MADISON, Wis. – The mood was tepid considering the circumstances, a primetime season opener at Camp Randall Stadium that was without the usual 80,000 screaming fans cheering Wisconsin running out of the locker room.

Hayden Rucci didn’t care. Coming off a redshirt season, this was his opportunity to finally make an impact. He made one early in the first quarter, just not the kind of play he will put on a highlight tape.

“I had a false start penalty,” Rucci said, smiling. “I definitely was a little nervous those few couple snaps.”

Availability of snaps was few and far between in the tight end room for players not named Jake Ferguson. The Badgers’ primary passing option, Ferguson played 442 offensive snaps last season, third-most of any Badger behind only quarterback Graham Mertz (468) and offensive lineman Jon Dietzen (448).

Rucci had the second-highest snap count among tight ends (164), but most of those snaps were focused on blocking. According to Pro Football Focus, Rucci was either pass blocking or run blocking 78.6 percent of the time. Of the seven games he played, he only received two passing targets and no catches.

Ferguson decided to return for his senior year, meaning a lot of targets are likely headed in his direction this upcoming season, but position coach Mickey Turner sees a group that includes experienced juniors Jake Eschenbach and Jaylan Franklin and sophomore Clay Cundiff willing to take the next step.

To date, Eschenbach has the only pass catches of the group (two for 27 last season). Franklin played sparingly in five games after changing positions, while Cundiff has yet to see the field. All are capable of having bigger responsibilities this season after losing development time last spring with the cancelation of practices.

“We definitely need more of a spread-the-wealth mentality,” Turner said. “You saw it last year with some of the receivers going down. It’s not like you need to be this All-American, beat every one-on-one scenario … It’s a lot of time knowing what to do and doing it right, where in the past that was kind of the battle of just knowing what to do. I think they all know what now.”

While the receiving stats are certainly the glamorous part of the position, Rucci prefers perfecting the down-and-dirty aspects of the job, primarily the blocking. Playing around 250 pounds last year, Rucci said he’s pushed his weight into the mid-260s to better handle edge rushers. Still, the prospect of catching passes is enticing moving into the fall.

Mertz will have a multitude of receivers at his fingertips in the fall, namely senior receivers Danny Davis, Jack Dunn, and Kendric Pryor, as well as the senior Ferguson, so Rucci getting the opportunity to slide into the flat beneath the defense could lead to favorable single-coverage matchups.

Making important catches in the passing game isn’t a foreign concept to Rucci, as the former four-star prospect had 30 receptions for 645 yards and eight touchdowns as a high school senior in Pennsylvania.

“It really comes from being accountable and dependable with routes,” Rucci said. “Ferg has obviously proven himself, but I think guys like me, it’s really just being consistent with our routes and being in places where the quarterback knows we’re going to be and get open.”

While a catch here and there may come, Rucci knows he’ll make a larger impact near the line of scrimmage. He graded out as UW’s seventh-best run blocker last season, including being third-best in gap-blocking scenarios, per Pro Football Focus.

With a full offseason under his belt by the time he runs out for his next season opener, Rucci expects a leap in production.

“Gaining that confidence through being on the field was huge for me last year,” Rucci said. “The biggest thing is when you’re confident, you can just cut it loose.”