Wisconsin
How Wisconsin quarterbacks Billy Edwards, Danny O’Neil fared, plus 4 other observations from Spring Showcase
An aerial view of Camp Randall Stadium in Madison, Wis.
An aerial view of Camp Randall Stadium in Madison, Wis., home of the Wisconsin Badgers.
MADISON – The Wisconsin football team held its Spring Showcase on April 19 at Camp Randall Stadium, fans’ first chance to see the 2025 team.
If the 7,840 fans in attendance were looking for offensive fireworks from the intrasquad scrimmage they went home disappointed.
Billy Edwards and Danny O’Neil, the Badgers’ top two quarterbacks, each engineered one scoring drive. Neither threw a touchdown pass during the almost two-hour scrimmage, but also didn’t turnover the ball.
That was a positive. So was the team’s play at running back and in pass defense.
Here are five observations from the afternoon.
Jeff Grimes’ Wisconsin offense showcases each QB’s strengths
You’re not going to get deep into the playbook in a scrimmage, but the event offered some insight into how offensive coordinator Jeff Grimes can suit the offense to different types of quarterbacks.
O’Neil, the more mobile of the Badgers top QBs, was given the opportunity to do more with option pitches and seemed to be put into space more.
Here are each players’ unofficial passing stats: Edwards – 9 of 16 for 58 yards; O’Neil 4 of 9 for 62 yards.
Forty-two of O’Neil’s yards came on a deep ball down the sideline to Joseph Griffin on the first possession. Griffin’s ability to adjust to the ball was key as he was able to slow down and keep the defensive back behind him in order to give himself space to make the catch.
Wisconsin running back Dilin Jones gets the sure yards
If the season started today, Jones, a redshirt freshman, would be the Badgers’ starting running back. His unofficial stats were 13 touches for 68 yards, an average of 5.2 yards per play. That included 10 rushes for 49 yards with a long of 13 yards and no negative yardage runs.
Jones has big-play potential, but he didn’t get greedy and pass on sure yards in order to attempt to make a bigger play.
Junior Joe Brunner gets snaps at left tackle
Since left tackle Kevin Heywood went down with an ACL injury that is expected to end his season, the Badgers have gone with the No. 1 line of left tackle Leyton Nelson, left guard Joe Brunner, center Jake Renfro, right guard Kerry Kodanko and right tackle Riley Mahlman.
In the second half Saturday Brunner played a couple of series at left tackle. For one of the series the line combination from left to right was Brunner, Kodanko, Renfro, redshirt freshman Emerson Mandell and Mahlman. For the other, the combination was Brunner, Colin Cubberly, Renfro, Kodanko and Mahlman.
Wisconsin RB Cade Yacamelli continues to produce; Gideon Ituka moves chains
Yacamelli, a redshirt junior and Jones ran with the No. 1 offense. Sophomore Darrion Dupree (leg) did not play. Redshirt freshman Gideon Ituka’s work came with the second offense.
Yacamelli was unofficially the game’s leading rusher with 94 yards in eight carries. Fifty-five of those yards came on a burst of the middle created by blocks by Kodanko and Renfro that resulted in the No. 1 offense’s only touchdown of the day. About 10 yards into the run Yacamelli ran through the arm tackle of junior safety Matt Jung.
Even without the long run, Yacamelli averaged 5.6 yards per carry
Ituka was productive as well. He ran for 51 yards and averaged 5.7 yards per carry.
The secondary makes plays
Based on the scoring system set up by the coaches, the defense won the game and the team’s pass coverage played a key role.
Freshman safety Luke Emmerich had the only interception of the day on a deep ball from freshman Carter Smith. There were two other big plays in pass defense: Miami transfer D’Yoni Hill won a one-on-one battle with Chris Brooks to break up a deep throw, and in the next series redshirt freshman Jay Harper made a similar play on a long ball throw by Milos Spasojevic to Griffin.
The defense often had the quarterback on the run, pressure that was often the result of good pass coverage.
Wisconsin guard Andrew Rohde reflects on early March Madness exit
Wisconsin guard Andrew Rohde said the Badgers ‘thought we could do so many things’ in the NCAA Tournament before it ended abrupty with an upset loss.
