Wisconsin football fall camp preview: Tight end

The players to watch, storylines to follow, and the biggest questions for the Wisconsin Badgers at tight end entering the 2022 season.

It is mid-July, which means we are just weeks away from Big Ten Media Days and the beginning of fall camp for the Wisconsin Badgers football team.

Contents

1. Roster breakdown
2. Projected depth chart
3. Returning career production
4. Position overview
5. Young player to watch
6. Biggest question

The Badgers enter the 2022 season looking to improve upon their 9-4 record from a year ago and aim to get back to the Big Ten Championship Game after missing out on a Big Ten West title in 2021.

After a busy off-season filled with coaching changes, recruiting news, and transfer additions, football is nearly back. With that in mind, it is time to preview each position group leading up to the start of fall camp.

Other positions previews:

• Quarterback
• Running back
• Fullback
• Wide receiver
• Interior offensive line
• Offensive tackles
• Defensive line
• Inside linebacker

Staying on offense, next up in our rolling series of position previews, we break down the tight end room ahead of fall camp. 

Fifth-year senior Jack Eschenbach is one of the most experienced tight ends on the roster in returning in 2022.  / Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports

Roster breakdown

Coaches:

• Chris Haering (tight ends coach)

Returning players:

• Jack Eschenbach (RS SR) 6-foot-6, 239 lbs.
• Jaylan Franklin (RS SR) 6-foot-4, 240 lbs.
• Clay Cundiff (RS JR) 6-foot-3, 236 lbs.
• Hayden Rucci (RS JR) 6-foot-4, 259 lbs.
• Cam Large (RS SO) 6-foot-3, 234 lbs.
• Cole Dakovich (RS SO) 6-foot-5, 260 lbs.
• Jack Pugh (RS FR) 6-foot-5, 233 lbs.

Newcomers:

• JT Seagreaves (FR) 6-foot-6, 220 lbs.
• Travis Alvin (FR) 6-foot-5, 225 lbs. 

Projected depth chart

Starters: Jack Eschenbach and/or Clay Cundiff

Backups: Hayden Rucci and Jaylan Franklin

Returning career production

• Jack Eschenbach: 19 games, five receptions, 59 yards
• Jaylan Franklin: 29 games, three tackles, one sack, and a blocked punt
• Clay Cundiff: six games, three receptions, 86 yards, one touchdown
• Hayden Rucci: 13 games
• Cam Large: three games

Position overview

The position group with the most uncertainty heading into fall camp remains the tight ends.

Still rehabbing from injuries, Jack Eschenbach, Clay Cundiff, and Cam Large did not participate in spring practice. As a result, the Badgers were relatively thin at the position and it was hard to take too much away from spring ball.

Fall camp will provide a huge opportunity to everyone in the tight end room though, as Wisconsin looks to replace do-it-all performer Jake Ferguson, who is now a member of the Dallas Cowboys. Ferguson rarely came off the field during his time in Madison, which should open up playing time for the returning talent.

And talent there is, but it is still unproven.

A former walk-on, Jack Eschenbach enters fall camp as the most experienced player when it comes to playing the position at the college level. He has played in 19 games in the past few years and is someone that the staff trusts. Eschenbach runs well for a player his size and is a good enough blocker to make him one of the top contenders to start the opener against Illinois State. He is coming off a slew of injuries dating back to the end of the 2021 season though, so it will be interesting to see if the Badgers have the same player this season.

Clay Cundiff also had a gruesome injury last year but is back running and working out with the team in summer conditioning. Cundiff flashed in limited opportunities a season ago and was starting to emerge before a combination of various lower-body injuries sent him to the hospital during the Iowa game. Cundiff is probably the most well-rounded tight end at this stage of his career, and he had the second-longest reception on the entire team last season. If there is a player that steps up and becomes a true No. 1 option, I think Cundiff has the best odds, assuming he can stay healthy.

Senior tight end Jaylan Franklin brings some exciting traits to the tight end room after beginning his career at outside linebacker.  / Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports

Redshirt senior Jaylan Franklin is also a strong contender for the 'move' role, which is primarily a receiving tight end spot. He will battle with Eschenbach and Cundiff for that role, and Fraklin has the added benefit of being healthy in the spring. Franklin is the most athletic tight end in the room and has added some nice weight the past two seasons, making him an intriguing player to watch in the fall. He began his career as an outside linebacker but made a position change to tight end later in his career. Now a senior, Franklin is hoping to break out and help the Badgers as a receiving threat.

