Wisconsin WR Quintez Cephus out for season

As feared, the Wisconsin Badgers’ final injury report of the week brought bad news on Thursday morning.

UW announced sophomore wide receiver Quintez Cephus (right leg) is out for the rest of the season.

Head coach Paul Chryst told reporters on Thursday that Cephus had an appointment on Monday and surgery was performed on Tuesday.

“For every player that misses it, you feel bad for him certainly, and yet, ‘Q’ will bounce back,” Chryst said. “One of the fun things about coaching is seeing these guys play and grow and develop, and football is a vehicle we get to use.”

This is a significant loss for Wisconsin’s offense, as Chryst’s unit loses the budding wideout who led the team in receiving ya rds (501), touchdown receptions (six), and tied for the team lead in receptions with tight end Troy Fumagalli (30).

With seniors Jazz Peavy and George Rushing also ruled out for Saturday’s game vs. Iowa, Wisconsin will have to rely on sophomore A.J. Taylor, redshirt freshman Kendric Pryor, and true freshman Danny Davis at receiver. In UW’s offense, having multiple tight ends in Fumagalli, Zander Neuville, and Kyle Penniston along with fullbacks Alec Ingold and Austin Ramesh could help to soften the blow of Cephus’s absence.

Questionable for this week are starting strong safety D’Cota Dixon (right leg) and key reserves defensive end Isaiahh Loudermilk (left leg), nose tackle Garrett Rand (left leg), and running back Chris James (left leg).

Rand was seen on crutches and in a boot earlier this week, and the Wisconsin State Journal’s Jason Galloway reportied on Tuesday that the sophomore defensive lineman has played through a torn ligament in his foot.

Still out for Saturday’s game are Peavy, Rushing, inside linebacker Chris Orr (left leg), and tight end Luke Benzschawel (right leg).

The full list is seen below: