The Badgers have one big question to answer along the offensive line.
The Wisconsin Badgers were fueled by their offensive line in 2024, as the remainder of their offense struggled, leading to the 101st-best scoring offense in the country last year.
That unit was strong in pass protection, but average to below-average in run blocking, which unfortunately didn’t coincide well with the rest of the offense, as Wisconsin was better on the ground.
Now, the Badgers have a new-look offensive line, as Jack Nelson and Joe Huber are off to the NFL. 2024 four-star Kevin Heywood was expected to be the answer at left tackle, but he suffered a torn ACL in the spring and is out for the season. Meanwhile, Wisconsin hasn’t yet figured out its right guard situation, which will likely carry over to the fall.
So, let’s break down the projected depth chart and see where the Badgers stand at all five positions on the two-deep.
Starters
Davis Heinzen
Joe Brunner
Jake Renfro
J.P. Benzschawel
Riley Mahlman
With the starters, there are three returners: Joe Brunner, Jake Renfro, and Riley Mahlman. Renfro and Mahlman are penciled in at center and right tackle, respectively, while Brunner could be a wild card.
While he played left guard all of last year, Brunner could be an option for the vacant left tackle spot. He saw some time there in the spring, working in with Leyton Nelson, and could be the team’s best option at the most important spot on the line.
Wisconsin did bring in Davis Heinzen from the transfer portal, and he should be in line to earn a starting spot with his experience. While he’s played mainly at tackle throughout his career, he could kick inside to guard if Wisconsin feels Brunner is the better option on the outside.
The right guard battle is the other big question mark. Wisconsin had J.P. Benzschawel starting to begin the spring, but he suffered a foot injury and missed the majority of practices. That led Kerry Kodanko and Emerson Mandell to split the first-team reps, but even the latter was banged up a bit near the end of spring.
I expect Benzschawel to be the leader come the fall, but this competition could continue on then.
Bench
Leyton Nelson
Colin Cubberly
Ryan Cory
Kerry Kodanko/Emerson Mandell
Nolan Davenport
Leyton Nelson had been the main left tackle after Kevin Heywood got injured, but struggled at the position, leading Wisconsin to hit the transfer portal. Nelson should be the team’s swing tackle in 2025, but that may be more out of necessity as Wisconsin doesn’t have much experience at the position.
Outside of Nelson, much of the 2024 class should be in the two-deep. Colin Cubberly is mainly playing guard after rotating at a few spots last offseason. Cory has been the No. 2 option at center all spring, but that could change depending on the right guard battle.
Kerry Kodanko seemed to have the slight edge over Emerson Mandell during the spring, but the latter evidently has the much higher ceiling. Coaches and players believe Mandell is potentially the strongest and most powerful player in the room; it’s about consistency now.
If Kodanko doesn’t win the starting job at right guard, he could end up as the backup center, where he spent the 2024 season. That would leave Mandell as the top backup at right guard. But, that will all be figured out during fall camp when the three-way battle continues.
Nolan Davenport was the lead backup right tackle in the spring, as Leyton Nelson was on the left side and Barrett Nelson was injured (and may not play in 2025). Davenport could see himself on the two-deep as a true freshman, which would be very impressive, but he’d likely be the No. 2 backup tackle behind Leyton Nelson.