MADISON, Wis. — Wisconsin completed its seventh spring football practice on Saturday afternoon during a session that spanned more than 2 1/2 hours. Here are seven takeaways from the week:
1. Anyone who watched Wisconsin’s ReliaQuest Bowl loss to LSU saw the potential that slot receiver Trech Kekahuna possessed. With more opportunities to showcase his talent this spring, it felt like only a matter of time before Kekahuna would stand out. That’s exactly what has happened.
Kekahuna, who will be a redshirt freshman next season, was a consistent playmaker throughout the week. On Thursday he put the best move on a defender I have seen all spring when he caught a short pass into the left flat, juked one defensive back, turned upfield and then juked a second defensive back for a lengthy gain. He also went to his knees to catch a Tyler Van Dyke pass and made another diving catch from Braedyn Locke with a defensive back draped on him.
During Saturday’s practice, Kekahuna was even more involved in the offense. He caught multiple throws over the middle. He also displayed great body control by keeping his feet inbounds on a short throw to the left sideline from Van Dyke and later found open space for a first down after Locke stepped up in the pocket.
It’s not just Kekahuna’s speed that is notable but the suddenness with which he is able to plant his foot in the ground and change direction. He has demonstrated sure hands to the point that it feels like whenever a ball is thrown in his direction, he is going to catch it. Offensive coordinator Phil Longo joked before last season that “the thing I love the most after my wife and my kids are slot receivers,” and Longo has plenty of reason for excitement next season with the combination of Kekahuna and Will Pauling.
2. Speaking of Pauling, Saturday was perhaps his best practice this spring. Pauling was one of last year’s spring standouts and used those 15 practices to catapult himself into a starting role. He went on to lead the team with 74 receptions for 837 yards and six touchdowns. Much is expected of him again next season, and he is showing that he is up for the task.
Pauling caught a pass down the right sideline for about 30 yards on a perfectly placed ball between two defenders from Van Dyke. Later, he caught a pass on the left side and made a defensive back fall after the catch. Pauling and Kekahuna have the potential to be on the field at the same time, which would make it hard for teams to focus on just one player in the passing game.
3. Although Pauling garnered much of the attention last season, his fellow Cincinnati transfer Quincy Burroughs quietly waited his turn in the shadows. Burroughs began to earn more snaps toward the end of the season and finished with four catches for 30 yards. He has produced a strong spring and figures to be firmly in the mix for snaps on the outside in a competition that also includes Vinny Anthony and CJ Williams.
During practice Tuesday, Burroughs made an outstanding diving catch in the end zone for a red zone touchdown from Locke. He earned the majority of his reps Saturday with the second-team offense. At one point, Burroughs caught three consecutive passes from Locke, which included a reception of about 35 yards down to the 5-yard line against a reserve defensive back.
Wisconsin coach Luke Fickell was asked this week what he needed to see from the wide receivers who have the potential to play on the outside opposite Bryson Green, particularly Anthony, Williams and Burroughs.
“I think that there’s got to be a consistency in everything that you do,” Fickell said. “I think I’m starting to see that from those guys, a little bit more confidence, not just in what they’re doing but why they’re doing it, which allows them to play a little bit faster. So it’s not just catching the football. It’s being in the right places. It’s having the right timing. It kind of started in bowl practice. The consistency I think has really started to grow.”
4. Wisconsin clearly needs more offensive production from its tight ends than what it got last season, when the position’s leading pass catcher was Hayden Rucci and his 11 receptions for 125 yards. It’s still too early to say whether Wisconsin has exactly what it’s looking for at the position, but one name to watch could be LSU transfer Jackson McGohan, who had his best day of spring practice on Saturday.
McGohan earned extensive work with the second-team offense and caught a touchdown pass from Van Dyke on a rollout. Later, Locke competed a pass over the middle to McGohan for a first down with the twos. Tucker Ashcraft has been sidelined this spring while recovering from an injury, which has allowed more opportunities for JT Seagreaves and McGohan. The other scholarship upperclassman at the position, Riley Nowakowski, has earned work with the first-team offense, as has Seagreaves.
McGohan was a top-25 tight end in the 247Sports Composite out of high school and committed to Fickell at Cincinnati for nearly a year before Fickell left for Wisconsin. McGohan played eight offensive snaps last season for LSU, as well as 69 snaps on special teams, per Pro Football Focus. Wisconsin’s entire tight end group has combined to catch 16 career passes for 146 yards and two touchdowns.
5. Much of the focus at quarterback has understandably been on Van Dyke and Locke. That’s not likely to change the rest of this spring, with both players rotating snaps with the first- and second-team offense. Each quarterback has had good moments, though the Badgers likely would prefer to see one establish himself as the clear-cut top performer.
