PLATTEVILLE, Wis. — Luke Fickell walked off a sweltering practice field, sweat seeping through his shirt following Wisconsin’s first day of preseason camp late Tuesday morning, and declared the expectation he has for his team. Fickell, in speaking to reporters, stressed above all else the importance of discipline.
Wisconsin will spend the next two weeks at UW-Platteville, where the only time football won’t be on the brain is the seven hours of sleep wedged into players’ schedules each night. If the Badgers are to take a step forward after an underwhelming 7-6 season in Year 1 of the Fickell era, then ensuring they thrive in the small details will be paramount — fewer mistakes and better mental toughness among them. Fickell has little patience for falling short in those areas.
That’s why Fickell was so animated during an 11-on-11 hurry-up sequence involving the second-team offense midway through practice. The group, led by quarterback Tyler Van Dyke — who continues to split first-team snaps with Braedyn Locke in a competition — took so long to line up and snap the ball that Fickell sent them off to the sideline to be replaced by a new unit. He wanted to send a message about the standard he expects.
“It’s a point of emphasis,” Fickell said. “That’s a period where we’re trying to play faster. And if we just kind of, ‘Oh, it’s day one, we’re going to let them work through some of these things,’ that’s not what we’re going to do now. … There’s a demeanor about how we’ve got to do things. Even on day one, it’s got to be established.”
Wisconsin was far from perfect, particularly offensively over the two-hour practice, as the Badgers work toward their Aug. 30 season opener against Western Michigan. Here are 10 takeaways from the first day of camp:
1. The Badgers didn’t do themselves any favors last season by tying for 107th nationally on defense with four forced fumbles and tying for 120th on offense with 12 fumbles lost. The defense appears to be drastically improved and won the day Tuesday, unofficially forcing six fumbles.
The offense lost two fumbles early in practice during skeleton drills. Safety Kamo’i Latu forced and recovered a fumble on receiver Bryson Green after Green caught a pass in the right flat and turned upfield. Safety Hunter Wohler then forced and recovered a fumble after a completed pass to receiver Chris Brooks Jr. Defensive back Justin Taylor later forced and recovered a fumble in skeleton drills on freshman tight end Grant Stec.
During 11-on-11 work, the first-team offense fumbled the ball when Van Dyke and running back Chez Mellusi had a handoff exchange issue. Outside linebacker Leon Lowery took the ball away from Mellusi on another running play. And finally, inside linebacker Christian Alliegro forced a fumble on tight end Tucker Ashcraft on a catch over the middle that cornerback Ricardo Hallman recovered.
“It should be toughest for me,” Fickell said. “You can be excited about them punching a ball out. Then you can be really gut-hurt because why’s the ball on the ground? But I think it’s an emphasis on both sides of how we do things. We’ve got to be able to do them together. And that’s going to do nothing but make us better.”
2. As expected, Van Dyke and Locke rotated with the first- and second-team offenses. Neither quarterback produced their best day overall, but there were more solid moments from Van Dyke, showing why he has the potential to ultimately win the job.
Van Dyke read the defense crashing down on running back Tawee Walker and kept the ball to complete a short pass to slot receiver Will Pauling. Van Dyke demonstrated an ability to gain a chunk of yardage on the ground after another play broke down — an area that Fickell said can be a critical part of the quarterback’s game this season. Van Dyke’s best throw of the day highlighted his arm strength when he fired a completion over the middle to receiver Quincy Burroughs in traffic for a first down.
3. Wisconsin’s first-team offensive line remained the same as in the spring with left tackle Jack Nelson, left guard Joe Brunner, center Jake Renfro, right guard Joe Huber and right tackle Riley Mahlman. The change came in the second unit on the right side, with Colin Cubberly at right guard and Barrett Nelson at right tackle to go with left tackle Kevin Heywood, left guard JP Benzschawel and center Kerry Kodanko.
Cubberly finished the spring as the second-team right tackle, though offensive line coach AJ Blazek has stressed he views his long-term fit on the inside. Barrett Nelson missed the spring with an injury but could be the top option as a reserve swing tackle. Freshmen Ryan Cory (center) and Emerson Mandell (right tackle) earned work with the third-team offense.
4. Wide receivers Vinny Anthony and Green took initial first-team reps, with Trech Kekahuna in the slot. Kekahuna will be used quite a bit as he works either alongside Pauling or in place of him.
