell the story of Wisconsin’s fall camp.
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He also laid out the tone he wants around the department, stressing high standards, accountability and support for student-athletes while nodding to the programs history and the need to keep moving forward. Eichorst said he and his family are eager to return to Madison and spend the coming weeks and months around fans, listening to their memories and suggestions as he settles into the post. [Read more 🡒]