As Luke Fickell's third act in Madison draws closer, BadgerBlitz.com will break down Wisconsin's roster position-by-position ahead of spring camp, which is slated to take place from March 13 to April 24.
BadgerBlitz.com is once again expected to watch any open practices available for reporters to attend. Thus, our position previews continue Tuesday with the wide receivers, a position that needs to replace two of three starters.
ROSTER OVERVIEW
Wisconsin's receivers are quietly in a solid spot heading into 2025. While the Badgers return just one starter in X receiver Vinny Anthony, retuning slot specialist Trech Kekahuna appears primed for a breakout season after emerging last fall. Meanwhile, the other outside receiver position looks slated to have plenty of healthy competition.
Anthony emerged as a dangerous deep threat for Wisconsin last season and led the receiver room in yards (672), yards-per-catch (17.2) and touchdowns (4). He took a major step forward and should once again be the Badgers' top option on the outside. If he can continue to work on his game, especially his route-running, expect another jump from the senior. What's more, Anthony managed to break out while withstanding subpar quarterback play. If Wisconsin gets better play from its signal-callers in 2025, that should boost his performance as well. Sure, Anthony had a solid rapport with Braedyn Locke last season, especially on go balls. But if the speedster has a quarterback that can throw him open? He'll be significantly more dangerous.
Wisconsin nearly let Kekahuna slip away this offseason. He entered the transfer portal after being criminally underused. He had just four catches until Week 6, when he put together a huge six-catch, 134-yard, two-touchdown day against Purdue. After that? Over the next five games he logged just 12...targets.
Still, Kekahuna might be the best pound-for-pound receiver in terms of sheer talent on this roster. He displayed excellent hands as well as some extreme wiggle in the open field. Getting the Hawaii native to return to Madison was one of the Badgers' biggest transfer portal wins of the offseason. Expect big things from the redshirt sophomore.
The Badgers have a litany of players ready to compete to fill the remaining starting receiver spot. There's in-house options, such as Quincy Burroughs, Chris Brooks Jr, and Tyrell Henry. There's also two transfers: Mark Hamper (Idaho) and Jayden Ballard (Ohio State).
Hamper is the most intriguing. He broke out as a redshirt freshman for Idaho last fall, reeling in 48 catches for 966 yards (20.1 yards-per-catch) and six touchdowns. He was a big play waiting to happen last season in Moscow. Will his game translate to the Big Ten?
Ballard spent four quiet seasons at Ohio State, totaling just 11 catches for 177 yards and one score. Still, he was a Rivals250 recruit in the class of 2021 and when Brian Hartline recruits a receiver to Columbus, talent isn't a question. Will Ballard unlock his potential in Madison?
Between the three returnees mentioned above, Burroughs seems most likely to push for playing time. He played a career-high 137 snaps last season, despite seeing just two targets. Brooks has nice size at 6-foot-4 and has flashed in practice previously, but has essentially been perpetually injured for the better part of his career. Henry transferred in from Michigan State last offseason, but he played just 27 snaps on offense.
Further down the depth chart, redshirt freshman Kyan Berry-Johnson projects as Kekauna's backup in the slot. Henry could also feasibly spend time at that position as well.
Joseph Griffin Jr, who transferred over from Boston College last summer but didn't play a snap in the fall, remains a complete unknown. True freshman Eugene Hilton Jr. will enroll early, but his reps should be very limited with the congestion of bodies at the position ahead of him. Walk-ons Davion Thomas-Kumpula, Landon Nordgaard, Grady O'Neil and Cam Fane return as well.
One question heading into spring practices: How do the transfers look?
There's always a chance that one of the returning wideouts with little production to speak of — Burroughs, Brooks, Henry — makes a massive jump given the opportunity and develops into a starter-quality player for the Badgers. But at this point, that can't be relied upon, which is exactly why the infusion of transfers was necessary in this room.
Again, Hamper is the more infatuating of the two. His production speaks for itself, but one must remember it was in Moscow, Idaho at the FCS level. Still, plenty of Power 4 schools were interested in procuring his services, including Utah, USC and Arizona State. Still just a redshirt sophomore, Hamper also has three years of eligibility remaining and can afford to sit around and develop a little. But can Wisconsin afford to wait for that?
That's not the case for Ballard. After four seasons in Columbus, this is his last shot to become a difference-maker. In terms of his game, the wideout is similar to a Bryson Green type of receiver but trade some of Green's physicality and size for speed. Ballard's skillset appears to compliment that of the speedster Anthony's a little better than Hamper, who— similar to Anthony — excels as a deep threat. Regardless, both should get a fair shot at the starting role.
Player to watch this spring: Mark Hamper
We've talked about Hamper plenty already, but there's simply no one else in this room who will be nearly as intriguing to watch this spring.
Hamper was incredibly dangerous with the ball in his hands at Idaho. That's why many of his highlights from last season begin with him catching a tunnel screen and weaving through the opposing secondary with ease. He's not quite as twitchy, but the way he can glide across the open field is reminiscent of Kekahuna. Does Wisconsin make a concerted effort to get him the ball in space?
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