Wisconsin Football: Tanner McEvoy To Start Season At Wide Receiver

Former Wisconsin football quarterback Tanner McEvoy will begin the 2015 football season playing primarily wide receiver, according to a report from Madison.com’s Jason Galloway.

McEvoy, a 6-6, 231 pound redshirt senior, has been playing both safety and wide receiver so far this off-season, and initial word out of training camp was that he would be playing both positions throughout the season.

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That may still be the case, but with Michael Caputo and Lubern Figaro returning from last year’s starting safety duo, it appears the Badgers feel McEvoy will help the team most at wide receiver.

Jason Galloway of Madison.com reported Tuesday that McEvoy has been taking most of the first-team wide receiver reps in practice opposite the established No. 1 wide receiver Alex Erickson.

According to Galloway, McEvoy was on the field as a wide receiver for 30 of the 38 first-team offense plays during Saturday’s intra-squad scrimmage. He only played four snaps on defense at safety.

Wide receivers coach Ted Gilmore told Galloway that for now, McEvoy is sticking with the wide receivers.

"“Right now, he’ll start out at wideout. I know every day coming into work that he’s going to be in my room until told different. Then obviously as we get closer to Alabama week, there may be a little more clarity if the defense will have a package for him. But right now, he’s with me.”"

According to Galloway’s story, McEvoy and Robert Wheelwright are in competition for the No. 2 receiver spot.

Wisconsin Badgers /

Wisconsin Badgers

Putting McEvoy at wide receiver is a great move for the Badgers. Wisconsin doesn’t have much in the way of experienced wide receivers, and while McEvoy doesn’t bring experience at the position, he brings experience overall.

He’s been at the helm of the Badgers offense, and is clearly a playmaker. All indications are he’s excelled at wide receiver in camp, and he immediately becomes one of the Badgers tallest receivers.

Last year as a runner, McEvoy took 65 carries for 574 yards, averaging 8.8 yards per attempt. He scored 6 touchdowns, and averaged 41.0 yards per game.

It’s pretty clear he’s a threat with the ball in the open field, and the Badgers will likely design some plays to get him the ball quickly – bubble and wide receiver screens or even end-arounds. Since he’s a former quarterback, the threat of a pass is always there if he gets the ball in the backfield.

The defense should be fine with Caputo and Figaro manning the safety positions, and McEvoy’s upside on offense outweighs what he could bring on defense.

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