The other tight end role in Wisconsin's offense is the in-line position, which tends to rely on bigger players with an ability to block. This is a position where I think there is more clarity for the Badgers, as both Hayden Rucci and Cole Dakovich are healthy and capable blockers. Rucci has battled injuries throughout his career, but he was available in the spring and displayed his hands at times. An extremely physical blocker, Rucci enters the fall as the top blocking option, and I would not be surprised to see him become more involved in the passing game as well now that he is an upperclassman and Jake Ferguson is no longer a top receiving option.

For Cole Dakovich, this spring was his first chance to showcase what he can do after missing all of last season with a knee injury. I thought that Dakovich proved that he could be another impactful blocker in the tight end room for the Badgers, and I think he is the No. 2 in-line tight end entering fall camp. He is still developing as a pass-catcher, but at 260 pounds, he is a gifted blocker.

I believe that the five players highlighted above will form the core rotation for Wisconsin at tight end this spring, but some younger players in the room could push for playing time too.

Redshirt sophomore Cam Large is a great blocker and brings some versatility. I would not be shocked to see him earn snaps at tight or fullback next season. He was not available for spring practice, but he did begin to earn more playing time late last season before an injury. I wrote about Large further in the fullback preview because I think he is one of the more compelling players to watch in fall camp this year.

Redshirt freshman Jack Pugh and true freshman JT Seagreaves will also have an opportunity to showcase what they can do this fall. Seagreaves will likely take some time to develop, but he is very athletic and has a basketball background. He played running back for Monroe High School last season, and the Badgers passed on some other talented tight ends in the 2022 class to add the 6-foot-6 freshman. 

Young player to watch

I am excited to see what Jack Pugh can do in fall camp. With so many upperclassmen out with injuries, Pugh stood out in the spring the first few weeks. His ability to catch the ball in traffic and make plays after the catch was apparent, and I vividly remember a drive in the spring where he and Chase Wolf connected on multiple passes during a scrimmage and helped lead the team to a touchdown. 

Pugh primarily worked with the second-team unit, but he consistently made plays when on the field. Unfortunately, Pugh went down with an injury of his own in the latter stages of the spring, which cut short what was a strong performance for the redshirt freshman. He was on crutches in late spring, so his status is up in the air for camp. 

If he can return this fall and continue to play well, I think he could be a wildcard in the tight end room. He is incredibly athletic, and he has a ton of upside after not playing football until later in his high school career. 

Overall, I think the future is very bright for Pugh, and I think he could push or playing time as soon as this year.   

Wisconsin tight end Clay Cundiff is back after a significant injury last season against Iowa.  :: MARK HOFFMAN/MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL / USA TODAY NETWORK

Biggest question

While I think the overall question of which tight end or collection of players in the tight end room will step up and earn playing is still top of mind, I think the overall health of this group is still the biggest question.

Wisconsin's tight end room has been snake bitten recently, with major injuries testing the depth of the group each of the past three seasons. Can 2022 be different?

The Badgers utilize multiple tight ends frequently, making depth at the position vital for the offense. I think fullback Riley Nowakowski helps alleviate some of the depth concerns, but the way injuries have hit this group in the past still makes the health of the room a question mark. 

Tight end is such a developmental position and one of the more physical roles in the entire offense, as tight ends take on defensive ends and linebackers all the time in the run game. Tight ends also work the middle of the field in the passing game, which leaves them susceptible to big hits on crossing routes. 

With new tight ends coach Chris Haering taking charge of the room, it will be interesting to see if he can change the string of bad injury luck for the position group, and develop the room for success in the future. 

Right now, this group still has the most variability on the entire offense in my opinion. 

Weekend has been earned ☑️

Saturday with the Ts 🤝 pic.twitter.com/i0JaulB9Jq

— Wisconsin Football (@BadgerFootball) April 9, 2022

Related links:

• Jake Ferguson signs a 4-year deal with the Dallas Cowboys
• Senior OL Cormac Sampson leaving the program 
• Fall camp preview for the Wisconsin wide receivers

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