Wisconsin football getting a 'clean slate' on offense under Jeff Grimes
Wisconsin Badgers offensive coordinator Jeff Grimes made it clear that he wants to give all offensive players a clean slate to prove themselves.
The Wisconsin football program has struggled mightily to find an identity on offense during Luke Fickell's first two seasons in Madison, prompting a much-needed change at offensive coordinator.
During the 2024 season, the Badgers' offense never found something to hang its hat on, finishing 106th in EPA per play, 104th in EPA per dropback, 100th in EPA per rush, and 108th in scoring at 22.6 points per game.
Now, newly hired offensive coordinator Jeff Grimes, who is better aligned philosophically with Fickell, is determined to turn the page. The veteran play-caller brings a fresh perspective, stressing a clean slate for every player on the roster and ensuring that past performances will not dictate future opportunities as the Badgers prepare for the 2025 season.
"I'm in a position right now where I'm really trying to establish a mentality that everybody's got a clean slate, and everybody has an opportunity to earn a spot," Grimes told reporters. "Because of that, I want everybody to feel like that's real."
Thus far, Grimes has tried to avoid watching too much of last season's film to guarantee every player has a fair opportunity to prove themselves on the field. Instead, he's been evaluating players in real-time during weight room sessions, team meetings, and other limited interactions.
"One of the things I told them early on was that I hadn't spent a lot of time watching film from last year because I don't know how relevant that is for me," Grimes explained. "Regardless of what I say, there's a human inclination to lean into a preconceived notion that you have, so I've honestly tried to avoid that as much as possible.
"If I choose to base too much of my opinion on what they did last year, then I'm giving them something less than a full opportunity to show me what they really can do."
This fresh start is part of a broader vision Grimes is bringing to the Badgers: an offense built on running the ball, unpredictability, and physicality. His system thrives on blending the run game with a vertical passing attack off-play action designed to keep defenses guessing.
"I believe when you can run the football, then you can do anything," said Grimes. "If you can't run the football, then it limits your ability to do a number of other things. But if you have the ability to run the football and run it effectively, then it puts enough pressure on the defense that it allows you to do a lot of other things. One of those things is throwing the football down the field with the play-action game.
"It's something that I believe in wholeheartedly. If you look at explosive play rates as that leads to win-loss percentage and point differential in games, it's a huge piece of the game in college football."
Simply put, Wisconsin’s offense lacked explosiveness last season, in large part due to inconsistent quarterback play. To address that, the Badgers coaching staff added Maryland transfer Billy Edwards Jr., who finished third in the Big Ten in passing yards last year. Edwards threw for 2,881 yards with 15 touchdowns and nine interceptions, averaging 6.9 yards per pass attempt. Edwards also ran for 215 rushing yards and three scores on the ground.
“There were a number of things that impressed me with his film," Grimes said of Edwards. "I saw a guy that had toughness, that was able to stand in there and take a lot of hits and not impact how he played the game.
"I thought he had arm talent, I thought he had good athletic ability, I like his size. So it was just really kind of a combination of all those things at first. Then, as I got to know him, I recognized that he had all the intangibles that you'd be looking for. He's smart, he's competitive, and he's driven to be great."
Edwards joins a returning core for Wisconsin that includes three offensive line starters, a talented young stable of running backs, leading receiver Vinny Anthony (39 catches, 672 yards, four touchdowns), and dynamic slot wideout Trech Kekahuna (25 catches, 339 yards, two touchdowns).
They also brought in a few pieces through the transfer portal, landing standout tight end Tanner Koziol from Ball State, Idaho’s Mark Hamper, and former Buckeye Jayden Ballard to help revamp the unit and give Grimes the tools needed to implement his vision for an explosive offense.
During his lone season at Kansas, Grimes led an offense that ranked among the nation’s most efficient, finishing 6th in EPA per rush, 8th in EPA per play, and 13th in yards per play (6.4). The Jayhawks' balanced offensive attack averaged 29.7 points per game and also converted 50% of third downs, the 3rd-highest rate nationally while ranking 21st in EPA per dropback.
Grimes' approach to offensive creativity is a mix of utilizing versatility and getting the ball in the hands of his playmakers, imagining wideouts and tailbacks taking on interchangeable roles to keep defenses off balance.
"Then the other thing is there are other ways to get receivers the ball as well. Sometimes that is them running the ball, whether that be on a reverse or a fly sweep or bringing them into the backfield in a number of different ways," Grimes added. "When I talk about running the football, it doesn't just apply to the big guys and the running backs.
"I hope that's something that is a vision for the entire program that recognizes that's a starting point, but it allows us to do everything that we'd like to do within the game."
As the Badgers prepare for spring practices, Grimes’ philosophy offers a path forward and hopes that blending Wisconsin’s historical strengths with modern creativity could return this offense to solid—if not good. If everything breaks right, Fickell is hoping this approach could be the key to re-establishing the program as a contender in the new-look Big Ten.
"What I know is that everybody is excited about the direction we're headed," said Grimes. "The eagerness is something I judge it on. I see a real excitement about learning something new. I sense a hunger to prove that this can be a good offense and we can get Wisconsin back to what it's known for."
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