Tag: Chimere Dike

Badger Countdown: Six touchdowns for top wide receiver in 2022

Badgers top WR snagged six TDs in 2022

The 2023 college football season is on us and Luke Fickell and the Badgers are now six days away from their opener against Buffalo on Sept. 2. Entering this year, Wisconsin’s top wide receiver is Chimere Dike, who in 2022 caught six touchdowns.

Dike is entering his fourth season in Madison and he will be under a third head coach with Fickell taking over. On top of that, the wide receiver is in a new offense with Phil Longo taking over and his quarterback will be Tanner Mordecai, who transferred to Wisconsin this offseason.

In 2022, Dike recorded 47 catches for 689 yards and six scores through the air last season and he will look to build upon that in his senior campaign.

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Nine Badgers are on preseason Senior Bowl watch list

Nine Badgers on Senior Bowl watch list

The upcoming Badgers football season is one of great anticipation and some of the veteran players are on the Senior Bowl watch list coming out of the preseason.

Some of those listed are returning Wisconsin athletes like wide receiver Chimere Dike and linebacker Maema Njongmeta while others like SMU transfer quarterback Tanner Mordecai and Boston College transfer cornerback Jason Maitre are also included.

Head coach Luke Fickell will be in charge for his first full season in Madison and he appears to have a plethora of experienced athletes leading both sides of the ball.

We’ll see how many of these guys end up playing in the Senior Bowl.

Badger Countdown: Two seniors set for big seasons wearing number 13

Two Badgers stars in 13 this year

The 2023 college football season is closing in quickly and the Badgers are now just 13 days away from their opener versus Buffalo on Sept. 2. There are two significant players wearing the number 13 in Madison this year.

Wide receiver Chimere Dike will be back for a fourth season in Madison, coming off of a career-best 2022 campaign where he reeled in 47 catches for 689 yards and six touchdowns.

Now operating in Phil Longo’s “Air Raid” offense with SMU-transfer quarterback Tanner Mordecai, Dike could be in for a monster season with Wisconsin.

EVANSTON, ILLINOIS – OCTOBER 08: Kamo’i Latu #13 of the Wisconsin Badgers celebrates after intercepting a pass from Ryan Hilinski #3 of the Northwestern Wildcats (not pictured) during the first half at Ryan Field on October 08, 2022 in Evanston, Illinois. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)

On the other side of the ball, Kamo’i Latu will don the number 13 in his second season with the Badgers after transferring from Utah ahead of last year.

Latu recorded 55 total tackles, including three sacks, while intercepting two passes and deflecting two others over 13 games in his first campaign in Madison.

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LOOK: An NFL legend chimes in on Chimere Dike’s impressive catch in practice

Odell chimed in about a Chimere Dike highlight from practice:

File another Wisconsin football moment under “famous NFL player chimes in with praise for a current Badger.” The most recent, famously, was the night Patrick Mahomes and others took to Twitter to react to Graham Mertz’s sensational five-touchdown performance against Illinois in 2020.

This time it came from Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr., the man who made the one-handed catch famous.

Related: WATCH: Some Paul Chryst artistry from back in the day

Wisconsin tweeted a video of quarterback Tanner Mordecai finding wide receiver Chimere Dike towards the sideline yesterday. Dike brought in the pass one-handed, with cornerback Alexander Smith draped all over his left side.

Beckham approved of the effort:

Dike leads a Wisconsin wide receiver room that sets up to be the best, or at least the deepest, in program history. Tanner Mordecai should have no trouble finding options to throw to this fall.

Wisconsin wide receiver named to Paul Hurnung Award watch list

More watch list news:

Wisconsin enters 2023 with arguably its greatest wide receiver core of all time. If it isn’t the best, and I don’t know what year would rival this group, it’s undoubtedly the deepest.

Phil Longo’s offense could go as far as seven-deep during a game. The starting group of Chimere Dike, C.J. Williams and Will Pauling aren’t far removed from the second trio of Keontez Lewis, Bryson Green and Skyler Bell. Then with a few wildcards like Quincy Burroughs and Chris Brooks Jr., it’s a unit that may be the best on the team when the season comes to a close.

While there was a sizable influx of talent during the offseason, Dike still figures to lead the way for the unit. A recent watch list would agree, as the Waukesha, Wisconsin native was named to the Paul Hornung Award watch list for the most versatile player in college football.

The award has been given out since 2010. Notable former winners include Alabama’s DeVonta Smith in 2020, Purdue’s Rondale Moore in 2018, Penn State’s Saquon Barkley in 2017, Michigan’s Jabril Peppers in 2016 and Stanford’s Christian McCaffrey in 2015.

Dike makes the list thanks to his part-time role as a return specialist. If he has a big season catching the football and a few splash plays on special teams, we could see the veteran Badger advance as a finalist.

