Unfortunately for Wisconsin, two of the biggest news items to come out of its spring camp were significant blows to the offensive side of the football.

The Badgers lost projected starting left tackle Kevin Heywood to a season-ending ACL injury, and saw prized tight end transfer Tanner Koziol hit the portal.

Unsurprisingly, Wisconsin's staff proceeded to make direct efforts to mitigate those losses. The Badgers have signed two players in the spring portal window thus far: left tackle Davis Heinzen (Central Michigan) and tight end Lance Mason (Missouri State).

As roster turnover continues to churn along at an unprecedented rate in college football, the Badgers have essentially swapped their projected starting left tackle and tight end for Heinzen and Mason, respectively. What does this mean for Wisconsin? BadgerBlitz.com takes a closer look below:

For as devastating as these blows initially seemed and likely are, it's important to keep in mind that neither Heywood nor Koziol is a proven starter in the Big Ten. Of course, the same can be said for Heinzen and Mason, but we'll get to that later.

Nonetheless, the Badgers lose arguably two of the top three most important players in their new offense. Aside from quarterback, which will always be the most crucial position, losing a massive blindside blocker and dynamic pass-catching tight end are considerable blows, especially in new play-caller Jeff Grimes' scheme.

The coordinator orchestrates a pro-style offense with a run-first mindset. Left tackle is arguably the most important position on any offensive front, but losing Heywood here feels like Grimes loses a piece of his identity. Grimes, of course, played tackle himself at UTEP, and builds his offenses around a physical, punishing offensive line.

Again, we've never seen Heywood in a full-time starting role. But the former Rivals150, high four-star top-10 tackle in his class had sky-high potential, and the coaching staff clearly believed he was ready to unlock it.

Last season, Heywood was the Badgers' only true freshman offensive lineman to burn his redshirt season. He played 72 total snaps, all of which came at tackle (57 at left tackle, 15 at right tackle).

Given that he played mostly mop-up duty in the rare occasions where Wisconsin had the game all but won, his reps in pass-protection were limited. Still, lining up against starters, he allowed just one pressure — with no quarterback hits — across 22 pass-blocking snaps.

Koziol was also a highly-regarded prospect, albeit in the transfer portal. Rivals' portal rankings had him as the third best tight end available nationally and a four-star prospect. He's coming off one of the most productive receiving seasons in the nation last fall with Ball State, reeling in 94 catches for 839 yards and eight scores.

At 6-foot-7 and with some wiggle in the open field and as a route-runner, Koziol added a dimension Wisconsin simply didn't have at pass-catcher. In his limited spring practices, he shined particularly as a red-zone threat. At the time, Koziol was by far and away the Badgers' top receiving tight end.

Blocking is a different story. Grimes' pro-style, frequently 12 personnel offense asks his tight ends to block quite a bit. In 2024, when he called plays for Kansas, Grimes' top two tight ends were blockers 66 and 68 percent of the time, respectively, according to Pro Football Focus. Koziol, meanwhile, blocked just 30 percent of the time at Ball State last fall.

Attempting to fill glaring holes in its offense, Wisconsin unsurprisingly targeted veterans in the spring portal. That's the first thing that jumps out about Heinzen and Mason — each is considerably experienced (albeit at a lower level of the sport) and each has a single year of eligibility remaining in Madison.

Heinzen totaled 2,335 career snaps with Central Michigan, 82 percent of which came at left tackle. Wisconsin tried both Leyton Nelson and projected starting left guard Joe Brunner at left tackle in Heywood's place to close out the spring.

"My job and goal, and theirs is for me to be the starting left tackle, but I will play wherever they need me," Heinzen told BadgerBlitz.com in a previous interview.

One of the many things Heywood had going for him is that he's a mountain of a man at 6-foot-8, 325 pounds. The Badgers certainly lose some size if it's indeed a Heywood-for Heinzen swap: the former Chippewa is 6-foot-5 and a previously listed 310 pounds.

Heinzen has reps under his belt, but quantity doesn't necessarily translate to quality. He allowed 99 pressures and 12 sacks across three seasons as a starter, per PFF, and he's now being asked to hit the ground running at the Big Ten level.

Koziol carried plenty of excitement as a pass-catching threat the likes of which Wisconsin hasn't seen since Jake Ferguson donned the Motion W. His video game-like numbers were a catalyst for that. But Mason's production, while not as eye-popping as Koziol's, should get the blood pumping as well.

Mason was a big-time receiving threat in 2024 with Missouri State. He reeled in 34 catches for 590 yards and six scores, averaging 17.4 yards-per-catch. His numbers don't come close to Koziol's — not many player's do — but his yards-per-catch average is significantly higher (Koziol posted 8.9 in that category). That indicates that while Koziol was largely a volume receiver last season, Mason was a big-play threat.

Mason also appears to be a better fit for Grimes' scheme than Koziol. As mentioned, blocking is extremely important in the play-caller's system. While Koziol only blocked on 30 percent of his snaps last season, Mason blocked on 52 percent of his snaps. What's more, Mason lined up in-line 84 percent of the time, while Koziol lined up in-line 40 percent of the time. Grimes' tight ends need to do both, but with A) his 12 personnel, pro-style system and B) an urgency to get slot receiver Trech Kekahuna involved, Badger tight ends figure to see plenty of time in-line this fall.

It's hard to evaluate Heywood because he has yet to start in the Big Ten, but all signs pointed to him eventually developing into a premier tackle in this league. Whether that was going to be in 2025 or later down the line remained to be seen, but this loss hurts significantly. Now, what's arguably the most crucial spot on the offensive line is up for grabs, with no clear solution even with Heinzen in the fold.

The Badgers options are now as follows: An inexperienced player (Nelson), an veteran but one who struggled at times in the MAC (Heinzen), or kicking one of the core returning pieces of your offensive line out to left tackle (Brunner) and replacing a slightly less important position (left guard). None are particularly enticing.

As for the tight end situation, Koziol's loss stings as well. But if he wasn't working well within Grimes' system and head coach Luke Fickell's demanding spring camp, this seems like a beneficial move for both parties. Mason doesn't have the size or production that Koziol did, but he brings a similar archetype of receiving threat to the room and ultimately looks like a better scheme fit. Koziol is undoubtedly a talented player, but if it wasn't going to work out in Madison, why detriment the team by trying to force it?

Overall, this is a downgrade. There's no sugar-coating that. That's generally what happens when two of your Plan A starters at two crucial positions suddenly become unavailable for the upcoming season for different reasons. Koziol is easier to replace in the aggregate. Heywood's talent and size are a different story.

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