Wisconsin Football 2025

[tmwiese55]

11 hours ago, JosephC said:

The talk/rumor from the alums today was that the powers-that-be were not happy about any aspect of the offensive line.  They thought this year's play was poor, the development that the players had shown was poor, and the recruiting at the position was poor.  I honestly don't know how Blazek is singled out and how...just to pick one...the wide receiver coach still has a job?  I think the same can be said about the entire offense, it's not like one bad group turns the entire unit into a 9-points per game in conference play big black hole of nothingness.

Rumors are that one or two coaches may still be fired, but it's unlikely to be any more than that.

I sat next to a guy at a game who works at the main liquor store on university.  He said the OL is basically drunks and party alot.  Like one of them came in and bought cases of beer the night before the game level.  Take that with a grain of salt of course. Could be backups and injured guys or just someone embellishing. 

Side note with Bostad mention. Not sure how many folks realize he is the OL coach at Indiana.  Big dumb thing Chryst did was put him at LB coach once he became available. Not that he also didn't do well at that job, but the O just never fully got going and he should've been put there right away to try and get them back to how it was rolling before he left. Might've help things a bit or changed the trajectory a bit. 

[homer]

25 minutes ago, tmwiese55 said:

I sat next to a guy at a game who works at the main liquor store on university.  He said the OL is basically drunks and party alot.  Like one of them came in and bought cases of beer the night before the game level.  Take that with a grain of salt of course. Could be backups and injured guys or just someone embellishing. 

I don't think that's any different from any other O Line in UW history.

[JosephC]

3 hours ago, nate82 said:

How is the WR coach at fault for this year?  You do know the QB has to throw the ball right???

The WR’s were not a problem this year they have been open a lot and the QB just never got the ball to them.  Is the WR coach supposed to be the QB coach also?  Is the WR coach also the OL coach to you know block?  It’s weird you are singling out the WR coach when that is probably the best of the group on offense.

I can’t remember a game where the WR’s were the problem on offense.  It was mostly the OL and QB that was the problem.  Please explain why you think the WR coach was a problem.

I just picked one group out of the hat.  The entire offense sucked. 

I've seen Wisconsin offenses led by Alex Hornibrook, who was awful, average more than 30 points per game in Big 10 play.  I've seen Wisconsin offenses led by Joel Stave average more than 24 points per game in Big 10 play.

Chryst's offensive lines weren't nearly as bad as some people would want to make out now.  But OK, let's play that game.  Chyrst's offensive lines sucked and his offensive line coach was horrible.  In Chryst's last full season at Wisconsin, with that terrible offensive line, the team scored 27 points per game in Big 10 play.  The year before that was the messed up COVID year, and even with a crappy three game stretch where the offense looked awful, they still played 6 Big 10 games and averaged 22 points.  Year before that, 29 points per game against Big 10 competition.

The Badgers scored 9 points per game in Big 10 games last year.  The last time the Badgers scored that few points per game versus the Big 10 was 1988.  Last time they were under that number was 1968.  And just think how the rule changes over the years have favored offense.  The 2025 Badger offense was pitiful and the only way you get to depths like that is if the entire unit was crap.

2025 stats:

Vinny Anthony II + Trech Kekahuna + Chris Brooks Jr. + Jayden Ballard = 75 catches, 876 yards, 3 touchdowns

Skyler Bell (UConn) = 101 catches, 1278 yards, 13 touchdowns

[tmwiese55]

Yes, the after the fact trashing of Chryst era, including the recruiting ranks, is a bit overblown.   And yea this years O was laughing stock level awful/incompetent. 

And even like I said on the OL, saying it didn't live up to what we hoped/expected is not saying it 'sucked".   What the OL was from say 08-14ish never fully got there again.  As pointed out, they had a passing game of Stave and one white WR for several of those years, and OL still just rolled over anyone that wasn't OSU.  I could never fully figure out why it didn't fully click the second time around.  I always had my armchair guesses if I wanted to try and nitpick, but those coaches know way more than I do.  Perhaps really its just a change in football in general that with advances in D that just simply can't happen anymore. 

