Wisconsin Football Coach Impressed by Receivers ‘Business Mentality’

When considering the biggest movers within the Wisconsin football team’s wide receiver corps this spring, nobody’s stock is trending upward more than Badgers redshirt freshman Trech Kekahuna.

During the spring practice sessions that the Badgernotes staff managed to attend, our team consistently left impressed, often praising Kekahuna for his noticeably dynamic presence on the Badgers’ offense. 

Kekahuna has everything you could want from a slot receiver. The Hawaii native possesses excellent speed and route-running ability, plus he has some make-you-miss stuff in his arsenal with the ball in his hands — and space to operate.

However, Kekahuna’s work ethic and business-like mentality on the field have left an impression on the Wisconsin football team’s new position coach, Kenny Guiton, who left his role at Arkansas to join the Badgers this offseason.

“Everything about him is straightforward,” Guiton told reporters. “There’s no gray area; it’s black and white. I just love his business mentality. And I think it bleeds off on other guys because he’s the type that when he gets on that field, he’s not worried about anything else going on in his life or in the world at that moment. 

“It’s all about the ball. And that’s what he loves, and it shows.”

Wisconsin football fans caught a glimpse of his potential during the ReliaQuest Bowl against LSU, where he caught four passes for 64 yards. Pro Football Focus gave Kekahuna an 88.2 grade for his performance, which is considered elite by their metric in 22 total snaps played. 

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— Badgers Film Clips (@Badgers_Film) January 2, 2024

Even though it’s abundantly clear that Kekahuna will play a sizable role for the Badgers in 2024, it’s worth noting that he isn’t even the Wisconsin football team’s top slot receiver. That honor belongs to Will Pauling, who led the team in catches (74), yards (837), and touchdowns (six). 

This underscores the challenge that coach Guiton must navigate in managing snap counts among a wide receiver corps that is expected to make significant strides under offensive coordinator Phil Longo in his second year running this spread offensive system in Madison.

While the Badgers have already designated Pauling and Bryson Green for two of the three starting positions, along with a battle for the remaining boundary spot, the 5-foot-10, 183-pound slot receiver from Honolulu is too good not to play and will undoubtedly see significant time.

Chances are, we’ll witness the Wisconsin football team employing more 10 personnel formations on offense this upcoming season to ensure Kekahuna and Pauling share the field simultaneously. The combo has the potential to be electrifying and wreak havoc on opposing defenses this fall.

“He’s one of those guys in a phone booth you can’t get hands-on, you know?” Guiton said. He’s so fast and so twitchy and really good in the phone booth that you don’t want guys to be able to have a chance to grab him.”

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