Luke Fickell identifies true freshmen who could play right away for Wisconsin

The Badgers are built for the future.

Wisconsin head coach Luke Fickell is shown during football practice Wednesday, August 14, 2024 in Madison, Wisconsin. / Scott Ash / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK

Wisconsin is more than two weeks into fall camp, so the coaching staff has been able to get a long look at some of the freshmen from the 2024 recruiting class — and head coach Luke Fickell has identified six true freshmen that he can see earning playing time this season.

One of the most shallow positions on the depth chart is the offensive line. The starting unit seems to be set in stone, but the two deep is wide open for young players to step up. Two of Wisconsin's five highest-ranked recruits in 2024 were offensive linemen and Fickell has liked what he's seen.

"Kevin Haywood on offense, I mean one of those other young offensive linemen, Emerson Mandel and Colin Cubberly are two guys that are going to be in some version of the two deep," Fickell said this week. "They're going to be getting reps every week, whether they play or not, we'll see."

247Sports ranked Haywood as Wisconsin's top 2024 recruit and the 50th-best prospect in the entire country. Mandell was a four-star prospect at No. 231 overall and Cubberly is a guy who has clearly outperformed his recruiting rank as the 661st-best player in the country, which ranked 15th among Wisconsin's 2024 recruits.

Two players that have routinely turned heads at camp have been running backs Dilin Jones and Darrion Dupree. Veterans Chez Mellusi and Tawee Walker have established themselves as the top two options, but the door is wide open for a young player to emerge.

"I think both the tailbacks are going to have to find an opportunity to play. That's a position like we said last year, things can change and things can happen really quick," Fickell said. "Those guys both have the ability to go out there and help us,"

Jones was the second-highest-ranked recruit in Wisconsin's class, while Dupree found himself at seventh and No. 392 nationwide. Both players have bright futures in Wisconsin's backfield.

On the defensive side of the ball, Fickell mentioned safety Xavier Lucas as a player that could emerge, but he did not seem as open to the idea of playing the true freshman.

"We'll see," he said, then noting the team's depth in the secondary as a reason for not rushing a freshman defender onto the field.

Wisconsin's 2024 recruiting class ranked 25th in the country, according to 247Sports. There is plenty of talent from the group of 22 enrollees and Fickell has clear that a handful of them could see playing time this season.