Madison — True Freshman tight end Tucker Ashcraft has only been around the Wisconsin football program for about four months. Thus, it’s a bit amusing that his first career touchdown came off a play with a moniker intended to honor someone who’s been a Wisconsin Athletics legend for decades.

“We were running that play all week in practice, Ted Kellner,” he said. “We kinda switched it up from the weeks prior, but just happy to get it done. There was a little bit of a mess when I was trying to cross the middle, but we figured it out and it was a great play.”

Ashcraft’s three-yard touchdown catch in the back of the end zone gave Wisconsin what would prove to be an insurmountable 18-point lead against Rutgers. The young tight end got to Madison in June, not enrolling early. And yet, through five games, he’s the Badgers’ top receiving tight end with five catches for 71 yards and a score.

Wisconsin’s tight end room was extremely unsettled throughout the offseason. With departures, injuries and personal matters, the cupboard was rather bare for first-year tight ends coach Nate Letton in his debut season.

The lack of depth and experience at tight end, viewed as a problem by many, was seen as an opportunity by the true freshman Ashcraft. He got to Madison and got to work, really starting to flash his playmaking skills towards the second half of fall camp.

“Coming in, there was a lot of old tight ends, guys that I was excited to learn from,” he said. “But opportunities presented themselves, and happy to be here, grateful for everything that’s happened. I don’t know if coming in, in June, the vision was clear, but definitely now, it feels great.”

2023 has been a whirlwind for Ashcraft. The initial Colorado commit was dropped by Deion Sanders and his new regime in Boulder, which led the Seattle native to pledge to Wisconsin. Despite being a late addition to the Badgers’ recruiting class and missing out on spring ball, Ashcraft is now essentially a co-starter at tight end alongside Hayden Rucci.

Ashcraft gave a succinct yet telling answer when asked what was going through his mind when he heard the ball was going to him in the huddle, one that likely represents how the tight end has stayed level-headed through an absolutely wild year.

“My mind is blank. Eyes on the ball, catch this thing and celebrate after.”

Ashcraft isn’t the only new face helping lead Wisconsin’s offense during the Badgers’ 4-1 start. When Chez Mellusi fractured his fibula against Purdue, the biggest storyline surrounding the team was how Wisconsin’s running game would bounce back. Enter Jackson Acker, a 6-foot-1, 235 pound tailback, redshirt sophomore and Madison-area native.

Acker, who transitioned from fullback to tailback this offseason, had some limited experience carrying the ball in the past. In 2021, he tallied 6 carries for 34 yards and a garbage time touchdown in a blowout win against, oddly enough, Rutgers. Still, last season, he didn’t log a single carry.

“I know you guys haven’t seen him in action, but I had no doubt that he’d step up,” quarterback Tanner Mordecai told reporters after the game. “Through spring, summer and fall, he’s done a great job. He’s a really good back, he’s gonna be good for us going forward.”

Acker himself wasn’t lacking in confidence either. The fact that he had an extra week to prepare certainly helped.

“Coming off that bye week gave me a little more time to mentally prepare for what was coming, but yeah, I felt pretty confident coming into this,” the tailback said.

Acker finished with 65 yards on 13 rushes for a healthy 5.0 yards-per-carry. Not only was he an effective runner, allowing Wisconsin’s coaches to give Braelon Allen a breather when needed, he brought some personality to a position he’s only played for less than a year in college.

Acker displayed a powerful running style, not going down on first contact and keeping his legs churning. On several occasions, he put a would-be tackler into the turf.

“I’ve always thought of myself as a power back,” he said. “Me and Braelon actually mentioned to coach (Phil) Longo, we asked him if he ever thought he was gonna have two power backs in an air raid offense. I thought that was kinda funny.”

When all was said and done, Allen finished with 21 carries and Acker had the aforementioned 13. That’s essentially exactly the amount of carries Mellusi was averaging each game before his season ending injury. Acker said the workload split between him and Allen was finalized Friday night.

“We kinda talked about it last night, it was gonna be about 65/35,” he said. “I’m fine with that, I felt like I got my chance to show what I can do. Hopefully I’ll be used more.”

With Mellusi done for the season, and especially with the way Acker played against Rutgers, he’ll continue to be the top backup at halfback for the foreseeable future. The Verona graduate, now finally getting his chance to play for his hometown team, is soaking it all in.

“It’s awesome. I love it. I wouldn’t trade it for anything. Like you mentioned, here where I grew up, a lotta people get to see me play. A lot of people coming to watch, and I love it.”

With the makeover that Wisconsin’s offense received this offseason, there’s fresh faces everywhere. Another of those who’s been a major beneficiary of the Badgers’ new offense is slot receiver Will Pauling.

The Cincinnati transfer reeled in eight catches against Rutgers, besting his previous career high by three. He finished with a modest 68 yards, but it’s clear to see that he’s become Mordecai’s go-to target. The Mordecai-to-Pauling connection has been in the works since early this offseason.

“I wanna say, after spring ball I feel like we had it down,” he said. “Halfway through spring ball, I felt like we had it down pretty good.”

Pauling gives Wisconsin an elite separator underneath, which is often a quarterback’s best friend. How did Pauling pile up eight catches Saturday? Sometimes it’s as simple as the fact that he’s open very frequently.

“Honestly, I just have a good feel for beating defense and man coverage,” the receiver said. “I know how to get defenders to turn certain ways so I can get open. So I feel like I just have a good feel. A lot of that (is from) Coach (Mike) Brown, and what he’s been able to do with me.”

“I think Will is an all-around slot player,” Mordecai said. “He’s a very good route runner, he’s a mismatch in a lot of instances.”

Pauling’s quick-twitch ability and sure hands have him leading the Badgers’ receiving room with 22 catches for 243 yards. He’s been Wisconsin’s most important receiver as a consistent, high-volume slot weapon who is a headache to cover. Badgers’ cornerback Alexander Smith, who knows a thing or two about having to defend Pauling in practice, had high praise for him.

“Honestly I think he’s one of the best receivers in our conference,” he said. “Going up against that kind of talent, going against his work ethic in practice, it only makes us better, makes our team better and I’m grateful to have that.”

Wisconsin’s offense is still finding its way. There’s a Frankenstein-esque combination of transfers, freshman and players from the old regime that Longo is still figuring out how to utilize. In what’s clearly a transition year, both schematically and personnel-wise, Ashcraft, Acker and Pauling have each flashed the potential to be staples of this offense for years to come.

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