The Wisconsin Badgers are just one week from the start of the 2025 season, where they’ll take on the Miami (OH) Redhawks at Camp Randall Stadium in the season opener next Thursday.
As the Badgers near the start of the season, they’re still going through some injuries, most notably with starter Jake Renfro, who was considered week-to-week after suffering a lower-body injury midway through fall camp.
Renfro’s timeline is around the season opener, so it’s plausible he returns for Week 1, but an update
will likely come next Monday when head coach Luke Fickell speaks to the media.
Renfro is set to be one of Wisconsin’s top players in 2025, as he was one of three players to represent the team at the Big Ten Media Days back in July. He’s one of four returning starters on the offensive side of the ball, joining fellow offensive linemen Joe Brunner and Riley Mahlman, as well as wide receiver Vinny Anthony.
Recently, Renfro was seen in high regard by ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg, who named him as a breakout candidate to watch in 2025.
“Renfro is a name some fans will recognize, especially those who have followed coach Luke Fickell’s career,” Rittenberg wrote. “A first-team All-AAC selection in 2021, Renfro started for the Cincinnati team coached by Fickell that became the first from the Group of 5 to reach the four-team College Football Playoff.
“But he sat out the 2022 season because of injury and then, after following Fickell to Wisconsin, only appeared in the ReliaQuest Bowl during the 2023 season. Renfro returned to the lineup last season, helping an offensive front that protected well against the pass. He enters this fall as one of the nation’s more experienced centers.”
Head coach Luke Fickell pointed to Renfro as a key cog of this new offense, where the Badgers are expected to have a more run-oriented approach.
“Jake is in a much different place than he was last year,” Fickell told ESPN. “That’s the core, the apex, of your offensive line. Healthwise and sizewise and leadershipwise is where he’s taken a big step. There’s three guys up front with our offensive line that give us the best opportunity with him and Riley Mahlman and Joe Brunner.”
But, in order to see that offense through from the start, they’ll hope that the center is available from Week 1 onwards, with kickoff set for 8:00 p.m. next Thursday for the matchup against Miami (OH).
