Tag: Luke Fickell

WATCH: Behind the scenes of team photo shoot

The Badgers are gearing up for arguably their most anticipated season in program history as Luke Fickell takes over at head coach.

The Badgers are gearing up for arguably their most anticipated season in program history as Luke Fickell takes over at head coach. The team recently released images from their photo shoot and Friday, a behind the scenes video reel was dropped.

With the new coaching staff in town, there has been an influx of transfer additions as well as a spike in recruiting success moving forward. Most notable for 2023 though, was the addition of quarterback Tanner Mordecai (SMU).

Paired with offensive coordinator Phil Longo (UNC) and his “Air Raid” offense, Wisconsin’s passing game could look much improved in 2023, which is something Badger fans have been begging for.

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BREAKING: Badger wide receiver enters transfer portal… again

As the 2023 Badger football season closes in, the team has seen a few departures over the last week and there was another announcement Friday.

As the much-anticipated 2023 Badger football season closes in, the team has seen a few departures over the last week or so and there was another one announced Friday. After two seasons with Wisconsin, wide receiver Markus Allen will be entering the transfer portal.

This is the second time that Allen has entered the transfer portal, having done so last fall following the firing of head coach Paul Chryst, ultimately returning to Madison after Luke Fickell took over. Now operating in a crowded WR room with Wisconsin after the team added multiple wideouts via transfer moves, including C.J. Williams (USC) and Bryson Green (Oklahoma State).

Pair that with the off the field legal issues he’s been dealing with, Allen will look for a fresh start elsewhere. He’ll finish his UW career with 10 catches for 156 yards and a touchdown over eight games during his two campaigns in Madison.

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Badger Countdown: Legendary RB finishes UW career with 71 TDs

The return of college football is on the horizon and the Wisconsin squad is now 71 days away from their season opener vs Buffalo on Sept. 2.

The return of college football is on the horizon and the Wisconsin squad is now 71 days away from their season opener against Buffalo on Sept. 2. An instant star for the Badgers, running back Ron Dayne finished his career with a program-high 71 rushing touchdowns.

Dayne burst onto the scene with Wisconsin in 1996, producing 2,109 rushing yards and 21 scores on the ground, both of which were program records. He only became a bigger star as time went on, rushing for over 1,400 yards while scoring at least 15 times in each of his four seasons with the team.

In total, he finished his career with 7,125 yards and 71 rushing TDs, both of which were all-time highs for a Badger at the time of his departure. The yards record still stands while Montee Ball (77) has passed him in touchdowns.

Dayne went on to help the Badgers win the Rose Bowl in both 1999 and 2000 while winning the 1999 Heisman Trophy. His stellar career in Madison led to him being selected 11th overall in the 2000 NFL Draft by the New York Giants.

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Wisconsin will be on-site for its first week of fall camp under Luke Fickell

Wisconsin will travel for its first week of fall camp

The Wisconsin football program announced yesterday it will open its 2023 fall training camp on the UW-Platteville campus.

The team will be on-site from August 1-8 as it begins camp and prepares for the 2023 season.

“We are extremely grateful to partner with UW-Platteville on this opportunity,” Fickell said in the press release. “This is a tremendous way for our team to start fall camp and focus on coming together as a group both on and off the field. I think it will greatly benefit us as we prepare for the season.”

UW-Platteville previously hosted the Chicago Bears for preseason NFL training camp from 1984-2002. All Wisconsin practices and activities on-site will be closed to the public.

WATCH: New Luke Fickell “Bat Signal”

The Wisconsin Badger football team is heading into arguably their most anticipated seasons in 2023 with new head coach Luke Fickell.

The Wisconsin Badger football team is heading into arguably their most anticipated seasons in 2023 with new head coach Luke Fickell at the helm. As a result of his addition at head coach, the Badgers have become a top recruiting destination and each time there’s news breaking he drops a “bat signal”.

With Phil Longo (UNC) taking over at offensive coordinator, he’s expected to bring his “Air Raid” offense to Madison and pairing that with transfer quarterback Tanner Mordecai (SMU), the passing game could be much improved in 2023.

Mike Tressel came from Cincinnati with Fickell and will run the defense for the Badgers and he’s worked with successful athletes such as cornerback Sauce Gardner in the past.

Badger fans can’t wait for the upcoming campaign and Fickell’s new “bat signal” certainly raises the hype.

