Wisconsin tight end Tucker Ashcraft has a chance to learn now from a pair of veteran teammates

MADISON – Tucker Ashcraft feels as if he is back in school.

His teachers: Fellow Wisconsin tight ends Hayden Rucci and Riley Nowakowski.

“It’s nice watching two older guys do it,” the freshman said.

Ashcraft took advantage of a shortage of tight ends and performed well in camp. He opened the season as the second tight end behind Rucci, in part because Nowakowski had suffered a broken left foot in practice.

Ashcraft flashed with two catches for 36 yards in the opener against Buffalo and added two more for 32 yards two weeks later against Georgia Southern. He recorded his first touchdown catch, a 3-yarder, against Rutgers.

“Obviously, it was an amazing opportunity to start the season like that, to play in all those games and get a lot of reps,” Ashcraft said.

The return from injury of Riley Nowakowski meant less playing time for Tucker Ashcraft

The Rutgers game was Nowakowski’s season debut. As Nowakowski’s workload has increased, Ashcraft’s has decreased.

The touchdown catch against the Scarlet Knights was Ashcraft’s last catch until last week against Nebraska when he had three catches for a total of 15 yards.

“Now I can take a step back and evaluate myself and see what I need to get better that,” he said. “There’s definitely things I need to get better at.”

Ashcraft’s to-do list includes better in-line blocking.

“Just being able to be physical with bigger guys on the line,” he said.

And running routes more precisely, and identifying open areas more quickly.

“Seeing the field better,” he said. “Finding space and having poise when I’m running my route.”

Ashcraft, 6-foot-5 and 245 pounds, believes he possesses sufficient size and strength to handle is blocking assignments.

“I think it is a lot more technique,” he said. “I think I’m big enough to do it. I think it is experience, getting reps at it.”

Tucker Ashcraft acknowledges getting accustomed to a two-point stance has been difficult

The issue he is batting is footwork.

“In high school I came out of a three-point stance,” he said.

UW linemen and tight ends this season line up in a two-point stance.

“I feel like I’m a pretty tall dude and have long legs,” he said. “Coming out of a two-point stance and having power and speed is definitely a little more different. I’ve had to work on that.”

Ashcraft explained he sometimes naturally takes a half-step backward.

“For me it was a huge adjustment,” he said. “You want to step behind yourself. You’re losing speed in the neutral zone and you can’t complete your block.”

Ashcraft enters the regular-season finale at Minnesota with five catches for 71 yards and a touchdown. His last catch came against Rutgers, the fifth game of the season.

“Now I’ve got two older guys in front of me and I’m learning a lot from them,” Ashcraft said. “I’m not looking at it as a negative thing that I’m not getting as much playing time because I felt like I made the most of the time I had, and I was grateful for it.