The Wisconsin Badgers have been hit hard by the injury bug this season, which was especially seen against the Oregon Ducks, where several starters were ruled out.
Well, multiple players have been ruled
out for the season, head coach Luke Fickell announced on Monday ahead of the Badgers’ matchup against the Washington Huskies this weekend. That includes starting running back Dilin Jones, starting center Jake Renfro, and rotational safety Matthew Traynor.
Jones has missed the last few weeks after suffering a lower-body injury against the Ohio State Buckeyes. Fickell confirmed that he’ll have season-ending surgery to repair a turf toe injury. Renfro will also undergo surgery and miss the rest of the season. He had battled multiple injuries this season, starting in fall camp and at numerous times throughout the season. Traynor will undergo surgery for an ACL injury.
Wisconsin was without linebacker Christian Alliegro, wide receiver Tyrell Henry, running backs Darrion Dupree and Jones, quarterback Billy Edwards, safeties Preston Zachman and Traynor, and offensive linemen Kerry Kodanko and Renfro against Oregon.
At the moment, it’s unclear who will be back for the rest of the season, which means the Badgers may have to rely on some younger pieces at those positions.
At running back, that includes Gideon Ituka, who had a strong finish to the Ohio State game and went for 85 yards on 21 carries against Oregon. That 85 yards was the most of any Badgers back all year long.
At center, Wisconsin will likely go back to Davis Heinzen, who started in place of Renfro against Oregon. After struggling at left tackle, Heinzen has turned things around at center and has been a quality run-blocker so far.
At safety, the Badgers have been giving all the snaps to Austin Brown and Matt Jung with Zachman and Traynor out. While Wisconsin likes to rotate players, that may continue to be the case.
