Over the next two weeks, BadgerBlitz.com will be bringing you snapshots for each recruited position, covering the targets who are legitimate prospects on Wisconsin's board in the 2024 class. We will discuss the candidates who are most interested in the Badgers, as well as those who are considered long shots to commit to UW.
As always, this is just a snapshot in time and things remain fluid. Additional offered targets will appear over the next few months and some recruits will inevitably choose other colleges.
Today, we continue with a look at the offensive linemen.
QUICK BREAKDOWN
Arguably the biggest storyline from spring camp was an injury Jake Renfro suffered early on and the ripple effect it had on the offensive line. That forced Tanor Bortolini back inside to center, with Joe Huber and Dylan Barrett also taking reps at that position. With Renfro out for the majority of camp, the first-team offensive line, from left to right, was commonly (but not always):
Jack Nelson, Joe Huber, Tanor Bortolini, Michael Furtney, Riley Mahlman
For much of camp, the second-team unit, from left to right, was as follows:
Nolan Rucci, Joe Brunner, Dylan Barrett, J.P. Benzschawel, Trey Wedig
"I think we have a lot of guys that can play, I really do," position coach Jack Bicknell Jr. said. "I think we've got good depth so, in my opinion, if we have six, seven, eight guys, even then we'll rotate those guys. You see the defensive line rotating in all the time, so it'll give us a chance to be fresh. Especially after hopefully a 14-game season that we'd have next year."
On the recruiting front, Wisconsin has an early commitment from Derek Jensen in a class where Bicknell Jr. is likely looking for four scholarship offensive linemen.
COMMITTED PROSPECTS
The Badgers locked up a commitment from in-state standout Derek Jensen this spring, and the staff is looking to add at least two or three more linemen in this cycle. Commit No. 4 for the Badgers in the 2024 class, Jensen chose Wisconsin over offers from Illinois, Iowa, Iowa State, Kansas, Michigan State, Minnesota, Nebraska, Purdue, Syracuse and Virginia, among others. It was roughly two months between offer and commitment for the Rivals250 standout.
"Everything that he was looking for finally came together," Arrowhead head coach Matthew Harris told BadgerBlitz.com. "This new staff is a group that he formed a great connection with, and he also found a great school and a family feel at Wisconsin. On a smaller scale, I think Arrowhead is very similar to Wisconsin and I think he found that same feeling that he gets at home with Arrowhead. That’s ultimately what he was looking for the most and it all came together for him."
