Wisconsin Badgers football is getting ready for their first game of the season. They’re approximently 15 days away from their matchup with South Florida down in the Florida heat. There are questions about who will be the quarterback for the first game and can this team bounce back from a tough 2018 campaign? But one thing Wisconsin could be worried about is not having an established tight end for Game 1 of the season. Wisconsin keeps losing tight ends in practice. And as a focal point to their offense, this could be a real issue for the team if it extends to the regular season.

Badgers are rail-thin at the position right now, and they’re getting creative with the players they have on the roster. As Jeff Potrykus noted in his camp report, they’re trying a variety of options at the position. Seth Currens moved from inside linebacker to play tight end, and Cormac Sampson was a high school tight end that got bumped to offensive line (Side note: Worst thing that can happen to you. I told the coaches in sixth grade I wanted to play tight end and they laughed telling me I’m a lineman.). Sampson is back at the tight end position for the time being, and you wonder if Wisconsin may use him as a sixth lineman for running plays.

The good news for Wisconsin is that Jake Ferguson, their projected starter, has more a minor injury than one that will keep him out for multiple weeks. That said, he loses valuable practice time with quarterbacks Jack Coan and Graham Mertz who both could use the reps and develop that chemistry. Ferguson was a major part of Wisconsin’s passing offense last season. He had 456 yards with 32 catches and four touchdowns. Only Danny Davis had more receptions than him. If Wisconsin were to lose Ferguson for part of the early season, it would be a major blow to this team.

My guess is Wisconsin feels thankful to not be playing in Week 0.

Charlie.