There are reasons Wisconsin Badgers redshirt senior tight end Troy Fumagalli was a preseason first-team All-American.
During another beautiful, sunny late morning at Camp Randall Stadium on Tuesday, the team started once again with positional and special teams work.
Fumagalli reportedly reeled in three touchdowns during the later red-zone skeleton (“skelly”) session of practice, a welcomed sign for an offense that has one of the best tight end corps in the Big Ten—and possibly the nation.
Fumagalli dominated during RZ skelly today. 3 TDs and one near the back of the end zone that needed replay - I thought he was in. #Badgers
— John Veldhuis (@JohnVeldhuis) August 1, 2017
Wisconsin worked on red zone for the first time in camp. Hornibrook finished 7-on-7 RZ skele 8-for-14, including 3 TDs to Fumagalli
— Benjamin Worgull (@TheBadgerNation) August 1, 2017
Just throw the ball anywhere close to Troy Fumagalli & he's gonna catch it. Had 3 straight TDs in red zone drills, all of them contested.
— Zach Heilprin (@ZachHeilprin) August 1, 2017
“We expect as much as we can to get all of us on the field,” Fumagalli said at UW media day on Friday when asked about goals and expectations for UW’s tight ends. “Kyle [Penniston] and Zander [Neuville] have done a tremendous job of just being accountable and just getting better everyday, so as a unit we want to do the best we can.
“I think everyone will continue to take that bigger role in the offense, and it’s exciting, so I’m really looking forward to working with those guys in fall camp.”
Quarterback Alex Hornibrook reportedly also had himself a solid performance on Tuesday, one day after struggling a bit.
#Badgers Hornibrook had best day of camp. Completed 25-of-35 in all drills. Did throw INT to Leon Jacobs on the goal line in red zone 7-on-7
— Jason Galloway (@Jason_Galloway) August 1, 2017
My final tally for Hornibrook today was 9-14 in skelly (inc. 6 RZ TDs) and 11-13 in team drills. #Badgers
— John Veldhuis (@JohnVeldhuis) August 1, 2017
It wasn’t just Hornibrook’s and Fumagalli’s day, however. Redshirt junior inside linebacker T.J. Edwards reportedly picked off his second pass of the past few days, with redshirt senior outside linebacker Leon Jacobs also getting in on the turnover action.
#Badgers ILB T.J. Edwards got his second INT in three days, this one off a Kare Lyles pass over the middle.
— Jason Galloway (@Jason_Galloway) August 1, 2017
1st-team defense creating all kinds of havoc, leading to a pair of INTs from TJ Edwards and Leon Jacobs.
— Zach Heilprin (@ZachHeilprin) August 1, 2017
Injury report
Joining wide receiver Deron Harrell (left shoulder) and safety Scott Nelson (left leg), inside linebacker Griffin Grady was out for practice (illness). Harrell appeared to catch some passes with the position group early on, while Nelson was on a stationary bike.
Observations
- In catching the first 40 minutes of practice, a couple of things stuck out to me.
- During field-goal situations, inside linebacker Jack Cichy, let’s just say, was vocal when Wisconsin’s placekickers were attempting to convert their attempts. After redshirt junior Rafael Gaglianone missed his second field goal attempt, Cichy walked up to him to deliver a not-so-family-friendly version of, “Don’t mess this one up.”
- Wisconsin is four practices in, but from what I’ve seen, this team appears to have solid leadership from the top down, and there’s a hustle seen from many of the players. That motto, “Smart. Tough. Dependable.” really does resonate.
What... is... this...
Not impressed with this return man at all. Seems afraid of contact. pic.twitter.com/4GpjLUCv0W
— Zach Heilprin (@ZachHeilprin) August 1, 2017