Van Dyke put a good ball on Pauling down the right sideline between two defenders. One of his more impressive throws came when he rolled out of the pocket and completed a pass under pressure to Pauling with safety Austin Brown barreling down on him. Van Dyke also has the ability to read the RPO action well and take advantage of openings on the field when defenders don’t expect him to run.
Locke is at his best when he can focus on short or intermediate throws. He put a good ball on Green for a touchdown in the red zone. He nearly threw a pass into the right flat that cornerback Nyzier Fourqurean dropped to spoil a would-be pick six, but generally he has been a sound decision maker.
I’ve been asked the most questions about quarterback Nick Evers, presumably because there have been fewer reps for him during practices. Evers has rotated with freshman early enrollee Mabrey Mettauer in the third-team offense. There’s no denying Evers’ athleticism, and his arm strength seems to be as good as any quarterback on the roster. While his knowledge of the offense set him back last season, it appears that he has made up considerable ground in that area. On Saturday, he made a nice throw on a rollout for a first down to walk-on receiver Alex Moeller, though his passing opportunities have been few and far between.
Van Dyke said last week that Evers’ ceiling “is through the roof” because of his ability to make so many off-platform throws. Longo said that Evers was making better decisions but that “we’ve got to keep grinding now with him to make more progress and get him to where we would want him to be.”
It’s tough to see the path forward for Evers right now with Van Dyke and Locke handling the majority of the snaps. He’s also in a difficult spot working behind a third-team offensive line that features four walk-ons. During one sequence, early enrollee outside linebacker Anelu Lafaele came off the edge to disrupt consecutive plays because the offensive tackle struggled to protect Evers. I don’t know whether Evers would have more success with more first- or second-team reps, but that’s the balance Longo has to manage. And right now, those reps are going to the two quarterbacks vying for the starting job.
6. Max Lofy may have been a forgotten man last season because he missed every game while recovering from an injury. But his return this spring has given Wisconsin’s defense a big boost. With safety Kamo’i Latu nursing what Fickell said was a shoulder injury sustained in practice last week, the Badgers have shuffled their secondary. Austin Brown has moved from the slot back to safety alongside Hunter Wohler. That change has allowed Lofy to begin handling first-team snaps in the slot, and he has taken advantage.
Lofy intercepted Van Dyke during practice Tuesday. He played good coverage on an underthrown Locke pass intended for Pauling on Saturday. Lofy has frequently put himself in good spots to make plays on the ball. He has played in 20 career games and, two seasons ago, played 126 of his 150 defensive snaps in the slot, according to PFF.
My initial thought was that Wisconsin brought in Toledo transfer RJ Delancy III to take over the slot corner role previously occupied by Jason Maitre, but that has yet to be the case this spring. Delancy has played on the outside, often with the second unit. Defensive coordinator Mike Tressel said he likes the size that Brown provides and the fact that he performed well in his first start in the slot during the bowl game. But Lofy can give the Badgers some versatility at the position.
“Until this spring, Max had been hurt the entire time I had been here,” Fickell said this week. “From the bowl game the year before, I think maybe he practiced one time in fall. And that’s some of those things in Year 1 you almost write the guy off. I’ve got to give him a lot of credit. He has done a really good job. …
“He has done nothing this entire spring and really the winter other than work, keep his mouth shut, and now he’s out here performing. He’s going to give us a lot of options, I think. We’re going to continue maybe to move him around.”
7. Wisconsin added two transfer portal outside linebackers in Leon Lowery from Syracuse and John Pius from William & Mary. Both have been outstanding this spring, providing the disruptiveness off the edge that the staff has been seeking. On Saturday, Lowery blew up a carry by tailback Tawee Walker as soon as he touched the ball in the backfield. Lowery later came off the edge for a would-be sack of Van Dyke.
Pius, meanwhile, has really come on strong the last couple of practices. On Thursday, he had at least four would-be sacks, though several of them came against a second-team offensive line that has struggled at times. On Saturday, Pius recorded another sack of Van Dyke with the second-team defense. Pius also had a sack when defensive lineman Elijah Hills made Van Dyke step up in the pocket and Pius tagged him before the play was blown dead.
Not to be outdone, outside linebacker Darryl Peterson made his presence felt with multiple sacks Saturday while working in the first two defensive units. The top four outside linebackers of Peterson, Lowery, Pius and Aaron Witt should give Matt Mitchell more options to rotate personnel next season.
(Photo: Nathan Ray Seebeck / USA Today)