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Badgers boast one of top 10 LB coaches in country

Big Game Boomer ranked his top 50 college football linebacker coaches and released his list Thursday. A new Badger was in the top 10.

Big Game Boomer ranked his top 50 college football linebacker coaches and released his list Thursday. One of the Badgers’ new additions in 2023 was ranked in the top 10.

New defensive coordinator and linebacker coach Mike Tressel came in at ninth overall on the list. Tressel spent the last two seasons as the DC/LB coach with Luke Fickell in Cincinnati and joined Wisconsin with Fickell this past offseason.

Now with the Badgers, Tressel will look to elevate the play of talented linebackers Maema Njongmeta and Jordan Turner, amongst others. There are a handful of former Bearcat linebackers in the NFL now, including Myjai Sanders (ARI) and Darrian Beavers (NYG).

Where the top six in-state class of 2024 recruits are headed

Here are the top six recruits in the state of Wisconsin and where they’re committed to play:

It has been a surprising few days for Wisconsin on the class of 2024 recruiting trail, to say the least. First, three-star cornerback Vernon Woodward flipped to Big Ten rival Illinois. Second, in-state tight end Rob Booker decommitted and quickly announced his pledge to future Big Ten rival UCLA.

Luke Fickell’s first full class as head coach now ranks No. 19 on 247Sports.com after losing the two recruits. The class is down to 14 total commitments.

The biggest takeaway from the recent news is the trend of in-state recruits going elsewhere. Wisconsin currently does not have a commitment from any of the top six recruits from the state in the class. All six are headed to other Big Ten schools, the last with UCLA once it joins the conference after the 2023 season.

That has not been the case for any class in recent memory. Wisconsin has long dominated its home state, even after coaching changes are made. I’m not raising alarm bells, as each player is a unique situation and some of this stagnation may have to do with Wisconsin’s previous regime.

But it is a trend to note nonetheless. Here is each of the state of Wisconsin’s top six recruits in the class of 2024 and where they are committed to play:

Badger Countdown: Wisconsin QB completes 72 percent of passes in 2010

The Wisconsin Badgers’ season opener versus Buffalo on Sept. 2 is now just 72 days away as the 2023 college football season closes in.

The Wisconsin Badgers’ season opener versus Buffalo on Sept. 2 is now just 72 days away as the 2023 college football season closes in. During an impressive 2010 campaign, former Badger quarterback Scott Tolzien completed a program-record 72.9 percent of his passes.

Leading Wisconsin to an 11-2 overall record, Tolzien completed 194 passes for 2,459 yards and 16 touchdowns while starting all 13 games. The 2010 season was the start of a three-year stretch where the Badgers made the Rose Bowl each season, losing all three.

On January 1, 2011, Tolzien and the Badgers fell to Andy Dalton and his TCU Horned Frogs 21-19 in the Rose Bowl. The game concluded Tolzien’s third and final season (second as starter) with Wisconsin.

He finished his career in Madison with 5,271 passing yards (seventh all-time) and 32 passing touchdowns (10th all-time). His 72.9 percent completion percentage remains the highest total for a single season in program history, just barely edging out Russell Wilson’s 72.8 percent from 2011.

Tolzien went on to go unselected in the 2011 NFL Draft and he started two games for the Green Bay Packers in 2013 and two others for the Indianapolis Colts (one in 2016 and another in 2017) before retiring.

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Badger Countdown: Former OT set to be inducted into NFL HOF as No. 73

Badger Countdown: Former OT set to be inducted into NFL HOF as No. 73

The 2023 college football season is on the horizon and the Badgers are now 73 days away from their season opener versus Buffalo at home on Sept. 2. In August’s NFL Hall of Fame induction ceremony, former Wisconsin offensive tackle Joe Thomas, who wore number 73 with the Cleveland Browns, will be amongst those enshrined.

From Brookfield, Wisconsin, Thomas spent the 2003-2006 seasons as a member of the Badgers’ offensive line. After he went third overall to the Cleveland Browns in the 2007 NFL Draft, Thomas at one point made 167 straight starts for the Browns at left tackle, playing an NFL record 10,363 offensive snaps over that stretch.

Additionally, the offensive lineman was inducted into UW-Madison’s Athletic Hall of Fame in 2019 and he will now be a hall of famer at the highest level.

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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. 

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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