Wisconsin
Three takeaways from Wisconsin spring practice No. 2
MADISON, Wis. — The Wisconsin Badgers were inside the McClain Center on Saturday morning for their second open spring practice.
BadgerBlitz.com was there to catch the action. Here are my three biggest takeaways.
Quarterback Billy Edwards Jr. didn’t exactly hit the ground running. He had an up-and-down first day, and a pretty rough first hour or two on Saturday.
Part of this is the natural transition process of joining a different school. But his new offense isn’t making things easy for him. I’d estimate 60-70% of the passing plays called on Saturday involved a quarterback rollout or some type of movement. There was some clear discomfort. Most of these passes sailed above receivers’ heads or didn’t reach them at all.
He’s mobile enough, but this wasn’t a huge part of the Maryland offense. It is, however, in offensive coordinator Jeff Grimes’s system.
“They’ve gotta be able to provide some sort of athleticism,” Grimes said in January, referring to quarterbacks.
“They’ve gotta be able to escape and get out of trouble when you’re throwing the football. And then I’d like for them to present some level of run threat to the defense. How much that is depends on a number of different factors; I look at it on a sliding scale. If a guy is a dynamic athlete, and every time he touches the ball he has a chance to make an explosive play, I might take a little less in some of the other categories. He might not be as tall, or his arm might not be quite where you want it to be now…on the other hand, if a guy has just enough athletic ability to be an escape threat, or run a quarterback draw every now and again, he better be able to rip that football, he better be great at getting that offensive line to the right protection, and he better be great at a lot of other things as well. Ideally, you’ve got a big guy who’s a great thrower and a good runner too.”
Edwards falls in the second bucket, evidenced by how well he played in the second half of practice, when able to stand still in the pocket and show off his arm strength.
He rifled multiple 30+ yard passes in 11-on-11s, to Quincy Burroughs, Jayden Ballard and even the freshman Eugene Hilton.
This is far from a surprise. I’d struggle to find a quarterback who prefers throwing on the run.
But given the importance of mobility in Grimes’s system, this isn’t a negotiable skill. The offense simply can’t operate at its full capacity if this remains an issue.
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.
SIGN UP TODAY: Get daily headlines, breaking news emails from FOX6 News
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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