2022 Wisconsin Badgers Positional Review: Tight Ends

Wisconsin ended its season on a winning note with a 24-17 over Oklahoma State in the Guaranteed Bowl on Dec. 27. After a brief break, UW will kick up winter conditioning as it begins its early preparation for the 2023 campaign.

Over the next two weeks, BadgerBlitz.com will review each position before turning the page from the 2022 season. Today, we take a closer look at the Wisconsin tight ends.

RELATED: Quarterbacks | Running Backs | Wide Receivers |

Looking at the first season without workhorse Jake Ferguson in the fold, the tight ends returned a group that included Clay Cundiff, Hayden Rucci and Jack Eschenbach, among others.

Before he unfortunately suffered another major injury, Cundiff had gained a rapport with quarterback Graham Mertz and developed into a reliable option in the pass game. Ultimately, Cundiff ended the season with nine catches for 142 yards and two touchdowns, tops in the group.

The highlight for the redshirt junior came in Week 2 against Washington State. Cundiff tallied four catches for 59 yards and a pair of scores. Each mark was a career-high. The performance came sandwiched between what was an encouraging start. Through three weeks, Cundiff hauled in eight catches for 139 yards and the two touchdowns.

Against the Cougars, the first score came on a 10-yard connection between Mertz and Cundiff in which the two adjusted to a pressure look from Washington State. The other score, a 17-yard reception, came with the tight end beating his defender with a smooth route on a corner route.

The room ended the season on a high note with Rucci hauling in a 15-yard score just before the end of the first half to put Wisconsin up 17-7 against Oklahoma State. That touchdown was the first of Rucci's career.

The first day of fall camp may have been an unfortunate sign of what was to come for the tight end room when Cam Large went down with a right leg injury that ended his 2022 season.

With the duo of Cundiff and Rucci off to a solid start - combining for 12 catches and 167 yards - the injury bug would come back to hit Chris Haering's group.

A year after making his way back from a horrific injury he suffered against Iowa, Cundiff was hit low after he caught a three-yard pass on a shallow route. After going down awkwardly, he left the field on a stretcher for the second consecutive season and would quickly be ruled out for the rest of the year.

"He's doing alright. You hate to see that happen," Mertz, who also lived with Cundiff, said. "He’s going to fight and he’s going to be better than ever. I’ve got no doubt in that and I’ll be with him every step of the way. One thing about that dude is he’s resilient... All you can really do is be there for him. His room is three steps away from mine, so going to see him every day just check in with him. You really just got to be there for your boys. That’s all you can really do."

One week later, Rucci went down with a right leg injury in the first quarter of action of action against Illinois. The redshirt junior tight would go on to miss the next three weeks before returning one month later against Maryland.

A room that showed promise and potential depth quickly became a shell of itself and would have to rely on Eschenbach, a former walk-on, for a good chunk of the season.

For as much excitement new offensive coordinator Phil Longo brings with him, it will be interesting to see what happens with the tight ends. At the minimum, the new offense points towards less formations with two tight ends on the field together.

While the group has not added anyone outside of 2023 signee Tucker Ashcraft, a three-star tight end out of Washington, the unit will return two of its top three receivers in Cundiff and Rucci. With what the two showed to start the season, it's a nice one-two punch. The question now becomes whether the duo can stay on the field.

Behind the two, true freshman JT Seagreaves, whom Braelon Allen called someone who he thinks can be a "playmaker" because of his speed, leaves some intrigue. Cole Dakovich should be able to continue to battle for a role as a reserve as well. In five games, he saw 70 snaps with 59 coming as a run blocker.

While Longo's offense has left much to be excited about for the receivers and passing game in general, the top two returners at tight end have shown enough to believe they can contribute in 2023.

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