10 Wisconsin football players Badger Observer’s keeping a keen eye on this spring
Plenty of new faces to keep tabs on, but here's who Badger Observer is watching a little more closely during spring ball.
Justified attention will be given to a trio of transfers in the backfield, but one University of Wisconsin football assistant said this returning junior’s potential could be “endless” within the Badgers’ offense.
Wisconsin revamped its program during the 2026 offseason by welcoming 34 transfers and 12 freshman midyear enrollees. The Badgers’ roster renovations included the signings of three running backs: Abu Sama III (Iowa State), Bryan Jackson (Southern Cal) and Nate Palmer (Texas Christian). Sama’s the most experienced with his 1,933 career yards rushing the last three seasons.
There have been mighty struggles by the offense the last two seasons, which one can argue hampered Dupree’s potential (680 yards rushing, three touchdowns from 2024-25). He has an all-purpose skill set and arguably had the best hands of the running back group the last couple of years, but he only caught seven passes for 28 yards receiving in 2025.
New running backs coach Jayden Everett recruited Dupree, a former top-200 recruit by Rivals, while at Vanderbilt and told reporters earlier this month expects Dupree to act as a leader. Everett also believes they haven’t scratched the surface of what the third-year back could be.
“I think you could put him on the perimeter, he can do some stuff” Everett said. “He has that type of skill set. Obviously, you can put him behind any scheme in the backfield.
“I think with Darrion, the biggest thing is, just from a pass protection standpoint, he’s gotten a lot better at it. You can see his technique is a lot better. Some of the things, because there’s a lot of parallel for me and coach (Devon) Spalding, because I was his coach in college. I coached Spauldo at Central Michigan, so the things that he was being taught by Spauldo, there’s a lot of parallels in my coaching, stuff that I like to see. And so I think the DD, the transition for him, it’s been pretty easy.”
Wisconsin’s spring practices start Thursday morning inside the McClain Center. There will be plenty of new faces to watch, and plenty of new jersey numbers to memorize as well.
Quite honestly, this list could (maybe should?) extend to 20 or 30 with the new players and young talent in Madison. But for now, Badger Observer unveils its 10 players it’s keeping a keen eye on heading into spring ball.
Please note: The remaining nine Badgers are listed in alphabetical order by their last name.
Outside linebacker Liam Danitz
Safety Matt Jung made the jump from Division III play last season after being a ballhawk for two seasons at Bethel. Now we’ll see how Danitz adapts to the Power Four level and develops under Wisconsin outside linebackers coach Matt Mitchell.
Danitz, who also was a phenomenal track athlete, recorded 27 sacks and 39½ tackles for loss at Hope College from 2023-25. He received AFCA first-team All-America accolades for his 2025 campaign that included 15 sacks and 21 total tackles for loss.
Wisconsin needs to replace the combined production of Darryl Peterson III and Mason Reiger (a combined 11½ sacks and 17½ tackles for loss) from last season. Sebastian Cheeks, Nick Clayton and Tyreese Fearbry have shown abilities to rush the passer during spring and fall camps last year (and Clayton and fellow second-year edge rusher Jaylen Williams are among the honorable mention on this list).
Hope College listed Danitz at 227 pounds last season. Wisconsin’s spring roster has him at 6 foot 4 and 242 pounds.
