Luke Fickell identifies true freshmen who could play for Wisconsin immediately

Wisconsin's fall camp has been going on for more than two weeks, allowing the coaching staff to get a good look at some of the 2024 recruiting class's freshmen – and head coach Luke Fickell has identified six true freshmen who he believes will earn playing time this season.

One of the weakest positions in the rankings is the offensive line. The starting lineup seems set in stone, but the second line is wide open for young players looking to step up. Two of Wisconsin's top five ranked recruits in 2024 were offensive linemen, and Fickell is happy with what he's seen.

“Kevin Haywood on offense, I mean one of those other young offensive players, Emerson Mandel and Colin Cubberly are two guys that are going to play in some form in the back two,” Fickell said this week. “They're going to play every week, whether they play or not, we'll see.”

247Sports has Haywood ranked as Wisconsin's top recruit for 2024 and the 50th best talent in the entire country. Mandell was a four-star talent ranked 231st overall and Cubberly is a guy who has significantly outperformed his recruiting rank as the 661st best player in the country who ranked 15th among Wisconsin's 2024 recruits.

Two players who have been making regular noise in camp are 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.

“I think both tailbacks need to find an opportunity to play. That's a position, like we said last year, things can change and things can happen very quickly,” Fickell said. “These guys both have the ability to go out there and help us.”

Jones was the second-best recruit in Wisconsin's class, while Dupree was ranked seventh and No. 392 nationally. Both players have bright futures in Wisconsin's backfield.

On defense, Fickell mentioned safety Xavier Lucas as a player who could emerge, but he didn't seem as open to the idea of ​​letting the true freshman play.

“We'll see,” he said, citing the team's strength in the secondary as a reason for not sending a rookie defender onto the field.

Wisconsin's 2024 recruiting class is ranked 25th in the country according to 247Sports. The group of 22 enrollees is loaded with talent, and Fickell is confident some of them could see playing time this season.