Wisconsin bye week grades: a star has emerged amongst a well rounded TE room

One of the most unsung heroes of every great Wisconsin Badgers offense has been the tight end play. It typically isn’t the sexiest kind of production, as most Badger teams of the past were run-heavy, meaning the tight end was a mainstay for blocking purposes. That said, having an NFL-caliber talent at that position was always a positive factor in why those Wisconsin teams of old were as good as they were.

This offseason, Luke Fickell seemed as if he was hunting to find that kind of talent once more, on top of building a well-rounded room. It’s still early in the season, of course, but to this point, it seems as if he has done just that.

Grade for the Room: A+

You truly cannot ask for much more than what the Badger tight end room has given thus far. From dominance in run blocking to consistency as pass catchers, the room has delivered a handful of big plays, one of which has been the highlight moment of the season thus far. The room has been amazing.

Of course, the highlight of the group, and arguably the biggest breakout star on the entire roster, has been Bowling Green transfer Jacob Harris. After a semiproductive year in the MAC, followed by a strong spring and fall camp, expectations had grown somewhat high for Harris heading into his first year in Madison.

Safe to say, he has blown any kind of prediction for what his impact could be clear out of the water.

Despite having a slow first two weeks, in which he had just three catches for nine yards, Harris has since exploded and been arguably the best receiving threat on the entire team. In that stretch, he has caught 10 passes for 229 yards and three touchdowns, including the go-ahead 72-yard score against Penn State.

He then followed that game up with a two-touchdown performance against Michigan State, further cementing himself in the good graces of fans. But as mentioned earlier, it hasn’t just been his pass-catching alone that fueled this room to an A+ grade.

Harris currently has the highest run-blocking grade of any Wisconsin player via PFF, including the offensive linemen. Alongside him, Grant Stec and Emmett Bork have also given solid production as both pass catchers and blockers, making this arguably the best three-man group on the entire team.

Looking forward, it’s hard to ask the room to do anything more than it already has — at least over the past three weeks. And who knows, if Harris can keep doing what he has been doing, he could find himself on the All-Big Ten first team come season’s end.

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow