A new recruit popped up on the radar for Wisconsin football, and the designation of what Wisconsin is recruiting him for is absolutely fascinating. The Badgers have offered McCoy Smith as a fullback. This could only mean that Jeff Grimes is interested in bringing back the position that disappeared under Luke Fickell. Fullbacks have never been part of what Fickell has liked to do and in some ways is even a new wrinkle for Grimes.
Waunakee (WI) class of 2026 standout McCoy Smith was offered by Wisconsin as a fullback. Primarily plays linebacker for the Warriors. #wisfb
— Travis Wilson (@travisWSN) June 11, 2025
McCoy Smith has been offered a scholarship at Wisconsin to play fullback
The fullback position was an absolute essential under Barry Alvarez, and it continued into the Paul Chryst era. Fickell inherited a group of them, but as of 2023, the position disappeared from the roster and the depth chart. The air raid system that Fickell brought doesn't need a lead blocker and barely runs the ball in a traditional way.
However, the air raid failed, and Luke Fickell has recently revealed why (you can read more about that here), so he brought in Jeff Grimes to run the offense. Grimes isn't a traditional ground-and-pound offensive coordinator, either. He's not returning Wisconsin to the Barry Alvarez days, but it will be closer. Grimes is known for a balanced attack.
What is fascinating about Wisconsin recruiting a fullback is that Grimes isn't known for traditional fullbacks either. Thus, maybe it's a new wrinkle in his system. He's not opposed to the fullback; in fact, at Kansas last season, he had a walk-on tight end (Jared Casey) play the role at times. Yet, at Baylor and BYU, not one fullback was listed.
Yet, the fullback position or the I-formation plays weren't absent from his system. In fact, he was known to bring a physical tight end into the backfield to run as a fullback. McCoy Smith is a linebacker mostly in high school; thus, Grimes is probably thinking about a similar position to what he had in Casey last year at Kansas: a preferred walk-on who doesn't mind getting dirty in the trenches and leading the way for the runningback.
At the end of the day, it's wonderful to see Luke Fickell and Jeff Grimes considering a fullback position again.