Inside Wisconsin football's approach to keep strength and conditioning program 'growing'
Wisconsin's director of football strength and conditioning spoke to Badger Observer earlier this month about some updates to the program while focusing on the basics.
As the current landscape of college football continues to evolve, so does the weight room for the University of Wisconsin football program this offseason.
Wisconsin coach Luke Fickell foreshadowed updates to the strength and conditioning regiment during his Nov. 17 news conference, stating that older players will be training differently and “almost more like pros.” That answer came after a question about the stockpile of injuries that compiled during the 2025 season — there were 15 players listed as out against Illinois five days later, according to the Big Ten’s availability report that weekend — and if Fickell would look at this particular area of the program.
The official start of winter conditioning began last week, according to director of football strength and conditioning Brady Collins, and Wisconsin welcomed nearly 50 new players between transfers and freshman midyear enrollees.
The seeds of potential changes were planted weeks before that November tease from Fickell.
“We’ve been discussing our offseason plans since I want to say the Michigan week, just after losing Billy (Edwards Jr.), and the injuries up front to the O-line,” Collins said. “Which again, anytime an injury happens, no doubt, I take it to heart, because our job is to physically and mentally prepare them for the most violent game there is, but also knowing that the injury risk of every student-athlete that plays in that game is 100%.”
Injuries cratered Wisconsin’s depth chart on offense, particularly at quarterback with Edwards and Danny O’Neil, and offensive line with Jake Renfro and Kevin Heywood. Collins believed the team suffered “a lot of football injuries,” though he didn’t use that as an excuse.
“I’m not saying, ‘Hey, I know what I’m doing,’” Collins said. “But we didn’t have soft tissue. We didn’t have hammies blown. We didn’t have all this. We just had a lot of football issues, and we just got to be mindful of that.
“We got to be mindful of the age, of the bodies that we have, of the guys that we have, the loads that they carry throughout an entire year, whether it’s camp, spring, all those types of things. And just formulating a good plan that’s efficient, that still gets us to where we need to be and build the team.”
Badger Observer already highlighted how Wisconsin’s staff introduces freshmen and transfers into its strength and conditioning program. Here are some other major takeaways from the nearly 30-minute, on-record conversation with Collins on Jan. 15.
