Wisconsin was riddled with key injuries last season, and the major headline went to starting quarterback Billy Edwards Jr. and then eventually to backup quarterback Danny O'Neil. Easily a major factor to the struggling offensive season for the Badgers was the loss of starting left tackle Kevin Heywood before the season even began. Heywood tore his ACL and was deemed lost for the season during the spring.
The Badgers were in an immediate bind and didn't have any good answers. However, the latest injury update from Heywood is incredible and would immediately set the Badgers up for a far better 2026 season. Heywood says not only is he fully recovered, "I feel better now than ever before."
Coming back from a season-ending ACL injury, offensive tackle Kevin Heywood feels ready to help anchor the #Badgers offensive line in 2026.https://t.co/E30JkmdCtv (FREE) pic.twitter.com/fGKK3ixQAP
— Evan Flood (@Evan_Flood) June 18, 2026
Wisconsin's starting LT is back from his ACL injury in time for a important 2026 season
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The Badgers had to turn to Davis Heinzen at left tackle for the first games of the season, but that experiment backfired and led to more problems. The next shuffle was moving Riley Mahlman from right tackle to left tackle, which worked better, but that put redshirt freshman Emerson Mandell in the right tackle position. This caused the right guard to be open and required us to shuffle players through there.
Luke Fickell immediately after the Heywood injury tipped his hand that they didn't really have good answers for the line without Heywood. He spoke to the media way back then, "Now we're going to have to figure out how we're going to manage some of that and move some other guys around and expect some other guys to step up, whether it's Leyton Nelson, an Emerson Mandell, guys like that have got to step in."
The line was never solidified throughout the season, and it continued to be an absolute liability for the Badgers. Ultimately, this caused the offensive line coach, AJ Blazek, to be fired, and Luke Fickell turned around and hired Eric Mateos. The goal is to get the line more solidified and development to be happening in a way where if a player like Heywood goes down, the season doesn't need to be forfeited.
Heywood being back helps elevate the whole line, especially with his ability to play either tackle. While he may slide back into his starting left tackle spot, which he was supposed to have last season, that's up in the air. There are some projections that have him as the starting right tackle with PJ Wilkins getting the nod at left tackle. Either way, Heywood being back is vital for the consistency on the offensive line.
Once Heywood went down, it seemed like the offense went with him, and the Badgers never quite recovered on that side of the ball. You could even make a case that the shuffling of the offensive line only led to some of the injury problems at quarterback. Really, it does go hand in hand.
Mateos now has added a ton of depth with talent up and down the line and depth pieces that could be starters. Getting Heywood back feels like adding a 4-star or 5-star transfer except from your own team.
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