[LouisEly]

2 minutes ago, JosephC said:

I've seen Wisconsin offenses led by Alex Hornibrook, who was awful, average more than 30 points per game in Big 10 play. 

Almost every starter on the offense that Hornibrook led went on to play in the NFL.  They had talent (and health).

When Chryst had a zest for the job - and before there was NIL and the transfer portal - he did a great job of recruiting.  Then all three of those things changed - there was NIL, there was the transfer portal, and Chryst lost his zest for the job. 

We've been down this road many, many times, but in college football teams are led by upperclassmen.  Upperclassmen are the result of the recruiting efforts of 4-5 years ago.

And a fourth thing changed - the B1G.  According to ESPN's Football Power Index, the Badgers had the toughest schedule in the nation this past season including conference championship games:

https://www.espn.com/college-football/fpi/_/view/resume/sort/resume.avgsosrank/dir/asc

So much has changed, you really can't compare college football today to pre-2020.  The transfer portal decimates depth almost everywhere - kids aren't going to sit for 3-4 years now.   The development model that UW thrived on is dead; you can count the number of scholarship players left from 2022 on the 2025 team with your fingers and toes, and you don't need all of your hands and feet. Kids are going to leave and go where they think they can play.  You can't develop players who are no longer there.

We live in an era now where, because of the portal and NIL, there can and will be tremendous fluctuations from year to year in teams, and injuries to key starters, particularly QBs, will completely derail seasons.  Success is dependent on deep pockets and injuries now more than ever.  A healthy Sam Leavitt and ASU goes to the CFP last year and beats Texas Tech this year; an injured Sam Leavitt, and ASU gets blown out by Utah and Arizona and barely beats a 4-8 WVU at home. 

Texas Tech is a middling team in a middling conference in 2024 with a defensive efficiency rating of 83rd in the nation; a billionaire spends a bunch of cash, and they now have a CFP first round bye and are #1 in the nation in defensive efficiency.  High school recruiting doesn't vault a team from 83rd to 1st in one year.  No change in head coach either.

It's a different era now, and you can't compare it to pre-2020.

[nate82]

39 minutes ago, JosephC said:

I just picked one group out of the hat.  The entire offense sucked. 

But to pick the one that sucked the least is just weird.  Better OL play and better QB play would have made the WR’s look better.  WR’s catch the ball they can’t catch the ball if the ball is not thrown to them.

To question how the WR coach still has a job is just a weird statement to make.  When the WR’s did get the ball they were rather good.  Both Anthony and Mason had over 10 yards per reception granted they both only had 30 and 31 receptions.  To question the WR coach is just laughable.  You can’t question someone when there isn’t even enough information to make an informed decision on how well they performed.

Take the last game of the season as an example the QB missed a wide open receiver at least three or four times.  Not the QB throwing and missing the receiver but the QB not throwing the ball at all to wide open receivers.  You can’t blame the WR coach for that.

[Samurai Bucky]

2 hours ago, JosephC said:

Skyler Bell (UConn) = 101 catches, 1278 yards, 13 touchdowns

C'mon... UConn didn't have the Air Raid.

[Jim French Stepstool]

For those who like to speculate, a couple of offensive tackles just recently entered the portal & there is some connection to UW coaches. Shaq McRoy was coached by new UW OL coach Eric Mateos while at Arkansas. Greydon Grimes of Kansas is the son of OC Jeff Grimes.

Both were reserves, with Grimes seeing action in only one game. Both have 3 yrs remaining (unless they petition that they should be allowed to play as long as they want to, and the NCAA loses that one, too).

[CheezWizHed]

8 hours ago, Jim French Stepstool said:

For those who like to speculate, a couple of offensive tackles just recently entered the portal & there is some connection to UW coaches. Shaq McRoy was coached by new UW OL coach Eric Mateos while at Arkansas. Greydon Grimes of Kansas is the son of OC Jeff Grimes.

