Wisconsin Badgers 2023 Spring Position Preview: Offensive Line

As Luke Fickell's first season in Madison draws closer, the Badgers will hit the field for spring practice starting in late March.

Following its Pro Day on March 23, UW will run spring ball between March 25 and April 27 this year, according to a recent social media post. With a completely revamped coaching staff, a few key incoming transfers and brand new schematics, Wisconsin football will look plenty different in 2023. Spring ball will be the first glimpse at this new era.

BadgerBlitz.com is once again expected to watch any open practices available for reporters to attend. Tuesday, we take a look at the offensive line, which has a good blend of depth, experience and potential.

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In classic Wisconsin football tradition, the Badgers will lose two starting offensive linemen to the pros while returning a deep and talented core of players. Center Joe Tippmann and guard Tyler Beach are prepping for the NFL Draft, and Wisconsin also lost former blue-chipper Logan Brown to the transfer portal — he'll play for the Kansas Jayhawks this fall.

The Badgers still have plenty of experience along their offensive line, headlined by returning anchor at left tackle Jack Nelson. Nelson played the second-most snaps of any lineman last season behind Tippmann, and is once again expected to hold down the blindside in 2023. Nelson was a stud at left tackle last season, allowing just two sacks in 343 pass-blocking snaps, per Pro Football Focus. That comes out to Nelson allowing a sack 0.006 percent of the time on pass plays.

Tanor Bortolini is also very experienced at multiple positions on the inside of the line. He spent most of his time at left guard last season, but can flip to the right side and also play center. If injuries were no obstacle and it was simply up to Wisconsin's coaching staff, they'd probably hold him down at the left guard spot this season.

Bortolini's versatility was a huge help for the Badgers last season, and new offensive line coach Jack Bicknell Jr. recognizes the importance of having players that can play both sides of the line. Nonetheless, he prefers to keep linemen in one place.

"There is no such thing as left and right," Bicknell told reporters during a recent interview. "Trey Wedig’s just popping into my head right now, he’s gotta know guard, tackle, left and right. And you’d love to keep him on one side, except what if the left tackle gets hurt. I try to approach it like, there is no left and right."

Wedig was a nice surprise for the Badgers last season, inserted into the lineup to try to provide some juice to a struggling right side of the line. Wedig ended up holding down the right tackle spot for much of the season. He figures to compete heavily with Riley Mahlman for the right tackle job throughout spring and fall camp.

Wisconsin also received some fresh meat for the offensive trenches by way of the transfer portal, as Luke Fickell's Cincinnati connections continued to pay off all offseason. The Badgers added tackle/guard Joe Huber and center Jake Renfro from the Bearcats, both of whom figure to be plug-and-play starters.

Huber played his first full season of college ball at tackle a year ago in Cincinnati, and proved to be a very solid option. A very strong run-blocker who got better in pass protection as the season wore on — he didn't allow a sack after week five — Huber has the talent to come in to Madison and play immediately. Despite coming in as a tackle, Huber expects to play guard for Wisconsin and should compete against Michael Furtney on the right side, who struggled at times last season.

Renfro didn't play a single snap in 2022 for the Bearcats due to a season-ending knee injury just before the opener. In 2021, however, the center was an All-AAC player during Cincinnati's run to the College Football Playoff. That year, he allowed just eight pressures on 390 pass-blocking snaps. With the Badgers loosing the standout center Tippmann to the NFL, Renfro will be a welcome addition to the room.

Bicknell has worked with new offensive coordinator Phil Longo at multiple programs in the past, and that connection should be significant as the Badgers try to adopt an entirely new offense.

“It definitely eases the transition. I’m not coming in and trying to learn a brand new offense like other places I’ve been. Phil and I are very close friends, our families are very close. We were at Ole Miss together, North Carolina and now here," Bicknell said.

"He’s a great guy, very good personal friend as well and I love this offense...it’s the best offense I’ve been around."

Wisconsin's offensive line is deep and talented, with plenty of experience at the top as well as exciting potential nipping at their heels. Looking at the shape of the current offensive line, only two positions seem to be completely set in stone with locks for day-one starters.

First of all, right tackle. Nelson isn't going anywhere. He does have the highly-touted Nolan Rucci behind him, who was a high five-star recruit with every offer imaginable. That said, Nelson's experience and performance speaks for itself, and barring injury, right tackle is his as long as he's on the roster.

Then we have center, which appears all but guaranteed to fall on Renfro's shoulders. Renfro came to Wisconsin to play center, to replace the departing Tippmann. What's more, he's only ever played center in college, so it wouldn't make sense to try to move him around and shuffle the line.

Besides right tackle and center, though, there could feasibly be competition at every other spot. Bortolini seems primed to hold down the left guard position, but he could be challenged by Furtney and/or Joe Brunner, who logged just 38 snaps in his redshirt freshman season but was a high four-star recruit with offers from all over the country.

Similarly, Huber could be challenged by the same two guards for his presumed spot amongst the starting five. Then, at right tackle, Mahlman and Wedig should be in a hotly contested competition for that spot throughout the rest of the offseason. Both played plenty of right tackle last season, and while the advanced blocking stats from Pro Football Focus might depict Mahlman as slightly better, they should both have equal opportunity to win the job.

There's plenty of choices in this category, from the highly regarded high school recruits vying for playing time to the veterans entrenched in position battles. However, we'll go with Renfro here, who is key to Wisconsin's plans in the offensive trenches.

Renfro should be good to go for the 2023 season following his devastating knee injury. Nonetheless, questions remain. How ready is he to partake in spring camp? If he's full go, that's obviously a great sign. Is he running with the starters right away? Likely yes, but he'll need to be fully healthy first for that to happen.

If Renfro isn't full go, that starts shaking up the complexion of the line. More than likely, Bortolini would slide over to center, paving the way for Brunner or Furtney to man the left guard spot. That's where it gets complicated, of course, and after rolling out eight different offensive line combinations a season ago, Wisconsin would like nothing more than to deploy a steady, consistent unit.

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