Wisconsin football opens spring practice with major changes and plenty to prove
Wisconsin football opened spring practice, and Luke Fickell is hoping to lay the foundation for a reset with a renewed emphasis on identity and toughness.
Spring practice is officially underway in Madison, and after a forgettable 5-7 season, the University of Wisconsin football program is searching for signs of real progress as they begin preparation for the 2025 campaign.
With 34 new faces—including 19 transfer additions and 15 early-enrollee freshmen—Luke Fickell’s roster has undergone a massive overhaul. But the biggest change might be on the coaching staff, where the Badgers moved on from Phil Longo and brought in Jeff Grimes as the team's new offensive coordinator. The goal? Get back to playing a physical brand of football after Longo’s Air Raid approach fell short.
Defensive coordinator Mike Tressel returns for his third season, but after an up-and-down 2024, he knows there’s plenty to prove—especially with the emphasis Fickell has placed on getting bigger up front. But before any of that can take shape, the Badgers need to figure out how to finish games—something they failed to do time and time again in 2024.
With spring ball underway, Fickell met with the media to discuss how the Badgers coaching staff is approaching this spring.
Finding the balance with so many new faces
With nearly three dozen newcomers on the roster, one of the biggest challenges for Wisconsin’s staff this spring is figuring out how to distribute reps.
Wisconsin has key veterans returning, but with a new quarterback under center in Billy Edwards Jr. and a new system to install, the team needs as many reps as possible for everyone to get on the same page before fall camp rolls around.
“Our ones are going to need a ton of snaps,” Fickell told reporters. “Everybody needs a ton of snaps, but there's going to have to be a balance. In the first four days, you'll see us do as much with that first group as we ever have.
“But as we get into the second half of spring, you’ll see more of a mix, where some of those guys who’ve played a lot of football might not get 30 reps in practice, but they’ll get 15 while we work in the 1B’s.”
The transfer portal era has made maintaining roster continuity harder than ever before. That said, the Badgers staff might have learned the hard way this offseason that if you don’t find ways to get young players on the field in their first two years in the program, there’s a good chance they’ll leave before ever developing into contributors as upperclassmen.
Fickell also made it clear that the Badgers won’t be easing up on physicality in practice. Unlike some NFL teams that treat spring as a walkthrough, Wisconsin will be full-go as they work toward re-establishing their identity.
"We're not going to play flag football, or going to play touch, or sit a bunch of our guys out," Fickell explained.
"That's not going to be the philosophy of what our program is. And I think that's going to be the philosophy of what's going to put us in the right direction."
Further along because of classroom work
A big part of why Wisconsin feels ahead of schedule this spring has to do with how the staff approached the offseason.
Instead of using all their allotted time during the offseason for on-field drills, the Badgers spent a significant portion of January and February in the classroom, learning the ins and outs of the new offensive system Grimes was bringing to the table—and Wisconsin football history.
Fickell saw value in breaking from the traditional approach, prioritizing walkthroughs and film study over additional on-field drills, weight room sessions with strength coach Brady Collins, and speed training.
“I think we're a little bit further along,” Fickell said. “We spent a lot of time on football the last month and a half, two months—just some walkthroughs and things that we hadn't normally done. And I thought it was really important for us for many reasons. Obviously, from what we missed out on at the end of the season, but also with all the new guys and new coaches and things like that.”
Beyond scheme installation, the focus extended to understanding the program's long-standing identity—both past and present. Fickell stressed the importance of ensuring that players, whether freshmen or veteran transfers, understood the expectations and history of Wisconsin.
“We had to do a better job of making sure we knew where we came from to where we're headed,” said Fickell. “It was twofold—it was a little bit of history, but also really spending time understanding what Football 101, 102, and 103 really looks like. Whether that's a young guy who just walked into the program, a fifth-year transfer guy who has one year, or guys that have been here for a long time. I think there was a lot to be gained.”
With a new offensive system, a re-tooled roster, and an emphasis on returning to the program’s roots, Wisconsin’s coaching staff made the decision to slow things down before ramping them up this spring. Now, they’ll look to carry that foundation into full-speed practices on the field.
Defensive changes and a need for more size
Tressel’s unit has added size and length, particularly along the defensive front, but Fickell wasn’t ready to declare that an instant fix. The Badgers’ defense was far from its usual standard last season, struggling to stop the run and allowing explosive plays at an uncharacteristic rate.
The numbers tell the story. Wisconsin gave up 40-plus points in three games—something that hadn’t happened since the program last missed a bowl game in 2001.
Even more concerning, their run defense faltered time and time again, surrendering an average of 165 rushing yards per game, which was the worst mark for a Badgers defense dating back to 2005.
According to Game on Paper, the Badgers ranked 76th nationally in EPA per play, 45th in EPA per dropback, and a troubling 89th in EPA per rush. In terms of more traditional metrics, Wisconsin finished 47th in scoring defense and 41st in total defense. Those numbers are subpar at best for a football program that has long prided itself on elite defensive play.
When asked whether the added size would bring more versatility to the defense, coach Fickell made it clear that he thinks so, but they won't talk about it. Instead, they'll have to prove that on the field.
“Time will tell,” Fickell said. “I do believe so, but you guys can watch and see what you see, and I'll try to keep my mouth shut because I think we got to prove a lot of different things. There is some different size’s, some different length, and even weights and things like that.
“What we've got to do is be able to produce and make sure that it's used in a way that gives us the opportunity to be successful and win football games. So that's the philosophy, and now we’ve got to implement it."
For a defense that struggled with consistency last season, the emphasis will be on ensuring that added size translates into tangible improvement. Having bigger bodies up front is one thing—making sure they fit within Wisconsin’s evolving defensive philosophy and actually make an impact is another thing entirely.
After a noticeable drop-off from Tressel in year two, he’s got to show he can be a high-level coordinator in the Big Ten.
Finishing games has been Wisconsin’s Achilles heel
If there’s one area where the Badgers have to get better immediately, it’s closing out football games. Last season, Wisconsin repeatedly collapsed in the fourth quarter, leading to plenty of missed opportunities.
Wisconsin was outscored 72-15 in the fourth quarter of its seven losses, a brutal stat that shows their inability to close out winnable contests.
"Just because you emphasize it doesn’t mean it’s going to happen. We’ve emphasized it for a while now, and it just has not been where we need to be,” Fickell admitted. "We'll continue to do it, but I think that has more to do with an environment, a culture, and the nature of what it is that you do.
"In the big picture of things, some of the things we've got to do different philosophy-wise, more so than just how you train, that’s going to give you a better chance to be your best at the end of those situational games."
As the Badgers look to course-correct under Fickell, it’s clear that this spring is about more than just getting reps and installing plays—it’s about re-establishing the culture of Wisconsin football.
And if they can lay that foundation, it could be the first real step toward tangible progress. But after a 12-13 start to his tenure and one of the toughest schedules in the country looming in 2025, skepticism is more than warranted.
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