Wisconsin’s offense has spent five games looking a little different than advertised, and the biggest surprise has been in the passing game. The Badgers came into the season with questions about the receiver room, but that group has helped change the tone of the unit. Malachi Coleman and Jacob Harris have popped, while Tyrell Henry and Eugene Hilton Jr. have taken steps forward and given this offense more life than many expected.
The ground game, meanwhile, has started to catch up. Wisconsin’s homecoming win over Michigan State produced 228 rushing yards, and Colton Joseph accounted for 141 of them. His legs have become a real weapon, and that added dimension has raised the ceiling of the offense even as the line has continued to shuffle.
At quarterback, Joseph has been close to what Wisconsin expected when it landed him from Old Dominion. He has brought the kind of big-play ability that can flip a drive in a hurry, and his off-schedule talent has lifted both the floor and the upside of the offense. The tradeoff has been the occasional rough throw and questionable decision, which has come with the territory.
In the backfield, Darrion Dupree has been the biggest surprise. He leads the team with 43 carries and has forced 12 missed tackles, by far the most on the roster.
He looks stronger and more balanced through contact than anyone else in the group right now, and he has become Wisconsin’s most complete back. Dilin Jones Sama has been limited by injuries, and outside of that early burst against Western Illinois - when he topped 100 yards on two carries in the first quarter - Wisconsin has not seen him at full strength.
Even so, he still leads the team at 6.8 yards per carry, and his importance to the offense is obvious.
Henry has been Wisconsin’s top receiver, though his production has been uneven. Most of that came in one burst, a 14-catch, 160-yard, one-touchdown outing against Eastern Michigan.
Since then, he has been quieter, with just four catches over the last two games, and he has also had three drops. Still, he has been dependable and productive overall.
Coleman’s evaluation is incomplete because of the head injury he suffered against Western Illinois, which kept him out of the Eastern Michigan game. When he has been available, though, he has shown real juice.
He has touchdowns of 28 yards against Notre Dame and 48 yards against Michigan State, and he remains Wisconsin’s best NFL prospect at wide receiver. The only real knock is that the Badgers would probably like to feature him more often.
Brooks has quietly put together a strong season of his own. He has 11 catches for 194 yards and two touchdowns, and that already marks a career year. He scored in back-to-back weeks against Western Illinois and Eastern Michigan, and while he is not a major separator or a huge threat after the catch, he has done his job consistently.
Hilton has been harder to pin down because Wisconsin has spread the ball around so much. The committee approach has kept him from getting fully established as a pass-catcher, even though his touchdown against Penn State was one of the best grabs the Badgers have made all year.
He has had two drops, but when the ball has come his way, he has mostly handled it. There is still more there.
Harris has been the real breakout star among the pass-catchers. The former Bowling Green tight end is second on the team with 13 catches for 238 yards and three touchdowns, and he has become a major weapon. His hands have been outstanding, and for a 6-6, 265-pound player, his body control stands out.
Up front, Wisconsin has had its share of movement. Wilkins lost the starting left tackle job in Week 5 against Michigan State and shifted to the right side, where he rotated with Emerson Mandell, who still played most of the snaps.
In that smaller role, Wilkins was much better and did not allow a pressure for the first time all season. His future in Madison is still unclear, but right now he looks more like a fringe starter than a locked-in one.
Cubberly has been one of the steadier pieces on the line. At 6-6 and 325 pounds, he is the heaviest starter Wisconsin has up front, and at times he has looked like its best offensive lineman. He has held up well in both run blocking and pass protection.
Kawecki’s situation is unsettled after he was injured against Michigan State and replaced by Ryan Cory, who stepped in well after a rough 2025 campaign. Kawecki has been solid if not spectacular, with a few bad snaps mixed in, but he has largely been the kind of dependable starter Wisconsin expected when it brought him in from Oklahoma State.
Blackmon has been one of the clearest success stories on the offense. He came from D-II Augustana and has moved from an unlikely addition to essentially locking down the starting right guard job. He has blown past expectations and looks set there for the foreseeable future.
Heywood has also settled things down on the edge. He was injured on the second day of fall camp and became a major topic during the final month before the season because of his health, or what people thought his health might be.
He started in Week 1 and has barely come up since, which is usually a good sign for an offensive tackle. He has committed four penalties, and that has to get cleaned up, but his work on a rep-by-rep basis has helped stabilize Wisconsin’s tackle spots, and moving him to left tackle should help even more.
In Other News...
Wisconsin's Frontcourt Suddenly Carries A Bigger Burden Than Expected
Wisconsin entered the summer expecting its frontcourt to be a strength, but the offseason has looked different than planned. Nolan Winter and Austin Rapp have both missed significant practice time because of injuries and surgeries, leaving the Badgers to lean more heavily on size, defense and development work as they try to rebound from last seasons early NCAA Tournament exit.
The silver lining has been extra runway for Will Garlock and Victory Onuetu, two players who have taken advantage of the opening and made noticeable progress over the summer. Even so, the Badgers still do not have clarity on Winter and Rapp for the upcoming exhibition game, which keeps the frontcourt picture a little unsettled just as Wisconsin wants to establish a stronger interior foundation. [Read more 🡒]
Wisconsin's Bye Week Comes With A Big Ten Reality Check
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UCLA, USC and Iowa headline the stretch that follows, a run that should say plenty about the caliber of the competition ahead and how the league race is taking shape. The Bruins and Trojans bring fresh Big Ten intrigue, while Iowa remains the kind of familiar test that can still expose any soft spots, making this bye week feel less like downtime and more like the calm before a real reality check. [Read more 🡒]
Wisconsin's Transfer Debate Is Already Heating Up Through Five Games
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The evaluation also makes clear that this group is not finished taking shape. Some transfers have already carved out real roles, while others are still working back toward full health and could factor in more heavily as the season moves along. That leaves the conversation open-ended in a way Wisconsin fans know well: the early standings in any transfer debate can change fast once the schedule tightens and the depth chart starts to settle. [Read more 🡒]