One of the biggest gripes with the Wisconsin Badgers football program in the Luke Fickell era has been the somewhat lacking offensive line play. The Badger teams of old used to own the trenches and dominate each game that way, so to see that unit fall from grace was a bit disheartening.
That said, this offseason, Luke Fickell and his staff clearly put an emphasis on getting back to that old grit-and-grind style. Wisconsin was aggressive in going out and getting talent, leaving them with what has been a fairly solid unit thus far.
To give it a grade: B
Although vastly improved from the seasons of the past, the Badgers’ O-line still definitely needs some work. The most glaring flaw thus far has been the run blocking, which has been more inconsistent than anything.
Stylz Blackman and Kevin Heywood have done a fairly good job on their end, with Austin Kawecki doing a solid job and clearing up the A and B gaps. But the inconsistency on the left side of the line has allowed other teams to bracket the Badgers’ run game a bit, leading to a lack of a consistent run attack.
Our @PFN365 highest-graded RTs in Week 4:
— Cam Mellor (@CamMellor) September 27, 2026
Kevin Heywood, Wisconsin: 88.0
Luke Vonderhaar, Air Force: 87.6
Malachi Wood, Kentucky: 87.4
Ethan Hubbard, South Alabama: 87.3
John Holthaus, Colorado State: 87.1
Teddy Williams, Army: 86.8
Aidan Lynch, Virginia Tech: 86.7
James Thomas… pic.twitter.com/2zgJUXUEvG
Wisconsin has been able to rip off the big plays, with three Badgers having a run for over 25 yards. That said, winning the in-between reps, particularly against high levels of competition, has been a bit of a struggle for the Badgers thus far and something that needs to be cleaned up.
As for the pass pro, almost the entire Wisconsin offensive line has done great. They have allowed just three sacks all year — although Colton Joseph has done some work in avoiding sacks. But there still has been a fair bit of pressure, particularly coming from P.J. Wilkins’ side.
Fickell has recently begun to make some arrangements, trying to find the best way to mold this unit together. It’s hard to grade just how much those moves have affected the overall play, as it really has only been a one-game sample of it. That said, moving forward is something to monitor.
In totality, the unit has done its job for the most part. As the season goes on and the competition begins to ramp up, Wisconsin should only see continued growth, hopefully rounding out into one of the better groups in the entire Big Ten.
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