Troy Fumagalli “day-to-day;” Michael Deiter battling through injury

A surprise scratch from Saturday’s game vs. the Northwestern Wildcats, redshirt senior tight end Troy Fumagalli did not play due to a left leg injury.

Wisconsin Badgers head coach Paul Chryst noted that it wasn’t until Friday night that it was decided Fumagalli probably wouldn’t play.

“He had been practicing through the week, obviously not a ton, so there was an idea that we weren’t sure,” Chryst said after the Badgers’ 33–24 win. “He was maybe going to go or maybe wasn’t going to go, so we had the opportunity to work on a lot of things without Troy, as well, in practice. I give credit to really the other tight ends and the fullbacks. It didn’t change once we knew—certainly we like it when Troy plays, and he’s a really good football player—but as far as what we were going to do, [it] didn’t change as much as maybe people would have thought.”

Tight end Zander Neuville told reporters after the game on Saturday, that, like Chryst, the team didn’t know Fumagalli wasn’t playing until Friday. Fumagalli was still helping out when he wasn’t practicing last week, especially by providing vocal leadership and guidance to the tight ends.

“I think originally he kind of tweaked something during the bye week and then was just kind of laying low for a little bit and just being smart with it throughout the week,” Nevuille said. “I think [they] made the decision [on Friday] that it would be probably best to just take this week off so he can be as healthy as possible for next week.”

Fumagalli still leads the team in receptions and receiving yards (15 for 236), but Chryst did not confirm how long his All-American candidate could be out, whether short-term or longer.

“You never know for sure, but we truly thought he had a good chance to maybe play [on Saturday],” Chryst said. “I don’t think he was set back any from what he was doing, so it will be a day-to-day.”

Michael Deiter works through sore ankle

Left tackle Michael Deiter suffered an ankle injury in Wisconsin’s win vs. BYU. On Saturday, he played, but redshirt freshman Cole Van Lanen was seen in his place in the fourth quarter.

After the game, Deiter was asked if his ankle bothered him in the contest.

“A little bit, not that much,” Deiter said on Saturday afternoon. “I thought it felt pretty good for most of the game. Towards the end, it got a little sore, but I thought it was pretty good.”

Deiter has started all 31 games he’s played in during his Wisconsin career, including the last four at left tackle.