Explosive Offense: Observations from Wisconsin Badgers fall camp practice Monday

PLATTVILLE, Wis. -- The University of Wisconsin football team is entering its second week of fall camp in Platteville, and they kicked things off with a physical and explosive practice Monday.

Wisconsin Badgers on SI was in attendance for the session and took notes on the most important themes and standouts of the day.

Here's what we learned from watching practice on the sidelines.

Offense makes splash plays

Monday's practice was possibly the offense's best of the offseason for big gains, including their 15 spring practices. The chunks came in both the run and pass across all levels of the depth chart.

Redshirt senior running back Grover Bortolotti started the avalanche of explosives with a touchdown run of about 60 yards with the second unit. He was greeted in the end zone by quarterback Danny O'Neil, wide receiver Eugene Hilton and fellow tailbacks Darrion Dupree and Dilin Jones to celebrate.

Billy Edwards and Vinny Anthony linked up for a touchdown of over 60 yards, as the receiver broke free over the middle. The two connected in stride for a walk-in score.

O'Neil also completed a big-time pass, hitting transfer wide receiver Dekel Crowdus on a deep crosser for roughly 40 yards.

Scattered throughout the offensive performance were several screen passes and running plays for around 20 yards.

OL shuffle stabilizing

Last week, Wisconsin utilized Davis Heinzen at left guard, Joe Brunner at left tackle, and Kerry Kodanko at right guard.

Neither of those three were in those spots Monday. Heinzen returned to left tackle, Brunner was back at left guard and Emerson Mandell ran with the ones at right guard.

From how offensive line coach A.J. Blazek spoke following practice, it sounds like this grouping is the likeliest starting lineup for Wisconsin's season opener later this month.

Mandell had a strong practice Monday, displacing defenders in the run game and holding his own as a pass blocker. While he's only a redshirt freshman, he's drawn praise from his teammates for his strength and raw ability.

The offensive line held up much better Monday than it did last week, especially on the interior. The main issue was that the first unit botched two snaps and had a third play wasted when Edwards fell to the ground after his foot was stepped on under center.

Freshman CBs getting opportunities

Redshirt freshman Omillio Agard and true freshman Cairo Skanes saw plenty of first-team reps Monday, primarily playing across from each other.

Starter Ricardo Hallman was in full uniform, but he didn't participate in team sessions. It was unclear whether it was for rest or the team's preference to get younger guys more reps.

Agard had some solid reps in both the run and pass game, highlighted by a pass breakup while defending Anthony on a free play caused by Edwards' hard count.

Skanes was more quiet during the practice. D'Yoni Hill is also in contention for a starting spot opposite Hallman, but he spent the day with the second unit.

Contact picking up

The Badgers have slowly been ramping up the amount of contact allowed in practice, and Monday's session had no shortage of pad popping.

Darrion Dupree attempted to truck Agard on two separate occasions. The tailback ran Agard over in the first meeting, but Agard held his own on the second hit. Near the end of practice, Bortolotti got in on the truck-fest, leveling Grant Dean in the secondary.

D'Yoni Hill drove running back Gideon Ituka into the turf well behind the line of scrimmage on a toss play, and wide receiver Chris Brooks threw linebacker Tackett Curtis into the sideline with a Derrick Henry-esque stiff arm.

Overall they got in plenty of tackling during the session, which is yet another indicator of the regular season approaching.

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