Report: Wisconsin top defensive lineman ‘out indefinitely’

Bad news for the Badgers defensive line

Wisconsin will reportedly be without its top defensive lineman for a significant portion of the 2024 football season.

That is redshirt senior James Thompson Jr., who BadgerExtra’s Colten Bartholomew is reporting is currently ‘out indefinitely’ due to an upper-body injury suffered at fall camp practice.

Related: Where Wisconsin lands in USA TODAY’s latest 1-134 ranking for 2024 season

Thompson was one of the Badgers’ top defensive linemen in 2023, recording 29 total tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss, 3.0 sacks and two pass deflections. He was in line to lead the room in 2024 after the offseason departures of veterans Gio Paez (LSU) and Rodas Johnson (Texas A&M).

This news is a significant blow to a position group that was already somewhat thin entering the season.

Luke Fickell and Mike Tressel will now rely heavily on FCS transfers Brandon Lane (Stephen F. Austin) and Elijah Hills (Albany) to lead the team’s rotation at the position. Redshirt sophomore Curt Neal and redshirt seniors Cade McDonald and Ben Barten will also all see increased snaps.

This news, while detrimental to the team’s chances in 2024, will also give opportunities to redshirt freshman Jamel Howard and true freshman Dillan Johnson. If anything, it may accelerate the timelines of their respective developments.

Wisconsin finished 2023 with college football’s No. 41-ranked rush defense with 135.1 yards allowed per game. That total came against a light Big Ten West schedule. The front seven, defensive line and linebackers, will be tested further in 2024 with top-ranked Alabama, Oregon and Penn State on the schedule.

The timeline of Thompson Jr.’s absence is not known. Wisconsin would be best served to get him back by Oct. 26’s matchup against Penn State, which immediately precedes the season’s final stretch with games at Iowa, vs. Oregon, at Nebraska and vs. Minnesota.

For more specifics on the injury and what it means, here is Colten’s original report.

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