INDIANAPOLIS – Wisconsin players Hunter Wohler, Jake Chaney and Jack Nelson met with reporters at Big Ten football media day Tuesday at Lucas Oil Stadium.

Here are some of the highlights from their 30-minute sessions:

A new number for Jake Chaney

This year Jake Chaney will literally be at the top of your program.

The senior linebacker switched his jersey number. He’ll wear No. 1 this season. He was No. 36 previously.

Chaney wasn’t looking to make a switch but did so at the urging of director of football strength and conditioning Brady Collins. The No. 1 is often worn by a team’s best player. At UW, Chaney will share the number with running back Chez Mellusi.

The change was made easier because Chaney had no sentimental attachment to No. 36.

“I believe anything that man says,” Chaney said of Collins. “He says it’s going to make me play better and I truly believe it is, so we’re making the switch to 1 and hopefully I can make it look good this year.”

College football video game is a hit with Wohler, Chaney but a mystery to Nelson

EA Sports’ reboot of its college football game has been a big hit with college players, most of whom opted to have their name included in the game.

Of the three Badgers on hand Tuesday, Wohler sounded like he has played it the most – “it’s a good time,” he said – followed by Chaney. Nelson hasn’t played it.

“I’m not a video game guy,” he said.

Chaney believes the game will help bring young fans to college football.

“Kids grow up nowadays playing Madden, but NCAA is a whole different feel because that feels closer to the kid,” Chaney said. “That feels attainable. That feels like you can truly get there one day. If you work hard enough, you can get there, right? Madden, you hear all the statistics about the NFL. You’ve got to do the combine. You’ve got to make it in college first. But NCAA felt like you could say one day I’m going to be in there.”

Wohler’s 90 overall rating in the game is second on the team to cornerback Ricardo Hallman.

“It’s cool just because all the guys here (at Big Ten media day) played that game religiously and then for it to go away for so long you wonder if it was ever going to be back,” Wohler said, “and then for it to come back and we get to play in the game and our avatar is in the game is pretty cool. It’s a surreal feeling.”

Whitefish Bay native Joe Brunner poised for breakout season?

Who will be the Badgers’ breakout performer for ’24? Redshirt freshman receiver Trech Kekahuna and linebacker Jaheim Thomas got support. Former Whitefish Bay star Joe Brunner did, too.

Brunner, a redshirt sophomore, worked next to Nelson at left guard during spring practice.

More: Wisconsin football coach Luke Fickell says leadership is No. 1 thing he will stress to his team

More: Where do Big Ten writers predict Wisconsin football will finish in the conference?

Nelson praised Brunner’s acumen and practice habits while also noting the edge with which he plays.

“He’s just a mean, mean nasty guy in the best way possible,” Nelson said. “It really comes out on the football field. Playing next to him at tackle is really something I value.”

By ZEKE MILLER

WASHINGTON — Vice President Kamala Harris is making her first visit to a battleground state Tuesday after locking up enough support from Democratic delegates to win her party’s nomination to challenge Republican former President Donald Trump, two days after President Joe Biden dropped his reelection bid.

As the Democratic Party continues to coalesce around her, Harris is traveling to Milwaukee, where she will hold her first campaign rally since she launched her campaign on Sunday with Biden’s endorsement. Harris has raised more than $100 million since Sunday afternoon and has scored the backing of Democratic officials and political groups.

Tuesday’s visit was scheduled before Biden ended his campaign, but it took on new resonance as Harris took on the mantle of her party against Trump and looked to project calm and confidence after weeks of Democratic Party confusion over Biden’s political future.

The visit comes a week after the Republican National Convention wrapped up in the city and as Harris works to sharpen her message against the GOP nominee with just over 100 days until Election Day. Wisconsin is part of the Democrats’ “blue wall” of Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania that is critical to their 2024 plans.

DEMOCRATS’ SWITCH: What VP Kamala Harris likely leading Democratic ticket means for women in California

The vice president previewed the themes that will be prominent in her campaign against Trump on Monday during a stop at her campaign headquarters in Wilmington, Delaware, contrasting her time as a prosecutor with Trump’s felony convictions — “I know Donald Trump’s type,” she said — and casting herself as a defender of economic opportunity and abortion access.

