Wisconsin Badgers football: Observations from first training camp practice

PLATTEVILLE, Wis. — The Wisconsin football team's first practice of fall camp is in the books.

The Badgers, led by new head coach Luke Fickell, practiced for about two and a half hours Wednesday morning at the University of Wisconsin-Platteville, their home until next Monday.

It was a relatively light session — that's typical for the first practice — but there were still plenty of noteworthy developments.

Here are BadgerBlitz.com's observations:

The Badgers started camp in relatively good shape. Only a handful of players appeared to be limited.

That group included Cincinnati transfer center Jake Renfro, Temple transfer defensive end Darian Varner, redshirt junior cornerback Max Lofy, redshirt freshman wide receiver Christopher Brooks Jr. and true freshman tight end Tucker Ashcraft.

Renfro and Varner, of course, headline that list.

Renfro began the spring as UW's first-team center before suffering a lower-body injury. He does not appear to be very far away from being at full strength, as he took a handful of live 11-on-11 reps with the second-team offense on Wednesday. Tanor Bortolini, who will move back to left guard when Renfro returns, worked with the first-team offense at center.

Varner, who wore a boot and used crutches in the spring, also participated in some drills. The Badgers expect him to be a big-time playmaker for the defense this fall.

In 2022, Varner recorded 35 tackles, 12.5 tackles for a loss (fourth in the AAC) and 7.5 sacks (third in the AAC) en route to first-team All-American Athletic Conference honors last season. He had 3.5 sacks and 3.5 tackles for a loss in an October loss to Tulsa. He missed the final two games of the season with a foot injury.

"I have high expectations (for Varner)," defensive coordinator Mike Tressel said on Tuesday.

In other injury news, true freshman wide receiver Trech Kekahuna was seen using crutches. It's unclear how much time he'll miss.