5 thoughts from Wisconsin football fall camp practice No. 12
A wide receiver makes another big play, a transfer outside linebacker was a presence in the backfield against starting-caliber linemen, and more.
MADISON, Wis. — Joe Griffin Jr. has had a warm welcome back to Camp Randall Stadium to start this week.
Griffin made a spectacular, leaping catch in second-team reps on Monday, snagging a Hunter Simmons pass over freshman cornerback Cairo Skanes on way to a long touchdown. Tuesday’s practice saw Griffin provide another highlight with a touchdown reception over Skanes in a red zone skeleton (“skelly”) period.
Griffin’s a big-bodied receiver at a listed 6-foot-4 and 210 pounds, and he produced at the college level during his first two seasons at Boston College (a combined 43 receptions for 579 yards receiving and six touchdowns). He transferred to Wisconsin last spring but didn’t play for the Badgers last season, as according to a Wisconsin spokesperson, “he was deemed ineligible by the NCAA after not meeting transfer eligibility requirements.”
Wide receivers coach Jordan Reid said July 30 that Griffin was “at a pivotal point right now,” and Wisconsin’s seen Griffin produce a number of noteworthy plays during fall camp.
The offense appears to have at least five receivers — Vinny Anthony II, Chris Brooks Jr., Jayden Ballard, Trech Kekahuna and Tyrell Henry — for this new “NFL-style” scheme. It will be worth watching if Griffin, redshirt senior transfer Dekel Crowdus, and freshman Eugene Hilton Jr. could also emerge as part of a receiver rotation with the program sitting about two weeks away from its Aug. 28 season opener against Miami (Ohio).
Here are a few more thoughts from Tuesday’s practice.