How Wisconsin quarterbacks Billy Edwards, Danny O’Neil fared, plus 4 other observations from Spring Showcase

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.

More: Wisconsin football spring practice update: Running back Cade Yacamelli gets high praise