Both were reserves, with Grimes seeing action in only one game. Both have 3 yrs remaining (unless they petition that they should be allowed to play as long as they want to, and the NCAA loses that one, too).

In 10 years, football will look like Soccer leagues.  Alabama will be promoted to the NFL and New Orleans will be required to go back to college. 

[JosephC]

10 hours ago, Jim French Stepstool said:

For those who like to speculate, a couple of offensive tackles just recently entered the portal & there is some connection to UW coaches. Shaq McRoy was coached by new UW OL coach Eric Mateos while at Arkansas. Greydon Grimes of Kansas is the son of OC Jeff Grimes.

Both were reserves, with Grimes seeing action in only one game. Both have 3 yrs remaining (unless they petition that they should be allowed to play as long as they want to, and the NCAA loses that one, too).

McRoy was a very highly thought of prospect out of high school.  Had a redshirt season at Oregon and then transferred to Arkansas where he played in 6 games and started 1.  It sounds like he has been pretty shaky in what game action he has seen, both in the running game and the passing game.  A high upside guy that just hasn't been a very good player so far.

As you said, Grimes redshirted and then only played in 1 game against Wagner.  Rivals had him as a TE coming out of high school.  I'm not sure if he'd command much, if any NIL money at all.  Under the old 85 scholarship limit, I would rather the Badgers just completely pass.  But with the way things are now, it's not like the Badgers are going to be pushing a great player off the roster if they add Grimes.

247 has credited McRoy with a 0.85 grade on the transfer portal page, and that is pretty unimpressive for a guy who was so highly regarded out of high school.  Their year-to-year grading scale might still be pretty fluid as we are in a new age of transfers, but in 2025 the 0.88 players ended at #347 overall and in 2025 the 0.88 players ended at #501 overall, so with a grade of 0.85, it's questionable if McRoy is even considered a top 500 player in the portal after all the names are entered in.  There are already 122 players in this class that 247 have graded 0.86 and up, and that's only a fraction of all the players that will eventually be in the portal.

Based on the talk in Madison, it sure sounds like the Badgers are pursuing a "high school recruit, draft and development" strategy on the offensive line.  The fact that they only landed one OL high schooler has almost guaranteed that they will pick up at least 2 offensive linemen in the transfer portal.  However, I'd guess that all the offensive portal guys this year that will be targeted with be players with some significant college playing time experience.  With the easy schedule next year, Fickell and the rest of the coaching staff likely will not survive another pathetic performance, so I would think they would be looking for PROVEN college performers.  They might like McRoy's upside, but based on what I've read, neither McRoy or Grimes seem to fit the bill as a PROVEN college performer.

[JosephC]

10 hours ago, Jim French Stepstool said:

 (unless they petition that they should be allowed to play as long as they want to, and the NCAA loses that one, too).

I don't think you needed to put this in blue.  Only a matter of time until a high pick NFL bust who was a great college player comes back and says, (1) it shouldn't matter if I was paid as a professional player as I am no longer associated with a professional league, (2) eligibility limits are illegal, arbitrary eligibility rules hurt earning potential of individuals, if I am enrolled and taking classes, I am a student and should be able to play on the football team.  We've already seen this with "community college years" shouldn't count.  If that is the case, why should there be any limit on how many years a player can play?

[LouisEly]

4 hours ago, JosephC said:

As you said, Grimes redshirted and then only played in 1 game against Wagner.  Rivals had him as a TE coming out of high school.

Ricky Wagner was a TE in HS.  I think David Edwards committed initially as a TE before moving to OT.  A number of others were, too.  They often are light on their feet and can be a good fit for LT.  He's listed at 285, so he may still be bulking up.  Could certainly use a backup LT.

