The Badgers' freshman OL showed potential to be the LT of the future against Purdue

The Wisconsin Badgers had a strong performance last weekend, defeating the Purdue Boilermakers 52-6 in an all-around game to improve to 3-2 on the season and 1-1 in conference play.

Although it came against an inferior opponent, the victory was a much-needed win for the Badgers, who grew stronger as the game went on and posted one of their highest points totals in recent years.

While the score may not reflect it, the Badgers had to battle some adversity in this game as they suffered several early turnovers as well as a number of key injuries.

While injuries to wide receivers Will Pauling and Bryson Green were fairly noticeable early in the game, Wisconsin also lost left tackle Jack Nelson to a minor hip issue, forcing true freshman left tackle Kevin Heywood to make his first extended appearance with the Badgers.

Ultimately, Heywood played 35 snaps in the game and had an impressive clean slate, allowing no pressure and recording no penalties despite being forced into the game without any anticipation in the third quarter.

He helped the offensive line to one of its stronger performances of the year, as it kept quarterback Braedyn Locke clean on multiple occasions and allowed the passing game to flourish at a high level.

“They had a really good game,” head coach Luke Fickell said of the offensive line. “I mean, I think that means you have to go back and watch again. But we knew we could lean on it and they did a great job. They gave Braedyn (Locke) time. I know that even last week with some of these things where guys drop eight and they twist three guys and you lose your guy or something like that, there are still problems in there. We had last week, this week, when they lost eight, it was a clean, clean bag and that's what I think led to Trech's big, long hole.

“They did a really good job. It was great to see some other people get in there too. I think we don't realize the value of some of these situations. It's the second drive of the second half and Kevin Heywood has to go in. And I was a little bit like, “Wow, wow, wow.” And Jack (Nelson) is fine. I think his hip tightened or something, but they have so much confidence in some of these younger guys that they have a chance to go in there and still be able to do what we want. Overall, this unit played a really good game.”

Heywood was one of many younger players tasked with stepping up in the game and put in one of the more impressive performances considering he was a complete newcomer playing arguably the second most difficult position in football.

“They've gotten stronger than people want to talk about,” Fickell said of some of the reserves, including Heywood, who has had to take on bigger roles. “And when you're trying to build confidence, sometimes it's a struggle when guys go down. And if it works like it did today, boy, does that boost the confidence of a lot of other guys that maybe you felt really good about at the wide receiver position four or five deep? If you take advantage of their opportunities, you'll feel a lot better at maybe six or seven.

“And I just mean that in the sense that you still have to find ways to give guys enough opportunities and not just roll the dice every single play. But that's what it takes to evolve a program and, as you know, it doesn't always happen that way. Guys are going down and guys aren't taking advantage of their opportunities today. A lot of guys did that, whether it was the wide receivers or Kevin Heywood going in. And I don't, I'm not saying it's perfect, but I still didn't feel like there was any pressure on us. I still didn't feel like Kevin missed anything on the headset. So there are some really good situations for young people. I think that will be really good for us on this track.”

Heywood was deployed at left tackle and played alongside left guard Joe Brunner, who delivered a simple message to his vice president when the change was made in the third quarter.

“I got to play alongside him a few times in camp,” Brunner said of Heywood. “He has matured a lot as a player and as a person, I have the greatest confidence in him. I can see that he is extremely confident and needs to have fun. Go out there, you're playing the game you've played your whole life. Just have fun.”

It was a good start to a long career for the true four-star freshman out of Wisconsin, who showed a glimpse of his potential in his first extended stint with the Badgers and showed he could belong at the next level.