Wisconsin football: Riley Nowakowski suddenly the veteran among the tight ends

MADISON – Wisconsin tight end Riley Nowakowski has been diagnosed with a serious case of nostalgia.

“It is kind of weird,” Nowakowski joked earlier this week. “I walk into meetings and all my friends are gone. They’re all out of here.”

The graduate of Marquette High School is now the elder statesman in UW’s tight end room.

Nowakowski, who will be a fifth-year senior next season, has been working on the No. 1 unit this spring.

Tucker Ashcraft, who played in all 13 games as a freshman last season, has been limited because of a right-hamstring injury but is expected to be on the No. 1 unit in the fall.

After that?

Redshirt sophomore JT Seagreaves, sophomore Jackson McGohan and freshmen Grant Stec and Rob Booker II have been working to show they can be trusted in the offense.

Riley Nowakowski is more comfortable leading by example but this spring has had to become more vocal

Nowakowski, who played linebacker and fullback before switching to tight end and wasn’t placed on scholarship until last spring, has had to find his voice to help fill that leadership void.

“Being in that leadership role, having to take charge of the group at times, having to call people out and hold people accountable,” he said, “that is something I did a little bit of last year. But it wasn’t solely on me.

“Now I feel as really the only old guy in the room, it is solely my responsibility to be the player to keep guys in check.”

Has the transition felt natural for Nowakowski, who generally is softspoken?

“I’ve always tried to do that in small groups,” he said. “It was natural to me to have guys always trying to continue to push themselves and get better.

“I feel like is a bigger stage. It is a whole room, a whole unit. That has been a little bit of an adjustment. Am I overstepping my bounds? Am I being too hard? Am I doing too much?

“I’ve (always) tried to lead by example. I’ve got to be willing to do what I’m asking others to do.  If I say you’ve got to go harder. You’ve got to run faster, I have to do the same thing.

“I can’t get on some younger guy for not finishing if I’m not going hard every single time. I’ve got to be finishing every play even if I’m exhausted.”

Nowakowski saw veteran tight ends Clay Cundiff and Jack Eschenbach leave the program before last season.

Hayden Rucci led UW’s tight ends in receptions (11) and receiving yards (125) in 2023 but he is preparing for the NFL draft.

Ashcraft recorded eight catches for 86 yards. Nowakowski missed the first four games of the season after suffering a broken left foot in camp. He was never fully recovered from the injury but still contributed seven catches for 57 yards and a touchdown.

Tight ends coach Nate Letton believes Riley Nowakowski has given the team everything possible so far

Nate Letton, entering his second season as UW’s tight ends coach, expects Nowakowski to provide the necessary leadership through the remainder of spring, into the summer, through camp and into next season.

“He has answered every bell,” Letton said. “He has set a really high standard in our room and I think a lot of those young guys are trying to elevate their game to match that. It is a really tough task now for them....

"He comes up to the office quite a bit – 10-minute meetings talking about the finer details. He has got that maturity, the football intelligence because of experience."

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Wisconsin's Riley Nowakowski former walk-on, veteran among tight ends