WATCH: Football players take the diamond for charity softball game

The Badger FB came together to participate in Braelon Allen’s annual charity softball game this past week, posting a behind the scenes video.

The Badger football team came together to participate in Braelon Allen’s second-annual charity softball game this past week, posting a behind the scenes video.

Players like wide receiver Chimere Dike, running back Chez Mellusi and cornerback Ricardo Hallman were amongst those who participated alongside Allen. The contest took place in Allen’s hometown of Fond Du Lac, Wisconsin and the funds raised supported the Boys and Girls Club, amongst other things.

The team is entering their first full campaign with Luke Fickell at head coach and the buzz from the fans hasn’t been this high in a really long time, maybe ever. Wisconsin opens their 2023 season at Camp Randall versus Buffalo on Sept. 2.

WATCH: A Wisconsin WR raises money for a great cause

WATCH: A Wisconsin WR raises money for a great cause

Wisconsin’s star wide receiver Chimere Dike made it a point to give back this offseason through his second-annual youth football camp.

At Dike’s second camp, the event raise over $20,000 for a cause that should be near and dear to any football player.

The Kai Lermer Fund, which Dike chose as his charity to support, was made in honor of Kai Lermer, a teen from Waukesha who tragically passed away in 2019 of an undiagnosed heart condition. Lermer was a football player, and never had the proper testing to make sure he was medically cleared to play the sport he loved.

Check out Dike and his Badger teammates working the camp this summer:

Badger Countdown: Top WR snatches 66 catches over last two seasons

The start of the 2023 CFB season is around the corner and the Badgers are now 66 days away from their season opener vs Buffalo on Sept. 2.

The start of the 2023 college football season is around the corner and the Badgers are now 66 days away from their season opener versus Buffalo on Sept. 2. The upcoming campaign is expected to be an exciting one in Madison and their top wide receiver will look to improve on his recent success.

Fourth-year wideout Chimere Dike is projected to be new quarterback Tanner Mordecai’s favorite target in Madison and he will look to build upon the 66 catches he has made over the last two seasons.

In 2021, Dike became a familiar name for Badger fans, snagging 19 receptions for 272 yards and a touchdown over 11 games, but he became a fan favorite in his third year in 2022. Last season, Dike caught a team-high 47 passes for 689 yards and six scores. He even got a rushing touchdown!

Now in 2023, paired with new head coach Luke Fickell (Cincinnati) and offensive coordinator Phil Longo (North Carolina), Dike could take another step forward in his production.

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Badger Countdown: Top WR snags 74-yard reception in 2022 opener

The return of Badger football is now just 74 days away as Wisconsin gears up to face Buffalo in their season opener at home on Sept. 2.ย 

The return of Badger football is now just 74 days away as Wisconsin gears up to face Buffalo in their season opener at home on Sept. 2. In their first game of the 2022 season, star wide receiver Chimere Dike recorded a 74-yard catch.

In the Badgers’ 38-0 win over Illinois State on Sept. 3, 2022, Dike caught three passes for 106 yards and a touchdown, including a monster 74-yard snag in the third quarter. Although he didn’t reach the endzone on the reception, quarterback Graham Mertz was able to find him for a 16-yard score a couple plays later.

The contest was the first time that Dike had gone over 100 receiving yards in his career with the Badgers and he went on to record 10 catches for 185 yards and three touchdowns against Northwestern in October, all of which were career highs.

Now with a new quarterback in Tanner Mordecai in 2023, the wide receiver will look to build off of his 47 catches, 689 receiving yards and six scores from last season.

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Wisconsin has one of CollegeWire’s ‘Top 20 WRs Entering 2023’

The 2023 Wisconsin Badgers are not short of talent on the offensive side of the football.

The 2023 Wisconsin Badgers are not short of talent on the offensive side of the football. Head coach Luke Fickell and offensive coordinator Phil Longo made it a priority this offseason, to bring in quarterback and wide receiver talent from the transfer portal to help the new offense start hot.

But Wisconsin already had productive players to help build the team’s core, though. Players that I’d argue have somewhat flown under the radar with all of the changes around them.

One of those guys is fourth-year wide receiver Chimere Dike, who our colleagues at CollegeSportsWire have as the No. 18 overall wide receiver in the country entering this season.

From their article:

Dike is a multi-purpose weapon at wide receiver. Graham Mertz is now in Gainesville and the Badgers upgraded the quarterback room this past offseason. Dike should be close to a 1,000-yard campaign with Tanner Mordecai slinging it around the field.

Dike caught 47 passes for 689 yards and six touchdowns as Wisconsin’s No. 1 wide receiver last season. The room is now crowded with Skyler Bell, Keontez Lewis, C.J. Williams, Will Pauling and others. But if the Longo offense works, it’s easy to see Dike surpass the 1000-yard mark and be one of the more productive wide receivers in the nation.