In terms of his roster, nothing but rough news has been coming in for head coach Luke Fickell. With the transfer portal set to officially open on Monday, double-digit players have already announced their intentions to play elsewhere.
Fortunately, however, that's not going to be the case for a pair of key Wisconsin offensive linemen. That'd be offensive tackle Riley Mahlman and center Jake Renfro. The news came in over the weekend, which is obviously great to see. Wisconsin wants to get back to pounding the football and having Mahlman and Renfro available is going to make things easier come next fall.
Not done yet! See everybody back in Camp Randall for the 2025 season. pic.twitter.com/sMXurLlcq6
— Riley Mahlman (@riley_mahlman) December 7, 2024
Riley Mahlman returning to Wisconsin is huge news for the Badgers
With Mahlman in particular, there was plenty of concern that he'd leave Madison early to pursue his NFL dreams. He's going to be playing on Sundays down the road, but one more year of development could prove to be clutch for him before he goes pro.
Mahlman is a stud right tackle, who signed with Wisconsin as a 4-star prospect. He clearly has loved his time on campus and he's not ready to say goodbye yet - again, it's tremendous news for Fickell and his coaching staff that he'll be back for his senior campaign.
It also must make new offensive coordinator Jeff Grimes quite happy. News of Grimes' hire dropped over the weekend too. Kansas fans can't stop trolling the Badgers over the move, but with around 30 years of coaching experience, something tells us he'll prove his worth early on.
With Mahlman and Renfro returning, it's a good base for the UW offensive line for next season. However, might Fickell look for additional help in the portal to help out the other positions up front? That remains up in the air, but look for the Badgers to be active in trying to get players with college experience to sign. There are plenty of starting spots to be won on both sides of the ball too.