Luke Fickell's time at Wisconsin has been miserable. There's really no other way to spin it; the lack of winning each year seems to be worse. He's also tried to reinvent the wheel at Wisconsin a couple of times. However, something changed after last season's four-win season. Fickell, all of a sudden, started recruiting Wisconsin well; he brought in a top OL coach, and the transfer portal has a bigger trenches focus. Even before last season, Fickell added a new philosophy to the defensive line, only really getting 300-pounders there.
Now, his latest quote with ESPN Milwaukee seems like he really does grasp what made Wisconsin football, Wisconsin football. When asked about the quarterback position, Fickell said that Colton Joseph stepped into an offense that is getting leadership from the trenches. Joseph doesn't have all the pressure resting on him.
"For us it starts with the offensive line." The motor of the offense, the success, and the leadership coming from the big boys up front is a throwback to before Fickell. Yet, it seems like it's returning. Fickell may finally get it: the trenches matter the most, not cuteness of play-calling or schemes, but toughness, grit, and 'nastiness.'
"I think Colton Joseph walked in the door with a DIFFERENT group of leadership around him... And it starts with the offensive linemen." #OnWisconsin
— ESPN Milwaukee (@ESPNMilwaukee) July 24, 2026
Luke Fickell on why this year's team is different for Colton Joseph pic.twitter.com/ZwUyi0ECR8
Wisconsin will rise and fall based on what is happening in the trenches, as it should be
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The problem for Fickell was that he had a lot of success at Cincinnati with cute play designs, spread offenses, and quarterbacks that could run a quick offense. The offensive line played a role but didn't need to be the biggest, nastiest dudes on the field. Then Fickell showed up in the Big Ten and realized quickly that small, agile linemen on either side of the ball just weren't going to cut it.
And as he adapted to the Big Ten, his quarterbacks kept getting hurt (it might also have to do with the big boys up front). He couldn't get an offense going. Last year, he worked hard at improving the defensive line, and he did it; it was one of the best in the Big Ten and thus the country. Yet, the offensive line was a mess. Bringing in Eric Mateos, one of the best young offensive line coaches in the country, who also loves big, nasty dudes up front.
Mateos helped bring in some big boys up front, and while Wisconsin fans don't really know exactly how that unit will shape out, the skill and size are there. The Badgers will be way more equipped to protect Colton Joseph, and Joseph won't have to come in and be this "fix everything" quarterback like his predecessors. Joseph can lean on the big boys in front of him. That's encouraging to hear, and hopefully it's as factual as it is optimistic.
Badger fans are a bit cynical about how things will look under Fickell. Until the wins on the field back up all the talking, there will be skepticism. However, Fickell has never quite said this about the offensive line; that alone is encouraging.
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