Takeaways from Wisconsin football's second spring practice: Badgers need more offensive line depth, Chez Mellusi injury update and more
MADISON – Wisconsin held its second practice of the spring on Tuesday inside the McClain Center.
Head coach Luke Fickell, who brought in another dozen transfers and has nine freshmen already enrolled, addressed several topics afterward.
Wisconsin football's new offensive line coach A.J. Blazek needs more bodies
UW’s No. 1 offensive line Tuesday featured left tackle Jack Nelson, left guard Joe Brunner, center Jake Renfro, right guard Joe Huber and right tackle Riley Mahlman.
The second and third units were littered with inexperienced players.
Freshman Kevin Heywood was the No. 2 left tackle and freshman Colin Cubberly was the No. 3 center.
UW has three more freshmen linemen set to join the team in the summer – Derek Jensen of Arrowhead, Emmerson Mandell of Minnesota and Ryan Cory of Pennsylvania.
“I wish we had others (here),” he said of the freshmen. “I think these guys that choose to come in at this time understand that there are some things that are going to be thrown on their plate that they are going to have to embrace.
“And that is going against some guys that have played a lot of ball in college. They have to understand what and why they are doing things.
“I think for us to get better – the whole program – you have to be able to rep three groups in the spring. And without having some of those guys (here) it makes it really difficult. How do you get enough reps for the third quarterback or the second quarterback or that next tailback?
“It is very critical to try to get some of those guys in early and then baptism by fire.”
Wisconsin running back Chez Mellusi is getting more work than the staff suspected
Before spring practice opened last month, Fickell didn’t anticipate tailback Chez Mellusi would get much work coming off a season-ending broken left leg.
Less than six months since suffering the injury in the 2023 Big Ten opener at Purdue, Mellusi appears to be close to full-speed.
“In a lot of ways, I thought maybe would hold him (back) in a lot of situations,” Fickell said Tuesday. “But I don’t know if that is the best thing for Chez and the best thing for us.
“And that’s not what Chez wants. I think (this is) the opportunity for him to go out and compete and show what he can do.
“We’re going to be smart. He is not a guy, in his fifth or sixth year, that needs a million reps. But he needs the reps, the shots, the ability to get the confidence back in everything, carrying the football and making plays.”
Luke Fickell wants to see players perform with an edge - without going over the edge
Several skirmishes broke out Tuesday as players lost their composure. Asked whether he like to see such on-field battles, Fickell evoked the movie "A Few Good Men" and told reporters:
On the record, no. Off the record? Hell yes.
"To be able to play at the edge is really important," he said. "What we need to understand is, when a guy goes over the edge you can’t do things that escalate it.
"It is a great lesson to say: When your buddy loses his mind, your job is to (hold) him back. As you know, in a game if you grab the other team it is a penalty.
"It is the same thing in practice. Guys are going to lose their emotions at some point. If they’ve got their buddies around them who can grab them and control them, it is a really healthy thing."
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Wisconsin football spring practice takeaways: Chez Mellusi update
