Wisconsin takes on Notre Dame in 10 days, and there are injuries to monitor on both sides. The offensive line for both teams could be reshuffled before the season even starts, as injuries from camps continue to stress the offensive line coaches. However, one injury that Notre Dame has been monitoring is the recovery of former 5-star Quincy Porter from a left patellar tendon injury in January.
Porter has now been ruled out for Week 1, as he won't be ready for live football in the next 10 days. This is a big update for Wisconsin, as he was a guy you would circle as a player who could give the defensive backs some headaches.
Porter was a 5-star recruit committed to Ohio State and was able to play in four games last season; he even had two catches against Wisconsin last season. He was set to be a big part of the offense for the Irish in 2026 and still will be when he is available.
Freeman told reporters recently, "He's still a couple of weeks out, and he's getting better...He's still got a little bit of time to be in a position where we feel like he can help this team. It'll happen. It's going to happen here soon. I just don't know when it's going to be."
Having Porter out of the game doesn't change the overwhelming task at hand for the Badgers, but it has to move the needle a little. It's one less player that the Badgers have to worry about. Notre Dame still has electric Jordan Faison, who is looking for a huge season. And there's Jaden Greathouse, most likely playing in the slot, who will be a problem this season for Notre Dame's opponents.
Notre Dame has a next man up mentality, and Wisconsin only dodged one bullet without Quincy Porter
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It's Micah Gilbert who may end up benefiting the most from Porter being out. If you had to guess, he's the one who will slide into the starting position without Porter. Gilbert is a junior now for Notre Dame and was a relatively active part of the offense last season. The reports out of Notre Dame's fall camp are how much better he looks and how he's going to be a bigger factor this year. So Porter being out truly is a next-man-up for the Irish. Wisconsin dodges one bullet only to see a whole new clip loaded in.
Yet, that's not even the main unit that Wisconsin will need to figure out. If there's a group that is a major strength for Notre Dame, it's the defensive line. Freeman has been praising this unit, which is big, fast, and strong.
The tough part of this is that the Badgers are still figuring out if their starting five linemen will be ready to go or not. Both Kevin Heywood and Emerson Mandell are dealing with minor things that Fickell doesn't want to make worse and will only play them if they can go full-tilt.
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