The Wisconsin Badgers have kicked off their spring practices, finishing their third on Tuesday, as they continued to showcase a team that has over 40 new players heading into 2026.
Tuesday’s was my first practice in attendance, and the Badgers were still not in pads, but there was much to take away from the day, starting with the quarterbacks all the way down the roster.
Here are three quick takeaways from Wisconsin’s spring practice No. 3.
Early QB outlook
The Badgers brought in Old Dominion transfer
Colton Joseph to be their starting quarterback, landing their No. 1 target in the portal, as they looked for a dual-threat option with experience.
They were also able to retain 2025 four-star Carter Smith, who is entering his sophomore year, while adding Louisville transfer Deuce Adams and 2026 four-star Ryan Hopkins. Those four should make up the quarterback depth chart this year.
As it’s still very early in the spring schedule, I’m not looking to make any bold declarations or assumptions, but there was some good and some struggles from Joseph on Tuesday.
Early on, in 1-on-1s between wide receivers and cornerbacks, Joseph looked a little erratic with his accuracy. He missed high on a throw, was late on a comeback that turned into an easy interception, and missed wide once or twice. Those are accuracy concerns that you’d expect to get better with timing with new receivers, but also ones you want to see how they improve over the course of the spring.
Joseph did settle in later in the practice and had a couple of nice throws. In 7-on-7s, he fit a nice ball into Tyrell Henry for a 20-yard touchdown with two defenders in the area, showing his confidence as a thrower and ability to connect on those throws.
Later, in 11-on-11s, he had a deep 40+ yard touchdown to Henry on a post, as the wideout burned his cornerback and was wide open for the score. The ball did hang in the air a tad bit, prompting Henry to turn around to make the catch, but there was still plenty of room given how open he was.
From there, he started to rattle off a couple of consecutive shorter completions. Joseph did have a couple of decisions he’d probably like back, though. He did force a deep ball into double coverage with pressure coming to his right for a near interception, while also having a slight overthrow on another go-ball.
Overall, there were a couple of nice flashy plays, a short stretch of consistency, and some moments to grow from. One part, though, that we won’t get to gauge too well is exactly how much of an impact Joseph’s legs will have. There were a ton of quarterback-designed runs, but without contact, that might be something we’ll have to wait until the regular season to truly evaluate.
What came behind Joseph, though, was the more intriguing part of the morning. We saw Louisville transfer Deuce Adams get more opportunities than Carter Smith, which reporters on site said had been the case since the start of the spring.
And there was definitely some good with Adams. Before mentioning how he played, the first thing that stood out to me was his release. He’s pretty mechanically sound there. Like Joseph, Adams had inconsistency with his accuracy, but again, that’s something we want to evaluate more as spring goes along.
There were also a few plays where Adams held on to the ball too long, but there were some nice throws as well, including a corner to Eugene Hilton for a touchdown in the red zone. Adams also had the arm to fit in a hole shot against zone defense up the sideline during 11-on-11s to Chris Brooks for arguably his best completion of the day. He had some solid throws working over the middle as well on slants and quick passes, and he seems to be willing to throw to all parts of the field.
Behind Adams, it was interesting that even true freshman Ryan Hopkins seemed to get more opportunities than Smith. Hopkins had a ton of reps, where we saw that he’s probably some time away from contributing, but also has the potential to play at the collegiate level.
The game still feels a little sped up for him, but I’m curious how the Badgers continue to allocate the reps between him and Smith for the rest of the spring.
Offensive line switch
After hiring new offensive line coach Eric Mateos, I was curious what the Badgers would do at the position, especially after adding four transfers from the portal.
Well, the Badgers have some depth along the offensive line, but the top unit I consistently saw from left to right was P.J. Wilkins (Ole Miss transfer), Collin Cubberly, Austin Kawecki (Oklahoma State transfer), Emerson Mandell, and Kevin Heywood.
There are a lot of things to note from that group. First, at the tackle spots, the Badgers moved Heywood over to right tackle, which has been the case so far this spring. Over his first two springs, Heywood had primarily played on the left side, where he was projected to start last offseason before a torn ACL.
But, it seems the Badgers are testing out Ole Miss transfer P.J. Wilkins at left tackle, despite him having more in-game experience at guard. Offensive coordinator Jeff Grimes said the Badgers really like Wilkins’s length at left tackle and will continue to evaluate the best tackle combo with Wilkins and Heywood on either edge.
On the inside, it was Collin Cubberly seeing all the reps at left guard. Wisconsin did bring in transfers Blake Cherry and Stylz Blackmon, who both have been at guard, but primarily with the second line so far. Cubberly was someone head coach Luke Fickell praised a lot near the end of last year, as he took over the starting right guard spot.
But, Cubberly has seen reps across the offensive line, and is now moving back to left guard, it appears, with Emerson Mandell kicking in from right tackle to right guard. Mandell had been playing guard last offseason, competing for the starting right guard job, but kicked out to tackle as Wisconsin changed up their offensive line early in the season last year.
Still, Mandell projected best at guard and is now back there after playing right tackle last year.
Behind that group, I saw Lucas Simmons, Blake Cherry, Ryan Cory, Stylz Blackmon, and Michael Roeske the most from left to right. Wisconsin also has Hardy Watts, Brady Bekkenhuis, Cam Clark, Nolan Davenport, and Barrett Nelson as depth.
Defensive back depth
One of the most intriguing groups coming into the offseason was the secondary because Wisconsin looked to add a ton of players there from the transfer portal.
Wisconsin brought in Arizona State transfer Javan Robinson, Oklahoma State transfer Eric Fletcher, Ohio State transfer Bryce West, Florida State transfer Cai Bates, Iowa State transfer Carson Van Dinter, and Missouri transfer Marvin Burks.
While skill position groups tend to rotate quite a bit in spring ball, I saw a lot of Robinson, Fletcher, and West (nickel) with the top defense. Robinson is the most experienced of the transfer cornerbacks, having been a multi-year starter at Arizona State. Behind him, though, are a lot of inexperienced players looking to break through.
Robinson is on the smaller side at 5’11, 180 pounds, but is known to be more of a physical corner, which fits what the Badgers like from the field side. Fletcher is more built out at 6’1, 193 pounds, and is a part of the lengthier trend that Wisconsin wants on the boundary.
West, who was Ohio State’s backup nickel last year, is trending at the position early in the spring. He stands 5’11, 198 pounds.
Behind them, I liked what I saw from Bates, who has impressive size and length at 6’3, 202 pounds. He had a couple of pass breakups on the day, being physical against Chris Brooks Jr. with one, and I will be keeping an eye for the rest of camp.
At safety, the top trio I saw was Burks, Van Dinter, and returner Matt Jung, who got a lot of reps. Van Dinter had a couple of nice pass breakups in live play, and I liked his closing speed in limited reps. The one thing we won’t get to see much, though, is tackling, which will be a big question until then.
This group has a lot of incoming talent, though, and some players are poised to have a breakout season this year.
