MADISON — The competition was high in the spring and will continue to be during fall training camp.

None of Wisconsin’s position groups have been (or will be) more entertaining than the receiving corps, which includes four transfers and three players who were productive for the Badgers last season.

As fall camp approaches, BadgerBlitz.com continues its position-by-position analysis of the roster with a look at one of the strongest position groups on the roster.

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The Badgers did not load up on transfer wide receivers to replace the players already on the roster. They made those additions to give Phil Longo's Air Raid ample depth, as at least six receivers could get regular snaps this fall.

"I'd like to be able to rotate those guys," wide receivers coach Mike Brown said. "Depending on how we do things offensively, which I am still learning..how we do things with tempo and how we are able to sub. All that stuff plays a factor."

At least three of the transfers will be in that rotation.

C.J. Williams came to UW from USC, and the sophomore showed everyone why he was one of the top wide receivers in the 2022 recruiting cycle during spring ball.

Williams began camp with UW's second-team offense, but it did not take him long to assert himself as an explosive playmaker. He frequently caught deep passes and picked up chunks of yards after catches while climbing into UW's top three.

"He's made plays in contested catch situations, which has been really good to see," Brown said. "He doesn't shy away from contact, which is really good to see — especially from a young player. He's working hard. He's a smart kid. So really excited about where he's at."

Oklahoma State transfer Bryson Green, who spent the spring recovering from an injury, is the most established of the four. The 6-foot, 205-pounder caught 42 passes for 723 yards with seven scores for the Cowboys, setting career highs in all three categories this past season.

"Just watching his tape, he does a great job of tracking the ball down the field," wide receivers coach Mike Brown said. "He's a really, really strong young man. He's got a different level of strength."

Will Pauling and Quincy Burroughs followed Brown and head coach Luke Fickell to UW from Cincinnati.

Pauling, a speedy weapon in the slot, was arguably the most impressive transfer in the spring. He ended camp with the first-team offense.

"He has some really high football IQ," Fickell said of Pauling's ability in the slot. "He's got a skill set that's good for what we're trying to do, especially at that spot."

Burroughs, a redshirt freshman, flashed at times this spring and will push for a spot in the top six during fall camp.

"Quincy was a true freshman for us last year, so he didn’t play. He redshirted," Brown said. "But he has a lot of talent that we’ll continue to work and develop."

Wisconsin's wide receivers made the most of their opportunities last season.

Senior Chimere Dike led UW and set career highs in catches (47), yards (689) and touchdowns (6). His 14.8 yards per reception ranked fourth among Big Ten players with at least 40 catches.

Skyler Bell, a redshirt sophomore, caught 30 passes for 447 yards and five scores as a first-time starter. Keontez Lewis, who transferred in from UCLA, showed big-play ability while catching 20 passes for 313 yards and three scores.

They all figure to be even more productive in Longo's Air Raid.

“We got to showcase it a little bit last year, but not as much as we wanted to," Lewis said. "I feel like this year, people are going to be surprised because they didn’t see it (from us) as much last year. This year, they’re going to see it a whole lot."

Bell said, “We thought last year that people didn’t get to see how good we actually were, just with the offense we were in. I think in this offense, we’re going to be able to show that we have receivers who can play at this level and can play at the next level. This offense can help us three and the others in the room.”

Some of the others include sophomore Vinny Anthony and redshirt freshmen Tommy McIntosh and Chris Brooks Jr. All of them showed promise during spring ball.

"I think we have a lot of guys who can make plays," Dike said. "From top to bottom, we're going to have a really good rotation of guys who can come in and be consistent."

Multiple pass catchers will have productive seasons. Last year, six of Longo's North Carolina playmakers went over 300 yards receiving. All of them caught at least two touchdown passes.

But if we're only going to pick one guy, it's hard not to go with Pauling. Surprised? Here's why you shouldn’t be:

Slot receivers have been some of the most productive players in Longo's offenses, especially in recent seasons. Josh Downs led UNC in catches, yards and touchdowns in 2021 and 2022, while Dazz Newsome racked up 188 catches, 2,435 yards and 18 touchdowns over the 2019 and 2020 seasons. He went over 1,000 yards and led UNC in catches (72) in 2019.

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