Wisconsin Football Has Some Surprise Names Left Off Fall Camp Roster

Luke Fickell and the Wisconsin football program begin fall camp today at UW-Platteville. Excitement has arguably never been higher for the Badgers as they enter camp — but when the rosters came out before the first practice, there were a couple of surprising names left off the list. 

According to a report from Jon McNamara of Rivals, neither redshirt junior Clay Cundiff nor sixth-year graduate Jack Eschenbach was listed on the Badgers fall camp roster. Colten Bartholomew of BadgerExtra also reported that walk-on nickel cornerback Amaun Willams and long snapper Zach Zei were left off the fall camp roster. 

What This Means for the Wisconsin Football Tight End Room

The tight end position was already one of the most significant question marks on the roster for Wisconsin football entering fall camp. 

Now you’re without Clay Cundiff, the 6-foot-3, 236-pound TE, amid a breakout campaign for the Badgers before he suffered his second straight season-ending injury.

Through last season’s first four games, Cundiff caught nine passes for 142 yards while adding two touchdowns. Despite missing most of the year, he still led the tight end room in total yardage and had the fifth most receiving yards on the team. He finished the season with a high quality (75.9) grade by PFF, which was by far the highest among Badgers TEs.

In the case of Jack Eschenbach, he appeared in 18 games, registering 19 catches for 179 yards. His departure hurts only in terms of playable depth — he was unlikely to make a major impact on the field in 2023. 

Jesse Temple of The Athletic later reported that Cundiff and Eschenbach had “left the program voluntarily.” 

Now former walk-on Riley Nowakowski, Hayden Rucci, and Jack Pugh will be relied upon heavily to fill those roles at the top of the depth chart for Wisconsin football this fall. 

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