Wisconsin men’s basketball has added a sharpshooting wing via the transfer portal.
Miami (Ohio) transfer Eian Elmer has signed with the Badgers, the team announced April 18. The 6-foot-7 wing will join UW with one year of eligibility remaining.
Elmer averaged a career-high 12.7 points and 5.9 rebounds while shooting 49.8% from the field and 42.9% from 3-point range in 2025-26. His production helped the RedHawks go 32-2 and earn an at-large NCAA Tournament bid.
“We are really excited to add another excellent addition to our spring signees,” UW coach Greg Gard said in a release. “Eian brings a wealth of experience and scoring punch as a 6-7 wing. … A terrific shooter, his skillset and production fit excellently into our plan as we build out next year’s team. Throughout our evaluation process, our staff loved his size, power and skill and truly believe he will thrive in our system.”
Elmer is Wisconsin’s third transfer portal addition since the end of the 2025-26 season, joining former George Washington guard Trey Autry and former Hofstra forward Victory Onuetu. UW also added Australian guard Owen Foxwell.
The additions of Autry, Onuetu and now Elmer leave Gard’s staff with three more roster spots to fill ahead of the 2026-27 season.
The Badgers are looking to replace much of their production from a 2025-26 team that went 24-11. Nolan Winter is expected to be the team’s only returning starter after John Blackwell and Aleksas Bieliauskas entered the transfer portal and Nick Boyd and Andrew Rohde exhausted their eligibility.
MILWAUKEE – Friday’s severe storms have passed. And with that, the threat of any severe weather has also passed for the immediate future as no storms or rain are expected for several days.
However, plenty of damage remains across southeastern Wisconsin as of Saturday morning, in addition to the ongoing flooding threat.
Several area rivers are at flood stage, and there are multiple river flood warnings in effect.
FOX6 Weekend WakeUp on Saturday begins at 6 a.m.
On the scene in the morning
What we know:
Farmstead damage in Franklin
FOX6’s Hayley Spitler is in Franklin on Saturday morning, April 18, getting a daylight look at the damage from last night’s storms.
Storm damage in Caledonia
Friday’s storms left quite the mark across southern and southeastern Wisconsin, including at L and L Farms and Greenhouse in Caledonia.
FOX6 Weather Extras
Local perspective:
Meanwhile, FOX6Now.com offers a variety of extremely useful weather tools to help you navigate the stormy season. They include the following:
FOX6 Storm Center app
FOX LOCAL Mobile app
FOX Weather app
Maps and radar
We have a host of maps and radars on the FOX6 Weather page that are updating regularly — to provide you the most accurate assessment of the weather. From a county-by-county view to the Midwest regional radar and a national view — it’s all there.
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School and business closings
When the weather gets a little dicey, schools and businesses may shut down. Monitor the latest list of closings, cancellations, and delays reported in southeast Wisconsin.
FOX6 Weather Experts in social media
The Source: Information in this post was compiled by the FOX6 Weather Experts.
How Aleksas Bieliauskas has grown in first season with Wisconsin Badgers
Wisconsin coach Greg Gard has high praise for Aleksas Bieliauskas about a month into the Lithuania native’s freshman season.
MADISON – One of Wisconsin men’s basketball’s departing transfers is headed to an SEC program with some connections to the Badgers.
Ex-UW forward Aleksas Bieliauskas has committed to South Carolina, he announced on April 17.
Bieliauskas left the Badgers after appearing in all 35 games as a freshman and making 28 starts. He averaged 4.9 points and 4.4 points in 20.2 minutes, and highlights of his freshman year included his five 3-pointers in UW’s upset over eventual national champion Michigan.
He’ll join a program with plenty of Wisconsin ties. South Carolina head coach Lamont Paris was an assistant coach at Wisconsin from 2010-17 on Bo Ryan and Greg Gard’s staffs. South Carolina assistant coach Tanner Bronson and director of video services Roman DiPasquale also are UW alumni.
Bieliauskas is the second of UW’s four departing transfers to commit to a new school. Reserve forward Jack Robison committed to North Dakota State on April 15. Starting guard John Blackwell and reserve forward Riccardo Greppi have not announced their next schools yet.
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