“This election will present a clear choice between two different visions. Donald Trump wants to take our country back to a time before many of us had full freedoms and equal rights,” she said in a statement responding to the AP delegate tally. “I believe in a future that strengthens our democracy, protects reproductive freedom and ensures every person has the opportunity to not just get by, but to get ahead.”

“I am grateful to President Biden and everyone in the Democratic Party who has already put their faith in me, and I look forward to taking our case directly to the American people,” she added.

GOP REAX: Newly minted VP candidate Vance rips Harris in campaign debut 

By Monday night, Harris, who also ran for president in 2020, had the support of well more than the 1,976 delegates she’ll need to win on a first ballot, according to the AP tally of delegates. No other candidate was named by a delegate contacted by the AP.

Still, the AP is not calling Harris the new presumptive nominee. That’s because the convention delegates are still free to vote for the candidate of their choice at the convention in August or if Democrats go through with a virtual roll call ahead of that gathering in Chicago.

The AP tally is based on interviews with individual delegates, public statements from state parties, many of which have announced that their delegations are supporting Harris en masse, and public statements and endorsements from individual delegates.

Harris was to be joined by major elected officials in Wisconsin, including Gov. Tony Evers, Sen. Tammy Baldwin, Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez, Attorney General Josh Kaul, Secretary of State Sarah Godlewski and Wisconsin Democratic Party Chair Ben Wikler, as well as state labor leaders.

Meanwhile, Wisconsin Republican leaders are branding Harris as an “extreme liberal” who is out of step with most voters in the swing state.

“Kamala Harris’ favorables are as bad as Joe Biden’s,” said Wisconsin Republican Party Chairman Brian Schimming at a news conference ahead of the Harris event at a high school outside of Milwaukee. “So they are exchanging one bad candidate for another bad candidate in the hope that the people of this state and this country don’t notice where she actually stands on the issues.”

AP writer Scott Bauer in Madison, Wisconsin contributed.

Originally Published: July 23, 2024 at 8:53 a.m.

The Chick-fil-A Tri-State Food Truck has made its rounds through central Wisconsin, including Stevens Point, Wausau, Wisconsin Rapids and Marshfield.

WISCONSIN RAPIDS – The Chick-fil-A Tri-State Food Truck will be back in Wisconsin Rapids this week.

If you missed the Chick-fil-A food truck last month, you’ll have another opportunity to find some of your favorite menu items from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Thursday at the South Wood County YMCA parking lot.

The truck made its first appearance in Wisconsin Rapids in June, and many people lined up in the rain to get their food.

Chick-fil-A Tri-State Food Truck posted on its Facebook page June 20, thanking Wisconsin Rapids for the support.

“We had such a busy day that we will only stay open while supplies last,” the post said. “We appreciate your support and can’t wait to serve you again soon!”

What’s the Chick-fil-A Tri-State Food Truck?

The Chick-fil-A Tri-State Food Truck launched in January 2023 and offers a Chick-fil-A menu to communities in Iowa, Minnesota and Wisconsin that do not have a Chick-fil-A restaurant nearby.

Guests can find a menu of restaurant favorites like sandwiches, waffle fries, chicken nuggets, wraps, brownies, cookies, sauces and more.

The truck has been serving “waffle potato chips” instead of waffle fries for the last several weeks as it has been waiting for parts to fix the fryer, according to several of its Facebook posts.

The truck has made its rounds through central Wisconsin, including Stevens Point, Wausau and Marshfield. The Chick-fil-A Tri-State Food Truck will also be at Fleet Farm in Stevens Point from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday.

To follow the truck’s schedule, find the Chick-fil-A Tri-State Food Truck on Facebook.

More Wisconsin Rapids business news: When will PetSmart open at the former Shopko site in Wisconsin Rapids? We have the latest update.

Contact Caitlin at cshuda@gannett.com or follow her on Twitter @CaitlinShuda.