As Luke Fickell‘s second act in Madison draws closer, BadgerBlitz.com will break down Wisconsin’s roster position by position ahead of spring camp, which is slated to take place from March 22 to May 2.
BadgerBlitz.com is once again expected to watch any open practices available for reporters to attend. Thus, our position previews continue Sunday with the wide receivers, a group that needs to replace a significant amount of production.
PREVIEWS: QUARTERBACKS | RUNNING BACKS | TIGHT ENDS |
At the onset of the 2023 season, the Badgers’ receiver room appeared to be as stacked as it had ever been. That may still be true talent-wise, but Wisconsin’s wide receivers vastly underperformed along with the entire passing game last fall.
The brightest spot at the receiver position for the Badgers was Cincinnati transfer Will Pauling. He had a breakout season, reeling in 74 catches for 837 yards and six touchdowns. He was by far Wisconsin’s most-targeted pass-catcher â his 109 targets were 41 more than the next closest player.
Pauling, a slot receiver, won with his excellent hands, quick hips and shiftiness in the open field. He’s incredibly adept at getting open, and he understands how to manipulate a defensive back’s leverage to beat man coverage or find soft spots in zone. Phil Longo‘s offense loves slot receivers, and Pauling should be a heavy favorite to once again lead the Badgers in every receiving category. Despite his role as almost exclusively a slot threat, Pauling gives Wisconsin a legit top option at receiver.
The Badgers’ next-most productive receiver last season was also a transfer, Bryson Green. The former Oklahoma State Cowboy tallied 32 catches for 480 yards and two scores, and is set to run it back as a senior. Green is a strong, physical player but there’s no question he underperformed last season. With his physicality and stature, Green was supposed to be the Badgers’ jump-ball threat. But after reeling in just three contested catches in 15 tries, according to Pro Football Focus, Green has some work to do to return to the form that made him so attractive to Wisconsin in the portal.
The next two most productive players, Chimere Dike and Skyler Bell, hit the portal this offseason. That leaves plenty of snaps up for grabs, and there’s a litany of names who could potentially grab them.
The staff brought in Michigan State transfer Tyrell Henry via the portal this offseason. The receiver was third on the Spartans in catches with 24, and put up 195 yards and three touchdowns on the year. He lined up almost exclusively in the slot, and figures to compete with redshirt freshman Trech Kekahuna, who flashed some explosive potential in the ReliaQuest Bowl, for Bell’s slot snaps.
Vinny Anthony started to emerge late in the 2023 campaign, with nine catches for 84 yards over the final four games of the season. He’s got track-level speed and in his rather limited late-season reps he displayed good hands. His speed makes him the kind of player you draw up plays for, and it’ll be fascinating to see where he is in his development.
Where the Badgers need to find more production is on the perimeter. They appear loaded in the slot, with Pauling as a proven star, Henry as a transfer with experience and plenty of young talent with Kekahuna and true freshman Kyan Berry-Johnson. Wisconsin needs to find boundary receivers it can rely on.
Green will be given every shot to be that player. CJ Williams is uber talented, but hasn’t gotten much of a shot yet. That should change this fall. Quincy Burroughs, Tommy McIntosh and Chris Brooks Jr. all have good size to be perimeter threats as well. Outside receiver will be the position of emphasis in spring and fall camp.
Wisconsin’s Projected Wide Receivers on 2024 Spring Roster
*Indicates Walk-On
Departing Players at Position Group
It’s safe to assume Pauling is the starting slot receiver. It’s also safe to assume Green will open camp as a starting outside receiver. But who will take that third spot initially, and can they hold onto it?
The main candidates are Anthony and Williams. In fact, the third starting receiver spot will likely go to one of those two to open camp. With the way that Anthony began to heat up at the end of the season, and Williams’ production actually tapered off, Anthony would likely be the favorite in that department.
There’s some sleepers as well; not necessarily threats to immediately steal a starting spot on the outside, but players who could play their way into a starting role with a good camp, like Pauling did a season ago. Burroughs would likely headline that list. He’s got the size at 6-foot-3, and like Anthony, notched some catches late in the season.
Brooks (6-foot-2) and McIntosh (6-foot-5) are also candidates to challenge for playing time on the perimeter. Brooks in particular looked dynamic early last spring before sustaining a foot injury that cost him his entire season.
It’s likely now or never for Williams. When he transferred to Wisconsin, the ex-USC Trojan became the highest-rated wide receiver to ever sign with the Badgers. Thus, it’s fair to say that last season was a disappointment. His 15 catches for 148 yards were an afterthought in the Badgers’ receiver room.
