The Wisconsin Badgers will have a brand new offensive identity this season as Jeff Grimes takes over the playbook. Grimes has had successful offenses everywhere he has stopped, and while his latest coaching position was in Kansas, where he boasted the 12th-best offensive attack in college football, it was at Baylor that he rose to prominence as one of the top offensive thinkers in the NCAA.
He won the Frank Broyles Award (given to the top assistant coach in the NCAA) at Baylor in 2021 and at BYU in 2020. There's a ton of excitement about what he envisions for Wisconsin, but something is happening behind the scenes that is also helping his cause: his inclusion and involvement of some of the hall of famers that Wisconsin has produced.
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β ESPN Madison (@ESPNMadison) May 8, 2025
Badger legend and CFB Hall of Famer @MonteeBall28
is excited to see the Wisconsin offense get back to it's dominating roots under Jeff Grimes π€
Check out the⦠pic.twitter.com/9YhyCTZPC9
Jeff Grimes has reached out to Montee Ball to talk about restoring Wisconsin to glory
Jeff Grimes did something Phil Longo never did: He reached out to Montee Ball to talk shop and include them in the overall profile of Wisconsin football. Ball is blown away with Grimes and thinks he's going to get Wisconsin back to where it should be.
In an interview with The Jump on ESPN Madison, Ball said, "He is looking forward to bringing back that identity that we've lost...owning the trenches...I'm excited to see how he's going to implement that this next season."
Ball was then asked if those conversations ever happened with the previous offensive staff, namely Phil Longo, and Ball sheepishly answered no. This only gives more credence to what Grimes is doing. It may be a new wrinkle and a different style of offense than the ground and pound that Wisconsin is often known for, but it will still be won up front, and it will include legends as part of the conversation. This is huge for Wisconsin.