Wisconsin's spring camp is set to kick off on March 26, so BadgerBlitz.com will run through each position group to break down what we know about the 2019 Badgers and what we still need to find out before they start their season on Aug. 30 against South Florida.
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What We Know Right Now
Wisconsin’s offense failed to live up to some lofty expectations in 2018, but they did find a legitimate new offensive star in tight end Jake Ferguson. The 6-foot-5, 238-pound redshirt freshman had a breakout season as a redshirt freshman after he emerged as the team’s replacement for Troy Fumagalli.
Ferguson actually posted a very Fumagalli-like final stat line in 2018, catching 36 passes for 456 yards with four touchdowns. In Fumagalli’s final season at UW he led the team with 46 catches for 547 yards and also grabbed four touchdowns.
At the very least it looks like Ferguson can be pencilled in to Wisconsin’s starting lineup at tight end for the foreseeable future. He’ll need to build up some new chemistry with whoever takes over as Wisconsin’s starting quarterback, but the sky is the limit for Ferguson after his breakout campaign.
Biggest Question To Answer: Can the Badgers build some depth?
Aside from Ferguson the Badgers will enter their 2019 season without any other established tight ends, now that Zander Neuville has graduated and Kyle Penniston has elected to transfer.
The first priority will be to find a new player who can take over as the team’s primary in-line blocking tight end, but they already have a leading candidate in the locker room in junior Luke Benzschawel - the younger brother of former UW offensive lineman Beau Benzschawel. The younger Benzschawel played in a few games for the Badgers at the end of the year, and got some good reps in during Wisconsin’s win over Miami in the Pinstripe Bowl, but he will need to prove he can stay healthy in order to fill out the tight end depth chart.
Spring Dark Horse
Keep an eye on redshirt freshman Cormac Sampson this spring. He got on the field for one game last year while preserving his year of eligibility, and there will be reps up for grabs this spring on the second team if he can show he took a step forward during his first season on the team.
Projected Spring Depth Chart
1. Jake Ferguson
2. Luke Benzschawel
3. Gabe Lloyd OR Cormac Sampson
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John Veldhuis covers Wisconsin football, basketball and recruiting for BadgerBlitz.com on the Rivals.com network. Follow him on Twitter at @JohnVeldhuis.
