The Wisconsin Badgers had a solid Week 1 performance, beating the Miami (OH) RedHawks 17-0 in their first shutout since 2022.
However, it wasn’t as clean on the offensive side, where the Badgers dealt with a quarterback injury, which disrupted their rhythm midway through the game.
Wisconsin was able to put up some scoring drives in the second half to pull away, but they’re hoping for more success this weekend against the Middle Tennessee State Blue Raiders.
The Badgers are expected to start Danny O’Neil
at quarterback after he replaced starter Billy Edwards last week following his lower-body injury in the second quarter.
That could be combined with another change on offense, as the Badgers could experiment with a different pairing up front with the offensive line.
Left tackle Davis Heinzen noticeably struggled in his debut with the Badgers, getting beaten both in pass protection and against the run. That’s not a great sign against Miami (OH), with the number of talented defensive lines Wisconsin will see this season.
On Monday, head coach Luke Fickell acknowledged that they weren’t truly able to figure out their best five on the offensive line due to injuries in fall camp, and that could start to happen now.
“Moving guys around a little bit, that was one of those things where we need to figure out what those combinations look like,” Fickell said about the offensive line. “It’s a long year, we are going to need a lot of guys. We’ve been very fortunate over the last couple years with [the] O-line to be able to keep those guys healthy. That isn’t always the nature of what happens, so there will be some shuffling around.
“Going to give some guys some other opportunities at different spots, but, where we were in Fall Camp with being limited with some guys getting dinged up and missing some time, it didn’t give us as much time and as many opportunities to move guys around and see people at different spots and even giving guys chances to start, whether it’s JP [Benzschawel] or Kerry Kodanko, just because of the nature of some of the injuries in camp. I think you’ll see some shuffling. You’ll see guys getting more opportunities and I think we also feel like we don’t know what the best kind of lineup is gonna be, and we’ve got to figure that out here in the next two or three weeks.”
Wisconsin’s offensive line has usually been an area of stability amid its inconsistent offenses over the last few years, and they are returning a few key pieces with Joe Brunner, Jake Renfro, and Riley Mahlman all back. Emerson Mandell is a high-potential player starting at right guard as well, running away with that job in camp.
But, that left tackle position is the most important of the bunch, and Wisconsin will need better play there. The only question is: who can fill that role?
Backup tackle Leyton Nelson didn’t look particularly sharp in the spring, which is why the Badgers felt the need to get a transfer portal left tackle after Kevin Heywood went down with an injury. Wisconsin’s other options are Benzschawel, who saw some tackle reps in the Fall after competing at right guard briefly during the spring, and Brunner, who has primarily played left guard with the Badgers, but can kick out to tackle.
If the Badgers view Brunner as their best left tackle, that raises the question of who can fill his guard spot on the interior. Kodanko could be an option there, but Wisconsin needs to figure out what its best five linemen are and soon.