[JosephC]

First portal guy that has caught my attention as a "realistic" get for the Badgers is Kansas State WR-Jayce Brown.  6-0, 179...isn't the biggest or fastest, but has a knack for making plays downfield.  Has started 28 games and only has one year of eligibility left.  27 catches, 437 receiving yards, 3 TDs as a true freshman in 2023, 47-823-5 in 2024 and 41-712-5 in 2025.  Career 17.1 average yards per catch.  Seems like what the Badgers would be looking for - a productive, experienced guy who can contribute immediately, but is not a physically high-end guy and that will push his price-tag into a reasonable area for Wisconsin.

[yourout]

On 12/17/2025 at 10:05 AM, JosephC said:

I don't think you needed to put this in blue.  Only a matter of time until a high pick NFL bust who was a great college player comes back and says, (1) it shouldn't matter if I was paid as a professional player as I am no longer associated with a professional league, (2) eligibility limits are illegal, arbitrary eligibility rules hurt earning potential of individuals, if I am enrolled and taking classes, I am a student and should be able to play on the football team.  We've already seen this with "community college years" shouldn't count.  If that is the case, why should there be any limit on how many years a player can play?

Interesting. Eventually college might compete against the NFL in many ways.

[homer]

1 hour ago, yourout said:

Interesting. Eventually college might compete against the NFL in many ways.

Good. Call it what it is.

[wallus]

Unless some freshman wants to play for free, what is the point of recruiting high schoolers anymore in football? Not many freshman are ready to play and how many will just transfer when they are?

If I were running the Badgers, I wouldn't bother paying coaches much or underclassman. 

[JosephC]

Finally, a pretty good looking QB in the portal that should be in Wisconsin's money range.  TCU's Josh Hoover, who was a top 10 QB prospect coming out of high school.  Listed as 6-2, 200.  Redshirted in 2022, started 6 games in 2023 and has been the team's starting QB the last two years.  31 career starts, 9600+ passing yards, 65% completion percentage, 71/33 TD/INT.  No rushing statistics worth mentioning.  Nothing spectacular about him, he's just a good, experienced player.  One year of eligibility left, which IMO is a positive as he wouldn't spook Carter Smith into the portal next year.

247 has put a 0.93 grade on him.  In 2025, that would put him in the #4-#6 range on the QB list.  In 2024, #5-#6.  But with Sorsby, Lagway, Raiola and Leavitt (reported) already in, there already 4 players that seem solidly ahead of Hoover, so I think he'll probably end up in the #7-#10 range in this class when all the names are in (time will tell on that).  In 2023, the Badgers brought in Mordecai (0.91 grade) who 247 had as the #7 QB.  If the Badgers are going to spend more money, Hoover seems like a realistic target.

[GAME05]

On 12/18/2025 at 7:19 PM, wallus said:

Unless some freshman wants to play for free, what is the point of recruiting high schoolers anymore in football? Not many freshman are ready to play and how many will just transfer when they are?

From what I hear, they don't focus much on it. Your tiny schools still will, but the bigger schools will focus most of their efforts on transfer-pool scouting and poaching players from those smaller schools. High school is like your AA league and the Middle Tennessee States of the world the AAA. You know, kinda like the Brewers are the AAA team of the Dodgers and the Yankees.

[JosephC]

RB-Dilin Jones and WR-Eugene Hilton in the transfer portal.  They are now down to 3 scholarship running backs (1 true freshman) and 4 scholarship wide receivers (2 true freshman).

McIntosh better have some big money ready to fill these holes,  I wish I had confidence that Fickell and staff will do a good job in identifying enough talent to avoid a complete disaster, but after last year, I can't say that I do.

They have also hired a new cornerbacks coach, and the old cornerbacks coach has been given a new role of "secondary coach."  So they have a cornerbacks coach, a safeties coach and a secondary coach.  I looked up if they were still limited to 12 "gameday" coaches, and it looks like that rule was eliminated a year ago, so nobody has to get fired to fit all these secondary coaches onto the staff.

