Takeaways from Badgers spring practice No. 8: Offense

The Wisconsin Badgers conducted their eighth practice of the spring on Tuesday, marking their second practice inside Camp Randall Stadium.

After a balanced performance between the two sides on Saturday, the defense prevailed in their best practice yet, while the offense looked shaky.

Offense Rotations

The Badgers had a ton of mixing with their rotations on Tuesday in the receiver room, providing opportunities for several players to see bigger reps.

The starters remained the same in Will Pauling, Chimere Dike, and Keontez Lewis, but C.J. Williams and Tommy McIntosh each earned first-team reps, although the latter was only in for one run play.

Williams, who has been Dike’s backup for the entirety of spring ball, worked his way into some first-team reps, while McIntosh, who has recently been on the third-team offense, ate into some of Quincy Burroughs’s second-team reps before replacing Lewis for one first-team rep.

In other news, Joe Huber returned to center after being moved to right guard, his initial position, on Saturday following some poor snaps.

Quarterback play

Tanner Mordecai arguably had his shakiest performance of spring ball on Tuesday, as his accuracy wavered, both in 7-on-7s and 11-on-11s.

Mordecai threw two interceptions, both in 7-on-7s, with Ricardo Hallman and Hunter Wohler being the beneficiaries.

One thing noticed was Mordecai’s desire to push the ball downfield more, which led to some of the mistakes.

After a slow start, backup quarterback Braedyn Locke rebounded, specifically connecting with C.J. Williams on a variety of plays. The accuracy was also up and down for the backup quarterback over the course of the day.

Locke did have two passes batted at the line of scrimmage, which could be something to watch going forward.

Nick Evers got his most reps of spring practice thus far, utilizing his legs several times, although it wasn't the best day accuracy-wise, both in throwing drills and 11-on-11s.

Regardless of who the quarterback is, a common feature seen thus far in Longo’s offense is the signal-caller’s willingness to take off, which sets up the RPO game that has been seen thus far.

Myles Burkett and Marshall Howe got minimal reps on Tuesday as the Badgers continue to rotate around their QB3 reps.

C.J. Williams

C.J. Williams continues to shine in the wide receiver room, being one of the winners of the day after a number of catches, which earned him some WR1 reps over Chimere Dike toward the end of practice.

While there were some drop concerns from Badgers’ wideouts on Tuesday, Williams continues to be sure-handed, having a nice rep against Alexander Smith’s press coverage in 1-on-1s before catching six passes from Braedyn Locke with the second-team defense in 11-on-11s.

Williams’s highlight of the day was a 25-yard catch over the middle, beating Avyonne Jones when Locke hit him in stride for a significant gain.

In his one series with the first-team offense, Williams caught a ball near the sideline that Mordecai played over a defender, managing to keep a foot inbounds.

What’s perhaps most impressive about Williams is his route tree; thus far, the wideout has showcased the ability to win at all three levels of the field with his combination of speed, physicality, and route running.

1-on-1s

Both the skill position/defensive backs and the offensive line/defensive line units had 1-on-1s Tuesday. Here were the results.

Skill position players

OL/DL