Wisconsin's first-year offensive line coach Eric Mateos has certainly earned his paycheck in Madison this fall.
The position coach has had to navigate a smattering of injuries and poor play that's forced him to shuffle his starting five up front on a near weekly basis.
Three starters - Kevin Heywood, Emerson Mandell and Austin Kawecki - have dealt with injuries at one point or another this season. Ole Miss transfer PJ Wilkins played three positions before he was phased out of the starting five. Six players have played significant snaps at multiple positions up front.
No matter how talented, enormous or well-coached Wisconsin's offensive line is, that kind of constant rotation is simply not conducive to a productive offensive front.
The Badgers' latest injury report, their first of three ahead of Week 10 against Rutgers, throws yet another wrench in their offensive line plans. Starting left tackle Kevin Heywood is listed as doubtful . The noise around his injury isn't good - Wisconsin may have to gear up for the rest of the 2026 campaign without arguably its best offensive lineman.
Needless to say, that puts Wisconsin in a serious bind going into November.
Wisconsin offensive lineman Kevin Heywood. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
Wisconsin is likely going to need to find a new left tackle moving forward. Heywood played 220 snaps there, while PJ Wilkins started the season at blindside tackle and logged 230 snaps. The only other player to take reps there this fall is Lucas Simmons-Johansson, who has 21 reps at left tackle and hasn't played since the Michigan State game.
The first thought would likely be to insert 5th-year senior Barrett Nelson, who started at right guard in the USC game, at tackle, where he's also seen a handful of snaps. But he's too is doubtful for the Rutgers game and appears unlikely to play.
That leaves Wisconsin with Mandell and Wilkins as the two top options at tackle. Do the Badgers flip Mandell over to the left side and hope Wilkins holds up at right tackle? Do they trust a seldom-used player like Lucas Simmons-Johansson or even Payton Lange, who has three snaps at right tackle?
Heywood was one of the consistent pieces holding this line together, along with Colin Cubberly, Mandell and to an extent, Stylz Blackmon. Wisconsin must find a way to replace him that mitigates what initially seems like a potentially catastrophic loss.
Wisconsin offensive lineman Emerson Mandell. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
Assuming Heywood and Nelson are both unavailable against the Scarlet Knights, here's the combination that makes the most sense to me at the moment, from left to right:
Mandell (LT), Cubberly (LG), Blackmon (C), Kawecki (RG), Wilkins (RT).
Wilkins at tackle certainly concerns you, but the Badgers don't have much of a choice at this point. Simmons-Johansson is another feasible option, and I could see Wisconsin rotating him with Wilkins to see who gives it a better shot.
It's been a rough year for the Badgers' offensive front. In some ways, they've shined through the adversity. They've been very solid in pass protection, allowing just 10 sacks thus far which is in the upper echelon nationally. The running game has been more inconsistent, but despite a patchwork offensive line two weeks ago against USC, Wisconsin pushed the Trojans around all night.
Nonetheless, this is perhaps the biggest challenge Mateos has had to deal with yet now that Heywood is likely out of the picture. How he and the rest of the unit responds will be telling.
This article was originally published on www.si.com/college/wisconsin as Wisconsin's Latest Injury Report Could Spell Doom for its Offensive Line .
