Trech Kekahuna's injury, Tanner Koziol's value: Wisconsin practice takeaways

New York Times

18-03-2025

MADISON, Wis. — Wisconsin completed its third spring practice Tuesday morning. Here are eight takeaways from inside Camp Randall Stadium:
1. Wide receiver Trech Kekahuna will miss the rest of the spring with what a team spokesperson said was a lower-body injury. Kekahuna wore a boot on his left foot/leg area during practice. He is expected to return when preseason practices begin.
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Kekahuna played in all 12 games with one start last season and caught 25 passes for 339 yards with two touchdowns. He is in line to be Wisconsin's top slot receiver. His absence this spring should provide plenty of opportunities for Kyan Berry-Johnson and Tyrell Henry. Henry appeared in five games last season and caught one pass for 12 yards. According to Pro Football Focus, 25 of his 27 offensive snaps came out wide. But his fit in Wisconsin's offense this season could be in the slot.
Henry earned some reps Tuesday with the top offense in the slot and caught a 3-yard touchdown pass during an 11-on-11 red zone drill. He also ran for an 8-yard touchdown.
2. Tanner Koziol was one of the top tight ends available this offseason in the transfer portal, and Tuesday provided an indication of why he could be so valuable for Wisconsin this season. The 6-foot-6 Koziol, who added 20 pounds in the past two months to reach 257 pounds, has the potential to be a force for the Badgers in the red zone.
During a red zone skeleton drill, Koziol caught a touchdown pass in the back left corner of the end zone when he leapt over safety Austin Brown, whose back was to the ball. Koziol later caught a 13-yard touchdown from quarterback Billy Edwards Jr. up the right seam during an 11-on-11 red zone drill. Last season at Ball State, Koziol caught 94 passes for 839 yards with eight touchdowns — all of which occurred in the red zone. Koziol has been used consistently in two-tight end sets with Tucker Ashcraft.
Who won this battle?? 🧐@tannerkoziol88 & @austintyler_25 x #OnWisconsin pic.twitter.com/Zn5rG7RGix
— Wisconsin Football (@BadgerFootball) March 18, 2025
3. Wisconsin offensive line coach AJ Blazek appears to view the starting right guard position as an open competition. Three players have occupied that spot during each of the first three practices: JP Benzschawel last Thursday, Kerry Kodanko last Saturday and Emerson Mandell on Tuesday. The rest of the top unit has looked as expected with Kevin Heywood at left tackle, Joe Brunner at left guard, Jake Renfro at center and Riley Mahlman at right tackle.
Benzschawel, a fifth-year senior, has the most game experience with 85 career offensive snaps, 68 of which have come at right guard, per PFF. But Mandell, a redshirt freshman, likely possesses the highest upside for the position.
With Mandell working in the first unit Tuesday, the second-team offensive line featured a couple different rotations. One had Leyton Nelson at left tackle, Kodanko at left guard, Ryan Cory at center, Benzschawel at right guard and freshman early enrollee Nolan Davenport at right tackle. Colin Cubberly also earned work at left tackle with Nelson at right tackle.
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4. Two freshman early enrollees who have stood out offensively early this spring are quarterback Carter Smith and wide receiver Eugene Hilton Jr., both highly regarded prospects among the top offensive players in Wisconsin's 2025 recruiting class.
During practice Saturday, Hilton ripped a ball away from cornerback Jay Harper for about a 25-yard gain when quarterback Danny O'Neil rolled out to his right. He also caught a pair of passes that went for 50-yard touchdowns from Smith. One came on a ball that was thrown 40 yards through the air. The other traveled about 20 yards in the air over the middle, with Hilton beating the defense.
Hilton, the son of former Indianapolis Colts Pro Bowl receiver T.Y. Hilton, was consistently praised during winter workouts for his maturity and playmaking ability. Although Wisconsin has a logjam at receiver, Hilton looks like a player with a bright future.
Smith is the most talented true freshman quarterback that Wisconsin has brought in since Graham Mertz in the 2019 recruiting class. Smith has good arm strength on deep balls, demonstrates nice touch on shorter throws and has excellent mobility to gain yardage when a play breaks down or to excel on designed quarterback runs. Smith put a perfect ball on receiver Joseph Griffin Jr. during practice Tuesday that Griffin caught with one hand in the back right corner of the end zone before being ruled out of bounds.
5. There's still a long way to go before any determinations are made about who earns some of the positions up for grabs. But there is a lot to like about Ohio State transfer Jayden Ballard at the outside receiver spot opposite Vinny Anthony.
Ballard has been a frequent target at practice, which has led to some great 1-on-1 matchups, with Harper, Nyzier Fourqurean and Ricardo Hallman all coming up with pass breakups Tuesday. But Ballard has won his share of matchups. He caught a 50-yard touchdown pass from Edwards while battling Harper during practice Saturday. Ballard caught just 11 passes in four seasons at Ohio State but can stretch the field and be a playmaker in Wisconsin's offense.
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6. Wisconsin has utilized much more movement with its offense under coordinator Jeff Grimes, with a variety of looks that involve pre-snap motions, getting receivers the ball in the backfield and different screens. Many of Wisconsin's pass plays have been on intermediate throws between 15 and 20 yards, an area in which Edwards has excelled. Edwards put a great ball on Anthony over the middle during practice Tuesday, just in front of safety Matt Jung for a 20-yard gain down to the 5-yard line.
Edwards has looked comfortable in his first few spring practices at Wisconsin as the first-team quarterback. He flipped a ball over a defender with a quick decision that went for a short gain across the middle to Koziol on Tuesday. One of his biggest challenges has been avoiding overthrows. He threw the ball over Anthony, who was open in the back right corner of the end zone.
7. Could a healthy Chris Brooks Jr. be a threat for Wisconsin at receiver? Brooks has earned extensive snaps with the reserves and took advantage of those opportunities Tuesday. He caught a touchdown in the front of the end zone after bobbling the ball during red zone skeleton drills. Brooks added a 3-yard touchdown over the middle from walk-on quarterback Milos Spasojevic and a 3-yard score over the middle from O'Neil, who would have taken a sack on the play. Brooks caught one pass for 27 yards against Nebraska last season.
8. It's unclear whether the structure of Wisconsin's defense is better equipped to handle the run and generate pressure in Year 3 under coordinator Mike Tressel. But the Badgers certainly are utilizing a number of combinations to improve a unit that tied for 120th nationally in sacks per game (1.42) and ranked last at 133rd in tackles for loss per game (3.5).
Two of the top edge players have been Darryl Peterson and Western Michigan transfer Corey Walker. But Kentucky transfer Tyrese Fearbry stood out Tuesday, generating a pair of would-be sacks off the edge.
LSU defensive line transfer Jay'viar Suggs earned more reps with the top group inside, pairing with Ben Barten and later Brandon Lane. UT-Martin transfer Charles Perkins and Tulane transfer Parker Petersen also paired together on the interior. Sebastian Cheeks and Grambling State transfer Michael Garner worked together on the edge.
Wisconsin's linebacker core of Tackett Curtis, Christian Alliegro and Aaron Witt has potential. Witt, who is playing off the ball this season, stopped running back Dilin Jones for no gain on a toss play. Alliegro blew up a pitch to running back Darrion Dupree that went for about a seven-yard loss.
(Photo of Trech Kekahuna from 2024: Mark Hoffman / USA Today Network via Imagn Images)