Top five breakout candidates after spring practice

MADISON — Wisconsin wrapped up a productive spring practice period this week. In Luke Fickell's second spring in Madison, he placed a greater emphasis on competition up and down the roster. That led to some extremely entertaining position battles, such as the well-documented competition at quarterback.

But which players, with their performance throughout practice, emerged as potential breakout candidates for the 2024 season? BadgerBlitz.com takes a look below.

*Author's note: The following players are ranked from one (most likely to break out) to five (least likely to break out).

We've written a lot about the young slot receiver Trech Kekahuna, and after the spring he had, he looks like the top breakout candidate on Wisconsin's roster.

The youngster showed he was ready to contribute well before spring practice began with four catches in the ReliaQuest Bowl against LSU. But the redshirt freshman has turned his game up a notch, and was one of the biggest standouts over the course of 15 practices.

Kekahuna is blessed with an innate shiftiness that rivals that of the top player at his position, Will Pauling. He's a nightmare for defenders once he's in the open field with his wiggle and deep bag of ankle-breaking juke moves. With how much he already loves utilizing slot receivers, offensive coordinator Phil Longo must be salivating over the potential of this young man.

The key will be finding ways to get him the ball. We've seen the Badgers do that in a variety of creative ways this spring, such as getting him touches on reverses or lining him up in the backfield so as to draw a linebacker or safety in coverage. Kekahuna has displayed good-enough hands to where Longo should already feel very confident in his ability to consistently produce on quick-hitting routes. And with defenses already worried about Pauling, Kekahuna could be neglected by defenses early in the season. But if Longo can get him the ball in space, that won't be the case for long. Expect Kekahuna to play the role Skyler Bell played last season (third on the team in targets), except with a much higher upside.

Both John Pius and his fellow transfer outside linebacker Leon Lowery could feasibly make this list, but we'll go with Pius for this selection, for several reasons.

First of all, Wisconsin badly needs more pass-rushing production from its outside linebackers. That happens to be Pius' specialty. He racked up 18.5 sacks over the past two seasons at William & Mary, and outside linebackers' coach Matt Mitchell said he has the best get-off — a trait that usually translates to pass-rush success — of any Badger outside linebacker.

Thus, Pius has a knack for the big play. While Lowery brings more power and may be a better run-stopper, Pius looks like the pass-rusher Wisconsin will lean upon on critical third downs. For such a tall, long player (6-foot-2), Pius has great bend on the edge and gave offensive tackles Jack Nelson and Riley Mahlman a run for their money all spring. Now that we've seen him go toe-to-toe with elite Big Ten tackles, there's no concern about his game translating up a level of football. Pius is one of the biggest keys to this defense's success next fall.

Badger fans should already be familiar with Austin Brown. He was Wisconsin's third-most utilized safety last season with 346 snaps, and the junior has been a part of the team's plans for several seasons now.

2024, however, looks like the year Brown will finally get a full shot to break out and become a staple of Wisconsin's secondary. Last year, it seemed as if Tressel was still figuring out how to utilize the safety. Brown split his time almost evenly between the box, the back end and the slot.

In the bowl game, Brown was exclusively Wisconsin's nickel cover man in the slot. He has the positional versatility necessary to see the field, but its worth wondering if it would help the safety to focus in on one spot in the secondary.

No matter where he plays, Brown looks more than ready to consistently make an impact. He made plays in both the running game and passing game throughout spring ball, leveling ball-carriers and disrupting passing lanes.

With Kamo'i Latu and Preston Zachman both held out of the majority of team drills this spring, Brown was given every opportunity. He didn't disappoint, and the junior finally figures to be an every-Saturday staple of the Badgers' defensive backfield.

When the Badgers signed RJ Delancy by way of the transfer portal, it was assumed the former Toledo cornerback would be the replacement for the departed Jason Maitre, who played nearly every nickel corner snap a year ago. But upon arriving to Madison, Delancy has proven that he's more than just a slot cornerback, and his skillset was very apparent throughout the spring.

As spring rolled on, it looked more and more like Delancy was significantly underrated as a portal prospect. There's good reason for that — he played last season in the same defensive backfield as Quinyon Mitchell, one of the best corners in the nation and the 22nd overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. But when you look at some advanced metrics, Delancy might've had an even better season — albeit in a much smaller sample size — than the aforementioned top prospect.

While he played significantly fewer snaps, Delancy allowed a lower catch percentage and passer rating than Mitchell. He's feisty while in coverage, and he put those traits on full display this spring. He lined up both inside and outside, and his versatility will also help him get plenty of reps this fall. Wisconsin appears likely to start him at nickel corner, but he can rotate outside if need be. Delancy was one of the less-heralded transfers the Badgers signed this winter, but he may be one of the most impactful.

Jackson McGohan makes this list for slightly different reasons than the others. While he didn't have the eye-popping spring practice that Pius or Kekauna did, he makes a lot of sense as an under-the-radar player who, if he can carve out a role, could do some serious damage for this offense.

The tight ends were the quietest group on offense this spring, and with Tucker Ashcraft banged up, there wasn't much of note in Nate Letton's room. But is McGohan really a tight end? More often than not, he would line up in the slot or even split out wide. When the Badgers did try to bring him in-line to help with blocking, it didn't go particularly well. He's longer and leaner than the other tight ends, and often got bodied by outside linebackers whenever he was asked to block.

Where McGohan makes his money is catching passes. He's essentially a hybrid; it feels disingenuous to call him a tight end at this point. He's in the mold of a Kyle Pitts or Evan Engram — primarily a receiver. McGohan made a few very nice receptions this spring, flashing his ability to add to Longo's passing attack.

Someone has to catch the ball at tight end for Wisconsin. He won't be asked to block much, but if the Badgers can find ways to use him, McGohan flashed that he could be a very capable and dangerous receiving threat this spring.

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