Versatile Trey Wedig has given Wisconsin's offensive line power in reserve
MADISON – Trey Wedig has zero starts through Wisconsin’s first four games this season.
Nevertheless, the redshirt junior from Kettle Moraine High School has played a key role in the development of UW’s offensive line.
“He is a guy we see as a starter,” head coach Luke Fickell said. “He has earned that right. Just at what spot is it and how is it going to be? It gives us some versatility.”
Trey Wedig has contributed despite not starting this season
Wedig started eight games last season – five at right tackle, two at right guard and one at left guard. The bulk of his work came on the right side of the line.
He is the team’s No. 2 right tackle this season behind Riley Mahlman but his primary role has been as the swing guard, filling in at right guard for Michael Furtney and at left guard for Joe Huber.
Offensive line coach Jack Bicknell Jr. said before the season if he had reserves he could trust that he had no qualms giving starters a break during games.
Wedig gradually has earned more playing time in the eyes of Bicknell Jr.
“The D-line has rotational starters in a sense,” Wedig said. “It’s not really a thing in the O-line. The first thing coach Bicknell said when he came here was that he was going to set a bar and if guys are above that bar, they’ll play.”
Wedig, like all the linemen, needed extensive work to begin adjusting to Phil Longo’s no-huddle offense and techniques embraced by Bicknell Jr.
“It was just coming in and taking the coaching,” Wedig said. “Obviously, this offense is a lot different than what we had last year. It was just trusting coach Bicknell and trusting coach Longo, trusting what they were saying was going to work.
“A lot of it is getting in the weight room. As an O-lineman, the stronger you are the more confident you are.”
An unspecified injury affected Trey Wedig's play last season
Wedig’s confidence waned late last season, largely because he was battling an unspecified injury. That affected his strength and his play. The loss at Iowa was particularly frustrating for Wedig, who was beaten cleanly several times by Iowa linemen.
“I just remember being tentative because I wasn’t 100 percent,” said Wedig, who declined to discuss the nature of his injury. “I don’t like thinking about that day.”
Wedig is comfortable playing either guard spot or getting work at right tackle late in games if the No. 1 unit is finished.
“I’ve been bounced around at different positions my entire time here,” he said. “It has been a culmination of all that. I have a good base for every spot.”
It is possible that Wedig’s role could change a bit this week as UW (3-1, 1-0 Big Ten) prepares to host Rutgers (4-1, 0-1) at 11 a.m. Saturday.
If center Jake Renfro, trying to come back from a right-foot injury suffered in camp, is able to make his debut the staff could move Tanor Bortolini from center to one of the guard spots.
Even if his playing time is affected, Wedig has earned the trust of the staff because of his ability to come off the bench in the middle of a game and fill in seamlessly at either guard spot.
“We have a lot of good communication between me, Furtney and Joe,” he said. “We communicate the stuff we’re seeing. We try to communicate every little detail so when the next person goes in, it is a smooth transition.”
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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Trey Wedig's versatility a bonus for Wisconsin's offensive line
