Wisconsin’s 2026 roster doesn’t include a consensus four-star signing, but the Badgers still have a few former blue-chip names who look ready to cash in on all that recruiting hype.
Three players stand out as prime breakout candidates: offensive tackle Kevin Heywood, running back Dilin Jones Dupree and outside linebacker Mason Clayton. Each arrived with real buzz, and each now appears to be moving toward a bigger role.
Heywood is the most obvious candidate. A former consensus top-60 recruit nationally, the Pennsylvania native was lined up to be Wisconsin’s starting left tackle last fall before a torn ACL in spring camp changed the plan.
Now in his third year, he’s added strength, taken on more of a leadership role and has essentially wrapped up the starting right tackle job. At 6-foot-9 and 318 pounds, he has the kind of frame that jumps off the page, and if his technique keeps coming along, he has the tools to be a problem for Big Ten defensive fronts.
He may also be Wisconsin’s best pro prospect right now.
Dupree came in with plenty of attention of his own. A composite four-star tailback on 247Sports, he wasn’t a consensus blue-chip recruit, but his offer sheet told the story just fine: 30 offers out of high school, including Alabama and several other heavyweights.
The Mt. Carmel High School product led Wisconsin in rushing last season and delivered one of the team’s best plays of the year with an 84-yard touchdown run against Illinois.
His coaches say he’s made progress as a pass-blocker this offseason, and that matters because he was already a useful receiver out of the backfield. He looks set to handle the third-down role at minimum, with more work likely coming.
Dupree should be the clear RB2 behind Iowa State transfer Abu Sama, and this feels like the season where everything starts to click.
Clayton may be the most explosive of the group. Outside linebackers coach Matt Mitchell praised his get-off this offseason, and strength and conditioning director Brady Collins didn’t exactly hold back either: “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…he works his ass off." At 6-foot-5 and 245 pounds, Clayton is still filling out, and that has helped him hold up better against the run.
But his best trait is still the one Wisconsin needs most: getting into the backfield and chasing quarterbacks. The Badgers have to replace a lot of sacks and pressures from last season, and even if Clayton doesn’t open as a starter, he looks ready to become a real edge force as a true sophomore.
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