Wisconsin’s passing game is still looking for a clear headliner, but Jacob Harris is starting to carve out a role that feels different from the rest of the room.
That matters in a big way for a Badgers offense that last season never found a receiver who cleared 400 yards. Billy Edwards’ Week 1 injury knocked the passing attack off track, and tight end Lance Mason finished as the team’s leading receiver with 398 yards. This fall, that kind of production from a tight end looks unlikely to be the story again, even if the position hasn’t generated many headlines in camp.
Harris gives Jeff Grimes something far more unusual: a Group of Six transfer with lineman-sized dimensions who can still move well enough to work in space. Listed at 6-foot-6 and 265 pounds, he looks the part. He’s not the sort of player who needs to add mass just to survive in a power-conference lineup.
That physical profile alone makes him useful. A player that big who can get into open grass, throw blocks, and still serve as a receiving outlet is a real weapon for an offense trying to find answers.
So far, that’s mostly how Harris has been used. He’s spent plenty of time mixing it up with the offensive line and has shown up on the occasional catch in the flat. But Wednesday brought a more revealing look at how Wisconsin might use him in the passing game.
He didn’t light up the practice stat sheet, but he did make a handful of plays that hinted at a larger role. Early in practice, Harris hauled in a catch for solid yardage. It wasn’t flashy, but it looked significant because he appeared to be one of the first reads on the play, if not the primary target.
Later, while working with the twos, he delivered his best moment of the day. Harris slipped downfield, found a soft spot in coverage, and Deuce Adams hit him just short of the end zone before he finished the play for a score.
He also got a look in a goal-line period, where Wisconsin sent a back-shoulder jump ball his way in the end zone. The pass was broken up, but the call itself stood out.
There have been signs of progress from other receivers in recent practices, but the passing game still has plenty of questions, including whether Colton Joseph can consistently throw jump balls in the red zone.
What Harris ultimately becomes in Grimes’ offense is still up in the air. But with his rare mix of size and mobility, he looks like the kind of player who can create problems once September arrives.
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