Let’s set realistic expectations for the Badgers offense in 2025.
The Wisconsin Badgers are taking on the Miami (OH) Redhawks on Thursday, with kickoff set for 8:00 p.m. at Camp Randall Stadium.
It’s been a whirlwind offseason fueled by change over the past few months, as the Badgers are working with new personnel and a new scheme on both sides of the ball this season.
Offensively, they brought in quarterback Billy Edwards Jr. from the transfer portal to run offensive coordinator Jeff Grimes’s run-heavy attack, which will be led by redshirt freshmen backs Dilin Jones and Darrion Dupree.
Ahead of the opener, let’s set some expectations for the offense, based on how this offseason has gone.
Quarterback
With excitement brewing ahead of the season, many have proclaimed Edwards to be Wisconsin’s best quarterback in the building in recent history. I don’t know if I’d go that far.
Tanner Mordecai was an NFL prospect and likely should’ve entered the draft rather than transferring up to Wisconsin. Of course, it didn’t work out as well with the Badgers, as the team didn’t have a great scheme or personnel around the quarterback, who also suffered a hand injury.
But, he was a talented signal-caller. Tyler Van Dyke was, too, although I wouldn’t say to Mordecai’s level. Unfortunately, his season was also cut short, but by much longer due to a torn ACL sustained in Week 3 last season.
Now, Edwards is significantly better than what Wisconsin has had when those other two haven’t been at the helm over the past two years. And Wisconsin has won quite a few games when its true starting quarterback was actually playing.
Edwards has experience, and he averaged over 285 passing yards per start last season for Maryland while dealing with a depleted offensive line. Now, he had a talented running back, Roman Hemby, to work with, and two NFL receivers (Tai Felton, Kaden Prather) at his disposal.
He won’t have that receiver talent here at Wisconsin, so it might be a shaky start for the quarterback as he assimilates against a tougher schedule.
Edwards’s accuracy can be shaky at times, but he can go vertical, which Jeff Grimes’s offense needs, and he has sneaky mobility. Ultimately, the Badgers need him to execute the offense and not turn the ball over at a high rate. But, I wouldn’t set expectations extremely high ahead of the season before seeing him play with the new-look offense.
Running Back
This is the group to be most excited about in 2025. I’ve raved about Dilin Jones, who I thought was the most talented back in the room from the spring.
Jones is a special talent. He has good vision, decisiveness, one-cut ability, and a great blend of speed and power. He also has some ability as a pass-catcher, while pass protection will continue to be an area to improve on to become a full, all-around back.
As a pure runner, Jones is the best back on the team. He should be a major piece of this offense in 2025.
Darrion Dupree is the 1B to Jones, coming in with him in the 2024 class and playing as a true freshman. Dupree should share the workload, but he’s a smaller back who is known for his elusiveness and ability to make defenders miss.
Dupree’s receiving skills and working with the ball in space are strengths as well, and he didn’t really get an opportunity to showcase that enough with how teams defended the run and the screen game against Wisconsin in 2025.
Cade Yacamelli remains in the room and figures to be the third rotating back to start the season. Yacamelli has great speed for his size and the ability to bounce the edge. He is also the best pass-protecting back on the team, providing a potential third-down role, but fumbles have been an issue in the past. That can’t happen in 2025.
Wide Receiver
Entering the season, this might be one of the more unknown groups. Not in terms of who will play, but rather the distribution of snaps.
Vinny Anthony returns as a starter, while Trech Kekahuna and Chris Brooks Jr. are elevating into starting roles. I’ve long touted Kekahuna as one of the more talented players on this team, and he’ll get the chance to show that this season after being the backup to Will Pauling for the first two years of his career.
Kekahuna had to refine the small details of his game, such as having crisper route-running and awareness, but his ability to get open and make plays is unmatched. He’ll be a threat out of the slot.
Brooks is listed as a starter because of his blocking, but I’m curious how much he’ll play over Jayden Ballard and, quite frankly, Eugene Hilton, in regular passing situations. We’ll see what the rotation looks like in Week 1, but that’s one area I’m monitoring.
Ballard had a quiet fall camp after a strong spring. Teams will look to take him away by defending the deep ball, so he’ll have to show he’s not a one-trick pony and can win in other ways.
Anthony’s biggest thing has always been consistency. He’ll look to keep that up, both with his route-running and his speed, with Edwards at the helm in 2025.
Hilton is the biggest unknown of the group. Not because of his talent, which is already very evident. But rather because of how the room is constructed and how much playing time he’ll get. Wisconsin has been lacking wide receiver production in recent years, so the best guys will have to play. That could very well push Hilton up into the rotation as a regular early.
Tight End
Tucker Ashcraft will miss the start of the season. He had an underwhelming first two years of his career, but was trending upwards after a solid spring ball where he’d shown improvements as a receiver with his hands and big-play ability.
Still, I’m waiting to see whether that will translate to gameday, but it was something different that the room has lacked in years.
Lance Mason comes in from the transfer portal after catching 34 passes for 590 yards. He was expected to already have a big role, but that became evident with Ashcraft’s injury. He’s Wisconsin’s best chance at having a receiving threat at tight end this year. And he really needs to hit, both for the team’s transfer portal track record and for this offense to have some stability at the position.
Jackson Acker and Grant Stec should both play a considerable amount to start the year, but they’re both block-first tight ends. Acker converted from fullback and was going to be in the rotation even before Ashcraft’s injury, but could now even be a starter in 12-personnel.
Stec is still developing as a receiver. He dropped too many passes and wasn’t a great route-runner as a true freshman, and that is a work-in-progress. But, you can’t deny his size, which has increased his comfort level as an in-line tight end with more reps.
This room’s success, though, will depend on Mason as a receiving threat.
Offensive Line
Wisconsin returns three starters: left guard Joe Brunner, center Jake Renfro, and right tackle Riley Mahlman. They also added Central Michigan transfer Davis Heinzen in the transfer portal, and redshirt freshman Emerson Mandell won the right guard spot.
This unit suffered a big blow with Kevin Heywood’s loss at left tackle. But, that interior group with Brunner, Renfro, and Mandell is one of the nastier groups on the roster. Wisconsin will look to run behind that trio, opening up opportunities for the offense.
Heinzen is the big question mark. He seemed to transition well in the fall after coming via the spring transfer portal, but it’s a big step up to defend Billy Edwards’s blind spot in the Big Ten.
This group seems like a strength once again, though they’ll need to be better in the run game than they were in 2024, where the Badgers were just average blocking-wise. A better passing attack, as well as Mandell’s arrival, should help that.
This unit is set up for success going forward, though, with quite a bit of young talent in the two deep.
Category: General Sports