In spring and fall camp last season, Williams displayed the talent that had him rated as highly as he was. He has great hands, contested-catch ability and an innate feel for the game. That didn’t translate to much success during the season, however. If Williams once again struggles to get consistent playing time in 2024, there’s little reason to think he would stick around and hope that the third time is the charm in Madison.
Potential Depth Chart at Wide Receiver
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Nearly all artificial Christmas trees in the world today are made in China. And with that comes an up to 30 percent tariff rate on imported Christmas products — including artificial trees.
Kris Reisdorf is co-president of the Racine- and Sturtevant-based home and garden store Milaeger’s. On WPR’s “Wisconsin Today,” Reisdorf said tariffs are affecting their prices on artificial trees, but she’s mitigating most of the rate hike through negotiations with manufacturers and by taking on lower profit margins herself.
“We are doing our fair share in making Christmas affordable,” Reisdorf said. “When the average person is thinking 30 percent (tariffs), that’s not by any means what they’re really paying.”
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Milaeger’s “almost real” trees range from under $100 to well over $3,000. Reisdorff said she’s raised prices for all artificial trees by only around $20 compared to last year.
Residorf said tree sales are largely stable despite the uptick in tariff pricing.
An ABC News/Washington Post poll last year found that 58 percent of Americans were buying artificial trees instead of real ones. That’s up from 40 percent in 2010.
Greg Hann owns Hann’s Christmas Farm in Oregon. Hann also sits on the Wisconsin Christmas Tree Producers Association Board and is president-elect of the National Christmas Tree Association.
Hann told “Wisconsin Today” the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 created a surge in business for real evergreen trees and that demand has been holding relatively steady ever since. That said, Hann acknowledged real Christmas tree sales are up for him and fellow growers this year. He attributed the increase in sales to the tariffs and the fact that farmers’ supplies are finally catching up to the higher demand brought on by COVID-19. Nearly all real trees come from the United States or Canada, according to Hann.
Hann said a recent survey by the National Christmas Tree Association found 84 percent of Christmas tree growers nationwide have kept prices the same over the last two years, and that includes his own farm. Being grown locally in Wisconsin, Hann said his business is largely unaffected by tariffs.
“It’s kind of nice to have a good supply with a stable price in this economy,” he said.
Reisdorf said that some artificial tree manufacturers are moving operations outside of China to places like Cambodia. But most other countries in the east are also facing tariff threats.
Instead, Reisdorf said artificial tree importers are lobbying President Donald Trump to lower his 30 percent tariffs on Christmas products like trees and ornaments, because those kinds of goods aren’t coming back to be made in the U.S.
Meanwhile, Hann said his organization is lobbying to have tariffs on artificial trees increased to 300 percent. He said the added tariff costs help create an “even playing field” between real and artificial trees, since farmers have to pay farm staff and cover fertilizer costs.
But it isn’t always about the cost. Reisdorf said artificial trees have the benefit of lasting “forever,” essentially.
Hann said many of his customers come to the farm looking to keep up the Christmas tradition of picking out their own family tree.
“They’re looking for that fragrance of a real tree,” he said. “They want to start that tradition of the family together. They pick the tree, they take it into their house.”
In a bit of a surprise, Wisconsin Badgers starting center Jake Renfro is using a medical hardship year and entering the transfer portal for his final season of eligibility.
Renfro, a sixth-year senior in 2024, battled numerous injuries this season, limiting him to only four games after having season-ending surgery. He was a full-time starter for Wisconsin in 2024 after missing the entire 2023 season except for the team’s bowl game due to injury.
Prior to his time at Wisconsin, Renfro had played for head coach Luke Fickell at Cincinnati for three seasons. He played in seven games as a freshman in 2020, making six starts at center. He then was the full-time starter as a sophomore in 2021, earning All-AAC honors before missing the entire 2022 season due to injury.
Now, he’s set to come back to college football for a seventh year, rather than turn pro, and will look to do so at another school.
“I want to thank Coach Fickell, the entire coaching and training staff, my teammates, and the University of Wisconsin for everything over the past three seasons,” Renfro wrote. “I am grateful for the support, development, friendships, and memories I have made during my time in Madison. After much prayer and consideration, I have decided to enter the transfer portal and use a medical hardship year to continue my college football journey. I will always appreciate my time as a Badger.”
Renfro was one of the biggest supporters of Fickell publicly, being a vocal leader on the team as the starting center.
With his departure, Wisconsin could need a new starting left tackle, left guard, and center next season, depending on whether Joe Brunner heads to the NFL or returns for another season.
