Wisconsin Football Welcomes Back an Elite Big Ten Wide Receiver

Originally posted on Badger Notes | By Dillon Graff | Last updated 5/23/24

Last offseason, Luke Fickell and the Wisconsin Badgers football program tapped heavily into the transfer portal, bringing in a large group of players to reshape the roster with personnel that better fit their new direction.

Redshirt junior wide receiver Will Pauling was one of those transfer additions. While it may not have received a ton of fanfare at the time, Pauling quickly established himself as one of the Badgers’ most impactful offensive weapons and enters 2024 as Wisconsin’s WR1.

According to Pro Football Focus, Pauling has the fifth-highest offensive grade (79.6) among wide receivers in the Big Ten entering this season.

Highest Graded Returning Big Ten Wide Receivers pic.twitter.com/gQCaqz622m

— PFF College (@PFF_College) May 22, 2024

The 5-foot-10 slot wideout led Wisconsin football with 74 catches for 837 yards and six touchdowns. Pauling’s catch total was the second-most in the Big Ten and the fifth-most for a Badgers’ wideout in a single season.

Not to mention, Pauling led the conference in receiving yards from the slot (820) and third-down catches (27), which is the most anyone has had since Allen Robinson did it in 2012. His 22 third-down catches that led to first-down conversions were the most in the Big Ten since 2016.

One of the things that stood out about Pauling was his consistency for the Badgers. Pauling tallied 5+ catches in 9 of the Wisconsin football team’s 13 games, including a career-high 10 against Northwestern.

After earning All-Big Ten third-team honors from the coaches, the Illinois native is primed to lead the Wisconsin football receiving corps once again and prove that he is, without a doubt, one of the upper-echelon receivers in the conference while helping re-write the Badgers history books.

This article first appeared on Badger Notes and was syndicated with permission.

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