Wisconsin's 2024 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 Luke Fickell's squad this year.
Playing time, past performance and positional depth all factored into our staff rankings.
RECRUITING STORY
Jake Renfro chose to play with Fickell long before most other players on the roster, having committed to Cincinnati as a member of the 2020 class.
The former three-star recruit from New Lenox, Illinois chose the Bearcats in June 2019 over offers from 20 other schools, including Wyoming, Syracuse and Temple, but his decision ultimately came down to Cincinnati and Northern Illinois.
After spending three seasons at Cincinnati, Renfro was a hot commodity in the transfer portal. He garnered interest from LSU, but ultimately chose to stay in the Midwest with the same coaching staff.
"The feeling I had when I got up there, it was unlike anything else," Renfro told BadgerBlitz.com in 2023. "The city of Madison is phenomenal and the players are great - they all love football at Wisconsin. They play hard and are just a bunch of great guys.
"I'm so excited to get up there and get to work," Renfro said. "Obviously these guys don't know Coach Brady (Collins) and the new strength staff, but I do. I'm really excited to get back to work with them and show these Wisconsin boys what Coach Brady is all about.
STRENGHTHS/WEAKNESSES
Renfro made six starts as a true freshman in 2020, then started all 13 games of 2021 and earned first-team all-AAC honors.
It was about as ideal of a start to his career as he could’ve hoped for. Then the injuries began. First, a knee injury forced him to miss the entire 2022 season. Once in Wisconsin, a stress fracture in his foot sidelined him for spring camp, then a sprained right foot forced him to miss preseason, and eventually the regular season.
Renfro didn’t see the field as a Badger until the bowl game against LSU. It was his first game in two years and one day, and the rust was evident. He allowed three pressures, one sack and registered a measly 49.7 pass blocking grade, according to Pro Football Focus.
Yet his performance as a starter in 2021 should give him the benefit of the doubt. He played 722 snaps and earned a 73.6 pass blocking grade, the highest among Cincinnati linemen.
Like many modern centers, Renfro’s far from the strongest player on the roster. At 6-foot-4 and 305 pounds, he’s taller than he is stout and a far better pass blocker than run blocker. Luckily, Joe Brunner and Joe Huber are on either side of him and can make up for any pure strength Renfro lacks.
His greatest asset isn’t physical, and is a trait we’ll maybe never be able to see.
“He’s like the glue out there, really. He’s a vocal guy, he’s an optimistic guy. He brings a little bit of verbal energy and it kinda spreads throughout. Huber’s not gonna say a whole lot. Riley (Mahlman) is not gonna say a whole lot. The two on the left, they’re gonna bring a little gas to the fire and have a little energy when they play. He’s the guy that ties the whole thing together and I think that’s gonna be his role in that room. The o-line’s like a bunch of superheroes, they all gotta have different roles. His is gonna be gluing it together,” offensive line coach A.J. Blazek said of Renfro during spring camp.
“He’s a good player, he’s got a lot of experience. His verbal confidence lets everybody play calmer.”
WHY HE'S No. 9
Renfro’s introduction to Wisconsin was far from ideal. He was brought in from Cincinnati as a plug-and-play center, but suffered two separate injuries before the season even began.
Tanor Bortolini started at his assumed position of center all season, while there was chaos elsewhere on the interior with the Trey Wedig/Michael Furtney battle.
The three aforementioned players are all gone, and Renfro hasn’t been healthy for this long in a few years.
As long as he maintains his health, all signs point to this being one of Wisconsin’s best offensive lines in recent memory.
OVERALL
Renfro ultimately can’t be trusted, physically speaking. He’s become so injury prone over the past two years that he could get hurt at any given point this season and it would almost be expected.
But what he brings to the offense is so valuable that they have no choice but to put all their faith in him. If Renfro can come close to matching his 2021 magic, all of the trials and tribulations of the past two years would be an afterthought.
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