Over the course of the summer leading up to Big Ten Media Days and fall camp, Badgers On SI will extensively preview Wisconsin football's roster with a write-up for each player expected to be remotely involved in 2026.
We wrap up the series with a Swiss Army Knife of a defensive back, second year player Cairo Skanes.
Five tackles (80 defensive snaps)
Skanes came to Madison with little fanfare as a three-star defensive back out of North Carolina , but he quickly grabbed the attention of the coaching staff. He burned his redshirt (before the "five-for-five" rule passed) as a true freshman, playing 80 defensive snaps and getting his feet wet in Big Ten action. He didn't only see snaps in buy games, either; Skanes made three tackles in Wisconsin's blowout loss to Iowa in October.
Initially recruited as a cornerback, Skanes is now part of coach Jack Cooper's safety room. Late in spring ball, defensive coordinator Mike Tressel was asked who's standing out to him on his second-team defense.
"Cairo is another one because he was at a different position. And I knew he was a smart kid, I knew he had the size. But that doesn't necessarily make you a safety. So it's been good to see him get more and more comfortable," he said.
Skanes is still a projected backup at the safety position behind Marvin Burks Jr, Matt Jung and potentially Iowa State transfer Carson Van Dinter as well. Still, he repped with the first-team defense at times in the spring and once again looks poised for a rotational role.
"His confidence is really high. When you have a lot of confidence in yourself and you think highly of yourself, you think you can do anything. So I think it really starts with his mindset. He's got a really good mindset," Cooper said .
Wisconsin defensive back Cairo Skanes. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
Skanes could be the No. 4 safety in Cooper's room, but again, he came to Madison as a corner. He has the ability to play cornerback - or even nickel - in a pinch should the Badgers need him to. That certainly raises his ceiling for 2026, because his impact isn't necessariliy limited to one position.
In a best-case for Skanes (barring, of course, injury to a player ahead of him), he earns a rotational role at multiple positions. At times, he plays a third or rotational safety role. At times, he spells Bryce West at nickel cornerback. Either way, he becomes a versatile chess piece for the Badgers' secondary, one who can help solve personnel problems as they arise. In this scenario, Skanes plays a few hundered snaps and offers solid stats proportionally.
"He's just got really good feel for the position. I think the greatest thing he's doing right now is he's doing a really good job playing off the quarterback. A lot of things that we do, we're not really staring at receivers, we're really more playing off the quarterback and what they're doing," Cooper added.
A worst-case scenario for Skanes likely means that he simply doesn't see the field all that often. At safety, he's surpassed by Van Dinter, and it's hard for him to see the field as the No. 4 player in the pecking order. At cornerback, Wisconsin's portal signees hit, as does second year standout Jai'mier Scott, making the push for reps at that position difficult as well.
Skanes is a young player and another largely developmental year wouldn't be the worst for him. After the 2026 campaign, he still has three more years of college football. But he appears talented enough to get involved this fall; it'd be slightly disappointing if he rode the bench most of the season.
Wisconsin Badgers cornerback Cairo Skanes. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
I see Skanes surpassing his snap count and production from his freshman season, but not by a whole lot. I think Skanes eclipses 100 snaps and probably hits double-digit tackles, but there's simply a handful of more proven players ahead of him at every position in the Badgers' secondary.
Skanes' versatility is his biggest asset, and also what gives him the best chance to take the field in a meaningful capacity in 2026. If Wisconsin begins to suffer injuries at cornerback and safety, Skanes' role could increase dramatically.
This article was originally published on www.si.com/college/wisconsin as Player Previews: Versatile DB Cairo Skanes Could Solve a lot of Problems for Wisconsin's Secondary .
