During the first day of practice for the Wisconsin Badgers, some notable changes were made to the depth chart and familiar faces were seen on the sideline.
Wisconsin running back Jackson Acker announced a switch to tight end earlier in the off-season with the running back room rather crowded. Acker is expected to primarily play in a fullback or h-back role for the Badgers moving forward as the former running back is a great fit at the position within the new offense.
Acker is not the only player making the change over to tight end, however, as former three-star linebacker Tyler Jansey joined the tight ends during the first practice in Platteville. Jansey was a member of the Wisconsin Badgers 2023 recruiting class and had been ranked as the 92nd linebacker overall in the class. The linebacker has recorded three tackles in nine games played across two seasons with the Badgers.
Wisconsin Badgers Linebacker Tyler Jansey Switches to Tight End, Expected to Play H-Back
Jansey is not only switching over to tight end but will also play behind Acker moving forward which could be a move that greatly benefits the new offensive player. The transition for Acker has been a rather easy one as much of the previous knowledge and skills the running back had translated over. Jansey, however, has been removed from playing on offense for quite some time and learning from Acker throughout the season would be a tremendous help.
The move for Jansey is one that could also benefit the Badgers as a whole since the recruit holds a solid frame, standing tall at 6-foot-1-inches and roughly 220-pounds. The linebacker room is crowded and more players are set to enter the room in the future, which likely pushed Jansey to make a switch to a position of need for the team.
Wisconsin is set to run a new offense under offensive coordinator Jeff Grimes which should bring the Badgers closer to an offense that fans recognize. The air-raid, or “Dairy Raid” as many called the offense, simply did not work in Wisconsin whether that be due to a lack of scheme fits, the wrong coordinator, or a combination of both.
Mark Hoffman/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Mark Hoffman/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Grimes aims to bring much of the power back into the offense and one such a position that needs power would be h-back given how vital the position can be to the offense. The h-back within the Grimes offense needs to be both a powerful blocker as well as a capable receiver, which is criteria that both Acker and Jansey would potentially meet.
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