 

 

[Jim French Stepstool]

On 12/18/2025 at 6:19 PM, wallus said:

Unless some freshman wants to play for free, what is the point of recruiting high schoolers anymore in football? Not many freshman are ready to play and how many will just transfer when they are?

If I were running the Badgers, I wouldn't bother paying coaches much or underclassman. 

Many of the HS kids that are recruited make little NIL money to start, some none at all. So many of them 'play for free' to start out.

Your point about many of them not being ready to contribute right off the bat is a valid one, though. The hope is that after a year of sitting, a kid sees a light at the end of the tunnel on the 2-deep & looks to take advantage of that instead of moving on. He also might like his position coach, and chances are there won't be a big payday somewhere else anyway. Unless you're a higher-ranked recruit, most of these kids who don't play after a year or two & leave are just spinning their wheels unless the emphasis is simply on getting on the field. In that case they look at the bottom half of the FBS (CUSA, MAC, Mountain West).

My point is, there are QBs & some other skilled position guys who go into the portal & get paid. Most who leave a B10 or SEC-level school simply to get paid I suspect are (in most cases) disappointed.

[JosephC]

If bigger school are going to focus on the portal and poaching players off other rosters, then it really doesn't make sense that 247 has USC, Alabama, Oregon, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Georgia, Tennessee, Texas, Texas A&M, Miami (Fl) as the top 10 high school recruiting classes.  The big dogs still see value in high school recruiting, and likely view it as the foundation for the program.  

[Samurai Bucky]

I would like to see the Badgers beef up the OL, too.  That seems to have been one of the core issues for the past three years.

[nate82]

26 minutes ago, Samurai Bucky said:

I would like to see the Badgers beef up the OL, too.  That seems to have been one of the core issues for the past three years.

They will have to commit to spending more to do so.  Along with the QB position the OL is one of the most expensive in terms of NIL and profit sharing from TV deals and ticket sales.

I am going to assume that UW is splitting the $20mm that they can spend evenly to MBB, women’s volleyball and football.  I don’t believe there is any investment of that $20mm in any other sports other than the men’s and women’s hockey teams.  There maybe some going to wrestling but I doubt it is all that much.  Probably something like 50% football, 35% MBB, 10% women’s volleyball, 3% hockey and then whatever is left to the other sports maybe if it doesn’t go to the football program or MBB.

I believe the $20mm profit sharing is going up to $25mm but I can’t remember exactly if that is the number or if it is more.  The majority of schools have football getting 60% or more of that profit sharing from TV deals and ticket sales.  The profit sharing with the players is separate from NIL money.

 

[Jim French Stepstool]

1 hour ago, nate82 said:

 

I am going to assume that UW is splitting the $20mm that they can spend evenly to MBB, women’s volleyball and football.  I don’t believe there is any investment of that $20mm in any other sports other than the men’s and women’s hockey teams.  There maybe some going to wrestling but I doubt it is all that much.  Probably something like 50% football, 35% MBB, 10% women’s volleyball, 3% hockey and then whatever is left to the other sports maybe if it doesn’t go to the football program or MBB.

 

 

Through some finagling (and holiday spending), we have sideline seats for the UW-UWM basketball game next week, which includes Nicholas Club access before the game. I'd love to know what the % breakdown is that you alluded to above, and if I happen to get into related conversation with a properly connected 'high roller' over hors d'oeurves I'll pass it on here.

I think you're pretty close; maybe more like 55-60% for FB would be my guess.

[Fear The Chorizo]

4 hours ago, JosephC said:

If bigger school are going to focus on the portal and poaching players off other rosters, then it really doesn't make sense that 247 has USC, Alabama, Oregon, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Georgia, Tennessee, Texas, Texas A&M, Miami (Fl) as the top 10 high school recruiting classes.  The big dogs still see value in high school recruiting, and likely view it as the foundation for the program.  

It's because when the blue bloods land 5-stars who are impact players, they can easily find funds to keep them around...and still have funds to poach other smaller school rosters to fill the limited roster holes they'd have.  Rich get richer when $$ can be tossed around.