Key Wisconsin Badgers: No. 25 - Tight End Hayden Rucci

Wisconsin's 2021 football season is right around the corner, so BadgerBlitz.com ranked the top 30 players who we think will be the keys to success for Paul Chryst's squad this year.

Playing time, past performance and positional depth all factored into our staff rankings.

Hayden Rucci, a redshirt sophomore out of Lititz, Penn., developed into a reliable in-line tight end for the Badgers in 2020. At 6-foot-4, 259 pounds, Rucci saw the field as a blocker in 78.6 percent of his snaps and graded out as the seventh-best run blocker on the team, according to Pro Football Focus. He has kept his weight right around 250 but mentioned he picked it up to the mid-260s during the winter.

"Hayden and Clay (Cundiff) are making that transition from being a young guy that’s just excited to do what they can to being more of that middle of that road that, hey, I want to be out there and I want to make an impact," tight ends coach Mickey Turner said this spring. "That whole class was the first class that was impacted by not having spring ball, so it’s been fun to see them cut it loose. You’re not having to game plan each, you’re not having to install new things, it’s like here’s our offense, just go play and if you don’t get it right, trust me, you're going to get another rep at it.

"Now there’s the battle of consistency. I’ve seen flashes in both of them. You’ve seen Hayden do it in games last year where it’s like, OK, we can win with that performance but can you do it play in and play out, and raise yourself to that standard that a guy like (Jake) Ferguson sets?"

Rucci, who appeared in all seven games this past season, only saw a pair of targets and has yet to register his first reception with Wisconsin. Rucci has carved out a role for himself as a steady blocker but would like to become a bigger part of the offense this season. Rucci, who totaled 30 catches for 645 yards and eight touchdowns his senior year of high school, is certainly capable of being a threat as a pass catcher.

"I'm definitely working on it," Rucci said this spring. "Right now still just focusing on blocking and whatever I'm needed to do right now but, yeah, I'm definitely still working on routes."

As Turner continues to search for a second option behind Jake Ferguson, Rucci's progression would make him a vital piece of the offense. At worst, the talented blocker already has a skillset that will keep him on the field. He'll be battling with Jack Eschenbach, among others, for snaps in 2021.

The natural next step in Rucci's progression is to become a second threat at tight end. Any receiving production from the third-year player would be a huge plus for the offense and help balance out the position.