UW seeks TE depth behind Ferguson

MADISON – Wisconsin coach Paul Chryst knows what to expect from tight end Jake Ferguson in 2019.

“Jake is incredibly competitive,” Chryst said. “He wants to be really good and I think he is capable of being really good.”

Beyond Ferguson, who will be a redshirt sophomore this season, UW's tight ends are mostly unknowns as the team prepares for the opening of preseason camp on Thursday.

Redshirt junior Luke Benzschawel, who was held out of spring ball while recovering from a leg injury, has played in 15 games. He has four starts. He has yet to catch a pass.

Redshirt junior Gabe Lloyd has played in a total of 21 games, albeit mostly on special teams. He has yet to catch a pass.

Redshirt sophomore Coy Wanner missed the final week-plus of spring practice after suffering a left-leg injury. He has yet to play in a game.

Redshirt freshmen Jack Eschenbach and Nate Carter, both walk-ons, have yet to play in a game.

Throw in freshmen Hayden Rucci and Clay Cundfiff and the list of battletested tight ends at the disposal of coach Mickey Turner is short.

“The depth is yet to be defined,” Chryst said. “Gabe Lloyd has been getting a lot of work and is getting better. I like what Coy was doing in some facets (but) he got hurt.

“We've got two freshmen coming in but that room has got a lot of work to go.”

UW tight ends combined for 40 catches for 477 yards and five touchdowns last season.

Kyle Penniston had three catches for 18 yards and one touchdown but transferred after the season. Zander Neuville, who saw his senior season end because of a knee injury suffered in practice before the Nebraska game, finished with one catch for 3 yards. Ferguson recorded 36 catches for 456 yards and four touchdowns, all the No. 2 marks on the team.

“Jake is a really good football player,” Chryst said. “And really I thought, coming off his first year playing, there is so much to learn.

“Part of it, too, is us learning about him. What are the things that he does well? There's not one part of his game that you'd say: 'You don't have to work on.'

“But we certainly think…for us last year he was a really good receiving tight end. And he gave us quite a bit in the run game.

“As the room changed, there is going to be more put on him. I think he is ready for that.”

Ferguson had four catches in three of UW's first five games last season, including the first two Big Ten games (Iowa, Nebraska). He averaged 2.2 catches over the next six games as opponents adjusted and tried to limit his impact but closed the regular season with five catches for 46 yards and a touchdown in the loss to Minnesota. Ferguson had only two catches for 15 yards in the Pinstripe Bowl but UW attempted only 11 passes in the victory over Miami.

Ferguson offered a lengthy to-do list when asked about his goal for personal growth in 2019.

“It is a big list,” he said. “Being consistent on everything. Catching everything that comes my way. Being that target that the quarterbacks know: ‘This

guy will catch the ball.'

“And then in the blocking game, just being able to focus and see the different fronts the defense gives you and lock in.

“In the big picture, it is just being consistent.”

GETTY IMAGES UW knows what it has in Jake Ferguson, who had 36 receptions for 426 yards and four touchdowns last year, but is uncertain about the depth at tight end it has behind the talented redshirt sophomore.