Wisconsin Football: Which receivers will step up early in season

Wisconsin Football will be without two of its top receivers to begin the season.

Passing isn’t what Wisconsin football is usually known for, but that was something fans had hoped would change this year. The Badgers are going to dominate on the ground with Jonathan Taylor and Alex Hornbrook and a bevy of receivers were going to make the offense more balanced and difficult to defend in 2018.

Two of Wisconsin’s top receivers are going to miss at least the start of the season. Quintez Cephus and Danny Davis are not going to play in at least the first two weeks of the season due to their alleged involvement in a sexual assault case.

Cephus announced on Twitter he would be leaving the team for an undetermined amount of time to attempt to clear his name. More recently, Danny Davis was suspended for at least the first two games of the season by head coach Paul Chryst.

The Badgers weren’t expected to be more potent in the passing game just because of Cephus and Davis, but their presence will be missed. Thankfully there are players capable of picking up the extra targets.

Most notable are returning receivers A.J. Taylor and Kendric Pryor. Taylor was often overshadowed by other big performances but always stepped up in big games. Against Michigan, he was on the receiving end of perhaps the most impressive throw of Alex Hornibrook’s career. And against Miami in the Orange Bowl, he caught eight passes for 105 yards and a touchdown.

Kendric Pryor is the other receiver who will be asked to step up and he also was part of a big play against Michigan last year. Pryor was extremely valuable as a runner from the receiver position. Although he only had five carries, he scored twice on the ground and averaged over 12 yards per rush. The end-around was certainly going to be part of the game plan again in 2018, but now Pryor may be forced to use his legs to work down the field as a receiver more.

Freshmen receivers Aron Cruickshank and Taj Mustapha will probably benefit the most from the openings in playing time.  Cruickshank is a bit undersized, but his lightning speed makes up for it. He’ll be somebody who Paul Chryst will get touches in several unconventional ways. Mustapha has more traditional size and projects as a receiver who could develop into a down-the-field threat alongside Taylor. Ideally, both would have seen action even with Cephus and Davis in the lineup. Now they’ll have great opportunities to develop on the field and learn from experience.

Jonathan Taylor will probably be who has to step up more than any of these receivers. The passing game took a step back with the losses of Cephus and Davis no matter how you spin it. Opposing defenses will be less concerned about the passing game and will only make Taylor and the offensive line work harder by stacking the box and send run blitzes.

Good thing Wisconsin’s bread and butter is in the running game and there aren’t any difficult games early on. The Badgers are much more talented than their opposition the first three weeks of the season. If there are any growing pains, the Badgers can work through them.