Wisconsin's Jake Renfro appears fit to play, but Isaiah Mullens might need more time
MADISON – Luke Fickell believes center Jake Renfro, who has been hampered by injuries since the spring, could make his Wisconsin debut this week.
“We’re cautiously optimistic,” Fickell said Monday.
By contrast, Fickell doesn’t expect defensive end Isaiah Mullens to make his season debut Saturday against visiting Rutgers.
“Don’t know about Isaiah just yet,” Fickell said. “He (was) limited last week. We’ll see. Bigger guys sometimes take a little bit longer.”
Renfro, who transferred to UW from Cincinnati, was projected to start at center but injuries have delayed that plan.
Tanor Bortolini, who can play guard, center and tackle, has started the first four games at center.
Renfro was in uniform when UW faced Purdue on Sept. 22 but did not play. He was an all-conference performer at Cincinnati in 2021 but missed last season because of a knee injury.
“This past week he got a lot more work,” Fickell said of UW’s off week after the victory over Purdue. “It started out being just the scout (team) kind of looks. Then when we were getting a lot more reps with the twos and threes on Wednesday and Thursday, he was taking a lot of those reps.
“I think he is feeling more and more comfortable. I think the Purdue week was a little bit early. He got some reps on a Wednesday practice, but I don’t know that we felt really comfortable thinking that he had had enough (work) if we needed him to go in that game.
“I think he is a true viable option for us.”
However, Fickell doesn’t sound ready to plug Renfro in with the No. 1 unit and move Bortolini back to guard.
“I don’t know that we’re going to shift things around like we started spring ball where he was in there (center) and we moved Bort over to a guard,” he said. “I don’t think we’re there yet.
“But I think it is a great opportunity for Jake to get himself back into a position where we can count on him.”
Mullens sat out five games last season after suffering a torn meniscus in his right knee. He missed time in camp and eventually underwent a minor procedure on the same knee.
“We’ll see where he is this week,” Fickell said.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Center Jake Renfro could make Wisconsin debut on Saturday vs. Rutgers
