Right now, the Wisconsin Badgers sole focus is on their Las Vegas Bowl match-up against Arizona State on December 30th. However, bowl prep season is a delicate balance of preparing for your programs final game of the year, and giving younger players additional opportunity to better evaluate them for the future.
For Wisconsin, they’re set to lose their three most targeted players: Jake Ferguson, Danny Davis, and Kendric Pryor. Not to mention, walk-on Jack Dunn who has logged plenty of snaps in his own right.
That leaves a dearth of opportunity for a young, unproven wide receivers room next season, and plenty of snaps up for grabs.
The logical choice to step into the WR1 spot is Waukesha, Wisconsin native – Chimere Dike. In his Wisconsin career, Dike has caught 30 passes for 431 yards and 2 touchdowns.
Dike is a player that runs good routes, excels playing in the slot and isn’t afraid to come across the middle of the field and still secure the ball.
Anyone who has watched Dike knows the stats are in no way indicative of the talent he possesses. He has undoubtedly taken a big step in year two, all you need to do is turn on the film.
One person who seems to agree with that statement is Wisconsin Badgers wide receivers coach – Alvis Whitted. Here’s what coach Whitted had to say about Dike becoming the WR1 in 2022:
“He’s been ready since his freshman year. I have no doubt about his ability to lead and the things he can do on the field. How he goes about his daily routine, how he prepares and how he studies. I think those guys will have no better person to learn from, once we get back to camp. I love that kid like he’s my son.
“He’s the standard right now.”
That’s high praise coming from his position coach, and it’s hard to argue with his assessment. With less proven mouths to feed in 2022, it’s easy to see a path for Chimere Dike to breakout in Wisconsin’s offense as the go to pass-catcher.
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