Wisconsin volleyball coach Kelly Sheffield discusses tournament win
Wisconsin volleyball coach Kelly Sheffield commented on the Badgers’ ‘huge’ win over North Carolina in the second round of the NCAA tournament.
MADISON — It did not take long for Alicia Andrew to text her younger sister after watching the NCAA volleyball selection show with her Wisconsin teammates in a lounge area in the south end zone of Camp Randall Stadium.
“I was like, ‘Girl!’” Andrew said. “She’s like, ‘I know! I’ll see you in Texas! And I was like, ‘I’m so excited!’”
Andrew will not see her younger sister in the Gregory Gym stands like any other family members, but rather on the court as an opposing player in the Badgers’ NCAA tournament regional semifinal match against Stanford.
Alicia Andrew is a 6-foot-3 redshirt senior middle blocker for Wisconsin. Lizzy Andrew is a 6-foot-5 sophomore middle blocker for Stanford. The sisters will play against each other for the first time with a spot in the NCAA regional finals on the line.
“Certainly when you’re having two high-level Division I starters on teams that are top five, top 10 in the country playing the same position, that’s pretty unique,” Wisconsin coach Kelly Sheffield said. “They’re both talented and competitive. But I also know that the players aren’t going to make it about themselves or the person that’s on the other side of the net. They’re parts of teams that are trying to move on and move forward and play great volley.”
Alicia has naturally fielded questions about the sibling rivalry, but she is “not reading too much into rivalry stuff and just playing this sport.”
“It’s another game,” she said after a recent UW practice. “Yes, it’s her across the net. But it’s a business. We both want to move on to the next round.”
Both players have played key parts in their respective teams’ path to this stage.
Alicia, after transferring from Baylor, is the only UW player to appear in all 98 sets this season and one of five to appear in all 30 matches. She is second on the team with 111 blocks, barely trailing fellow middle blocker Carter Booth’s 119.
“Really wants to be good for the people around her,” Sheffield said of Alicia. “Wants to do her job. Takes pride in her job. There’s a maturity, but yet there’s a playfulness that is a really good balance for her. Love coaching her. She’s wired the right way. She really is.”
Lizzy, meanwhile, ranks seventh in the country with a .441 hitting percentage in 2025 after earning a spot on the all-ACC freshman team in 2024. She also has experience playing with the U.S. U21 national team.
“I’m so proud of how hard she worked and her journey to Stanford,” Alicia said. “She puts in so much work, and she just loves the sport of volleyball. And I have loved watching her grow. It’s been fun to see her get better and better every year. And this past season, she’s been playing lights out.”
That pride has turned Alicia into a frequent viewer of ACC volleyball, of course whenever it has not conflicted with the Badgers’ own matches.
“We try to watch as many of each other’s games as we can, and I always just love watching her play,” she said. “I’m so proud of her. She’s just worked her tail off at Stanford, so to see her excel has been so fun.”
The Andrew sisters — Alicia, Lizzy and Natalie, who is on the rowing team at the U.S. Naval Academy — competed together in high school. (They also have a younger brother, William.) Competing against each other is a new concept for them, though.
“We’re not huge trash talkers, neither one of us,” Alicia said. “So I think that she’s going to play her game. I’m going to play my game. We’re going to have our heads down. There might be some looking across and smiling because we make the exact same expressions and quirky faces and reactions.”
The sisters don’t look the same – Lizzy has blonde hair and Alicia has brown hair. But Alicia quickly sees the resemblance with those on-court mannerisms.
“If there’s a silly play or if there is like a really unexpected dump or something, she’ll turn around and make the exact same face that I will,” Alicia said. “And it’s funny watching her on TV because I’m like, ‘Wow, that looks scary familiar.’”
They have some similarities off the court, too.
“We’re just goobers,” Alicia said. “We just like to have a good time together. Obviously she’s my little sister, but we have always been a close family — like all the siblings — so I feel like we’ve done all the things together growing up in all the sports.”
The Andrew parents are perhaps the biggest winners of the NCAA tournament bracket.
“My parents were super excited,” Alicia said. “They don’t have to split the travel plan, so they can save some frequent flyer miles there and both be in Texas. … They’re always trying to coordinate all the schedules.”
The Andrew family made T-shirts for the unique sisterly matchup. (Alicia thinks she is getting one considering they asked her and Lizzy for their shirt sizes in the family group chat.) The shirts are black, too, so there is no favoritism between Wisconsin and Stanford’s variations of cardinal red.
“They have a Stanford ‘S’ and a tree on it and then a Wisconsin ‘W’ and a little Badger on it, too,” Andrew said. “They’re really excited about these shirts. They’re being non-biased; they’re repping both daughters.”
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