Burroughs and CJ Williams are other viable options on the outside with the top unit. Williams made an outstanding touchdown catch working against cornerback RJ Delancy III during a red zone 1-on-1 drill. Boston College transfer receiver Joseph Griffin Jr. earned work with the third-team offense.
5. The Badgers’ first-team defense remains a work in progress at the linebacker spots. Jake Chaney and Jaheim Thomas opened with the top group at inside linebacker, with Alliegro and Tackett Curtis earning second-team snaps. Alliegro also paired with Chaney on the first unit.
The outside linebackers had even more combinations: Darryl Peterson and John Pius, Aaron Witt and Lowery, Thomas Heiberger and Lowery as well as Pius and Lowery. What is becoming increasingly apparent is that the linebackers are ready to make a more significant impact this season.
Pius was a menace, much as he was in the spring. Peterson and Pius both came in unblocked for would-be sacks of Locke within a brief sequence of each other. Pius had another likely sack of Van Dyke when he won his matchup off the edge. Lowery and Alliegro both forced fumbles, and Alliegro drilled Mellusi on a short completion over the middle and forced a drop to Walker because of his presence.
6. Wisconsin’s top defensive line remained James Thompson Jr. and Curt Neal, with Ben Barten, Cade McDonald, Elijah Hills and Brandon Lane all earning reps with the second-team defense. Lane, who transferred this summer from FCS Stephen F. Austin, already looks like he’ll be a key rotational piece and could have an even bigger role.
Lane stopped running backs Cade Yacamelli and Jackson Acker on a pair of short runs up the middle. Fickell called Lane “a bigger-bodied guy that’s been through a lot that I’m hoping and believing can provide something.” Redshirt freshman Jamel Howard worked with the third-team defense and batted down two balls at the line of scrimmage against freshman quarterback Mabrey Mettauer.
7. Wisconsin’s first-team secondary consisted of cornerbacks Nyzier Fourqurean and Hallman, with Max Lofy in the slot and Austin Brown and Wohler at safety. However, Brown also earned work in the slot in place of Lofy, with Wohler and Latu at safety.
Wisconsin used a variety of players with the second group, including Delancy and Jace Arnold on the outside, with Brown or Owen Arnett in the slot. Preston Zachman, Latu and Braedyn Moore all earned looks at safety. Jonas Duclona and Amare Snowden worked with the reserves at cornerback with Moore in the slot.
8. Ashcraft could be ready to give Wisconsin more playmaking ability at tight end. He was a focal point of the offense, coming up with multiple catches throughout practice. The sophomore hauled in a pair of first downs from Van Dyke, one up the left hash and another over the middle, though he also lost a fumble.
“He’s got the balance to be able to do everything,” Fickell said. “I think that’s probably what — more than anything — we’re looking for. Riley Nowakowski is the leader of that group and has done a great job and he’s got some balance to be able to do both. But I think Tucker’s got a really high end.”
9. Eleven scholarship freshmen who weren’t with the program during the spring went through their first practice Tuesday. Two who garnered plenty of offseason praise were former four-star running backs Darrion Dupree and Dilin Jones. Even with only a handful of opportunities, Dupree flashed his potential.
Dupree caught a long pass in skeleton drills down the left hash from Locke between defenders. He later caught a pass from Mettauer on the left sideline when Taylor dove for an interception and missed it. Dupree also demonstrated his speed on a run around the left side for a nice gain while working against the team’s young reserves late in practice.
There are still hurdles to climb for playing time with Mellusi and Walker seemingly the top 1-2 punch and Acker and Yacamelli vying for snaps as well. But there is a lot to like early about Dupree. Freshman defensive lineman Dillan Johnson also flashed on one play when he generated a pressure that forced Mettauer to throw a pass away.
10. Wisconsin has three capable punt returners in Kekahuna, Anthony and Tyrell Henry. Kekahuna and Anthony generally were the top two on Tuesday, with Henry’s opportunities sprinkled in between them. All three players possess explosive play potential.
Kekahuna, a redshirt freshman, could be the most intriguing player in the bunch given his speed, cutting ability and upside. Although Kekahuna did not return any punts in four games last season, he did return a pair of kickoffs — for 17 yards against Nebraska and 37 yards against LSU in the ReliaQuest Bowl. Anthony returned nine punts for 85 yards last season, while Henry returned 13 punts for 89 yards while at Michigan State.
