In Bill Connelly's Big Ten Preview, there may not have been a lot of excitement about Wisconsin's football season in terms of wins and losses. There was a great write-up of Wisconsin's top transfer, Colton Joseph. Connelly is very high on Joseph and lists him as part of his list of "My 10 favorite transfers."
Connelly wrote that Joseph was the "pilot" of one of the best offenses in the country last season, with a ton of big plays arriving from and through Joseph. Old Dominion averaged 31.5 points a game with 52 total touchdowns. Joseph was the Old Dominion leader in passing yards (duh) and in rushing yards. He finished the year with over 2,600 yards through the air, 1,000 on the ground, and 22 total touchdowns. Insane numbers.
He's dynamic and has a gun-slinger, make something out of nothing style of play that will bring Wisconsin back to the Russell Wilson days. Connelly says this about him, "It has been a while since the Badgers had a QB who could genuinely make big things happen, but Joseph will have a chance to become a program savior for Luke Fickell and Wisconsin."
Later in the article, the worry is not about Joseph as a playmaker. There are two concerns raised in the Wisconsin Badgers part of the Big Ten Preview. First, and this should be at the forefront of Wisconsin fans' minds anyway, is keeping Joseph healthy. Luke Fickell has yet to have a season at Wisconsin without his starting quarterback going down to injury. It happens year after year after year. For Fickell to have a good season in a make-or-break year, Joseph needs to stay healthy.
Colton Joseph has a ton of big-play potential for the Wisconsin Badgers this season
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The second concern is about the wide receiver room. Joseph has to have someone to throw it to for there to be any success this season. The room has names in it, but zero proven players at the college level. As Connelly puts it, "If Joseph stays healthy, he represents a massive upgrade, though he'll need pass catchers. Only one returnee caught more than 11 balls last season (receiver Chris Brooks Jr.), and the only incoming transfer who did much last season was FCS transfer Jaylon Domingeaux (Southeastern Louisiana)."
Wisconsin fans may not even mention those two players as the ones they are keeping an eye on. It's actually two returners from last season who could factor in the most. Tyrell Henry and Eugene Hilton Jr. are the two pass-catchers that Wisconsin may end up leaning on the most. Though there are plenty of talented names that Luke Fickell brought in this offseason, they are unproven in production. Players like Zion Kearney a former 4-star player who committed to Florida or Malachi Coleman another 4-star receiver who is a freakish athlete.
There is also the transfer of Shamar Rigby and Jaylon Domingeaux, as Connelly mentioned. The room has plenty of names who could break out, but there's no known star yet. That's a concern when you think about this offense. However, can anyone name a receiver for Old Dominion last year? Joseph found three different receivers in his last stop quite often. But had four that ended the year with double-digit receptions.
The Joseph hype is real, but he needs to stay healthy, and this is a make-or-break year, and almost everyone is hoping it's the make, not the break.
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