With Wisconsin's roster all but finalized and the season right around the corner, the Badgers have their sights set on fall camp. Once again, the team will travel to UW-Platteville for the first portion of practice up until Aug. 11.
As the dog days of summer heat up, so will position battles and the intense competition for snaps once the season rolls around. Up until fall camp, BadgerBlitz.com will preview each position on the roster. We'll continue with the offensive line, a unit on its fourth position coach in as many years.
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Who's in, and who's out?
Wisconsin's offensive line has seen some serious turnover over the past year. Four linemen entered the portal in the winter window: Nolan Rucci, Dylan Barrett, Trey Wedig and Zack Mlsna. Meanwhile, two transferred into the program this spring: Joey Okla (Illinois) and Leyton Nelson (Vanderbilt), although the later was recently revealed to be out for the 2024 season by head coach Luke Fickell at Big Ten Media Days.
What's more, the Badgers signed five freshman offensive linemen in the 2024 class, resulting in a room that looks a lot different under AJ Blazek than it did under Jack Bicknell Jr. And of course, Wisconsin sent Tanor Bortolini to the NFL Draft, where he was selected by the Indianapolis Colts in the fourth round. Michael Furtney (graduation) also left the program this offseason.
STORYLINE: How does the depth shake out?
The top of Wisconsin's offensive line room looks rock solid. Anchored by two of the better tackles in the conference, Jack Nelson and Riley Mahlman, and finally with a legitimate center in Jake Renfro, this should be the most cohesive offensive front the Badgers have deployed in several years.
Still, serious questions remain about the depth this team is prepared to deploy. This line is in the process of being remade, with five true freshman and another five linemen verbally committed in the 2025 cycle. That means youth and walk-ons abound at primary backup positions.
More often than not, the second team offensive line this spring was as follows, from left to right: Kevin Heywood, James Durand, Kerry Kondako, JP Benzschawel and Peyton Lange. That's a true freshman, a redshirt freshman, a walk-on, a player with 28 career snaps and a player with zero career snaps.
"Game day, you got your five starters. It’s your job to put five guys out there that you trust, that are ready. If we’re doing it right, there should be six, seven, eight that are ready to go," Blazek said this spring. "Whether it’s a swing tackle, swing guard. If you prove that you’re ready to play, and I talk to those five starters and they trust you, you’re gonna get some reps in a game."
At this point, Wisconsin doesn't appear close to that sweet spot. From the spring two-deep, are there six guys who are ready play bona fide snaps in the trenches of the Big Ten? Maybe. Seven? Seems unlikely. Eight? Not a chance.
The Badgers' young linemen can't get up to speed soon enough. With three of the five true freshman set to practice with the program for the first time this fall camp, reinforcements — albeit young ones — are on their way.
With the glaring lack of depth this spring, Wisconsin also tapped the transfer portal for two additions from the college ranks in Nelson and Okla. But with Nelson already announced as out for the year, and Okla with just one career appearance at Illinois, those two may not quite be the cavalry the Badgers needed.
The second-team offensive line will be one of the biggest units to keep an eye on this fall. One of the biggest questions the rotation itself might come down to: how much does Blazek trust his youngsters?
Two things to watch going forward
1. How do Nelson and Mahlman look against Wisconsin's new pass-rushing duo of John Pius and Leon Lowery this fall? In spring camp, the battle on the edges between those four was highly captivating for 15 straight practices. The pass-rushers made plenty of noise, but the tackles won their fare share of reps too. What transpires this fall? Do Nelson and Mahlman, now more privy to the outside backers' moves, begin to contain Pius and Lowery? Or is the battle even more intense than it was this spring as the season draws ever closer?
2. What true freshman stand out this fall? Now that all five offensive linemen signees are in town, who stands out the most? Heywood had an up-and-down spring at backup left tackle, which is to be completely expected for a true freshman early enrollee. But who among the new arrivals catches our attention, and perhaps even works their way into the two-deep?
Buzz on the backups
We'll keep this brief considering we already touched on the backups exhaustively. Of the freshman who we haven't seen practice yet, Emerson Mandell is a good bet to make an early impact considering his already massive stature. Benzschawel looked solid this spring and should remain a fixture of the second-team line, even if the youngsters start to make a push. Can Barrett Nelson take a step forward? The sophomore was a former high three-star prospect and worked his way into the two-deep occasionally this spring, but has yet to make much of an impact in Madison.
Projected Depth Chart
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