Wisconsin Football Offensive Line Post Spring Practice Outlook

Spring ball is over for the Wisconsin Badgers football program, and with fall camp months away, now would be as good a time as ever to take a look at the roster and where it stands. 

Starting on the offensive side of the ball, let’s go position by position and talk about where the players stand and what we can look forward to when going into fall camp. I’m not necessarily thinking in terms of a depth chart and playing time, but more about how the players fit in the offense and whether or not they may be contributors. 

So today, we are going to start with a group that was much maligned last year and has a lot to prove in 2024, and that is the Wisconsin football offensive line. 

The transition from the old-school pro-style to the new-school Air Raid was a rocky one, but with four returning starters, there is optimism. For me, a lot of that optimism comes in the form of new offensive line coach AJ Blazek. He is a source of great energy and a player’s coach who will demand a lot of his players. He’ll back that demand up with the fact that, by all accounts, he is a fantastic teacher. If you want to journey down the rabbit hole, go find his teaching tapes on YouTube, and you’ll learn a lot about offensive line play.

Starting with the Wisconsin football team’s returning starters, Jack Nelson leads the group at left tackle, Jake Renfro at center, Joe Huber moving over to right guard, and Riley Mahlman at right tackle. 

I think one positive thing we can take from the media reports about this foursome is that we haven’t heard much negative. Huber has been the joker of the group and getting reps at every position sans left tackle. As much as the group struggled last season everyone is a year old, a year wiser, and hopefully a year better. 

Moving Huber to right guard is a good move, I think, for balance. Last season, Michael Furtney struggled mightily, and his poor play made it difficult for Mahlman to work at the level that we expected. I was quite down on Mahlman all year, but it must have been hard to do your job when the guy next to you was such a liability. Putting an experienced upgraded guard next to him can only make things better. And with Huber taking reps at RT as well, it doesn’t hurt to put Mahlman’s direct competition right next to him.

That means the left guard spot was open, and this spring, it was manned mostly by the highly touted Joe Brunner. Brunner has been patiently waiting for his time to shine since joining the Wisconsin football program as the highest-rated prospect in the Badgers 2022 class. 

Finally, with the departures of Tanor Bortolini and Furtney, he has his chance and is making the most of it. Not only has he been playing left guard this spring, but he has also been getting some first-team reps at left tackle, which could be seen as either an interesting nod to the future or a chance at building short-term depth. 

JP Benzschawel has also been getting reps at guard with mostly the 2nd team but has jumped into the first team when Joe Huber has been moving around. Benzschawel might need to make a big push during fall camp to get into the swing guard role, but with the likely loss of four of five starters after this season, he is well-positioned to get a starting spot in 2025.

This spring has been a lot about the baptism by fire for the Badgers’ young offensive linemen, starting with Kevin Heywood. The highest-rated member of the Wisconsin football team’s 2024 class, the early enrollee held firm the 2nd team left tackle spot most of the spring. 

He was a devastating right tackle in high school, but he is so athletic for his size that the transition to left tackle not only came about out of necessity due to the current roster but also of pure talent. If he can keep developing, there stands a good chance he could insert himself at the left tackle for the next three years after Jack Nelson moves on to the NFL. 

Colin Cubberly is another young guy who is taking advantage of enrolling early by getting extensive reps with the second team. Like Huber, he has worked in many positions, showing his potential versatility. However, they might not know exactly where his future lies. I think he could potentially become a center in the middle of this year’s five-headed monster, which is the OL recruiting class.

Outside of the returning starters and the young freshman, we haven’t heard much positive about the Badgers remaining players. James Durand has been getting 2nd and 3rd team reps at both center and guard. Walk-on Kerry Kodanko has also been getting reps at guard as well. 

Depth has certainly been an issue and that has effected the play at the other positions as well. It’s been really hard for the quarterbacks to work with the group outside of the starting five, which is why Coach Fickell and Coach Blazek dipped into the transfer portal and brought in two experienced linemen to help bridge the gap between the veteran linemen and the freshman.

The first to announce his commitment to Wisconsin football was former Vanderbilt tackle Leyton Nelson. The 6-foot-6 308-lb player out of Orlando was a three-star prospect out of high school with an impressive offer list. And though he didn’t get a ton of playing time during his time at Vanderbilt, he brought important experience because of his previous relationship with Coach Blazek. 

Having a player in the room who knows a coach is valuable because he can sort of act as a conduit for everyone else. He knows the coach’s emotions and motives, his body language, and how he builds chemistry. This will be a valuable resource for the room and also give him a leg up in competition come fall camp. Given the current state of the offensive line room, I think he will slot into the swing tackle role with eyes on the right tackle job in the future. 

Joey Okla is an in-state kid who was lightly recruited by the previous Wisconsin football staff before signing with Illinois. He was recruited over the last two seasons at Illinois and fell victim to the numbers game in Springfield, but he will find a home in the Badgers offensive line room as a depth piece on the interior. To me, his body type screams center, but let’s see how the staff uses him when we get to fall camp. 

I will remain cautiously optimistic about this group. The returning starters are a year older, wiser, and stronger and are led by a fantastic teacher.

Another year in the system also doesn’t hurt, as the staff has had time to learn to better utilize the players. There have been significant departures in terms of numbers, with Furtney and Bortolini using up their eligibility and Trey Wedig, Nolan Rucci, and Dylan Barrett transferring. However, what the room loses in experience is the talent and athletic ability it gains.

In the short term, we might be a bit on edge, especially if the injury bug that missed us last year shows up. The future is bright, and of course, the Wisconsin football offensive line group is only as good as the players around them. As the rest of the offense takes a step forward in year two under Phil Longo, the rising tide should raise all ships. At least, that’s the theory.

Next time, we will discuss another position group with intriguing talent but many question marks as they look to jump-start their production. The tight ends were a source of much debate in 2023 due to their lack of production and system fit, but the room is re-energized with talented newcomers and a better sense of roles going into 2024. 

Let’s see how they developed in spring ball.

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