Wisconsin football offseason standouts: Strength coach Brady Collins’ inside info

MADISON, Wis. — Insight into the offseason conditioning and weight-lifting progress for Wisconsin’s football program is generally limited in the lead-up to the start of spring practices. The team’s social media accounts share a handful of photos and highlight videos, but otherwise, all is quiet.

But the man responsible for shaping players’ physiques during the past two months had plenty to say about what he has seen. Here are nine nuggets of intel from Badgers director of football strength and conditioning Brady Collins:

1. Tanner Koziol, who transferred to Wisconsin this offseason from Ball State, is rated by Pro Football Focus as the highest-graded returning tight end (87.8). After PFF posted that tidbit on Feb. 21, accompanied by a picture of Koziol at Ball State, Collins texted it to Koziol with the caption: “Who is this skinny guy?”

Highest Graded Returning Tight End for the 2025 Season:

🔴 Tanner Koziol, Wisconsin: 87.8@BadgerFootball pic.twitter.com/qfdBv0wSI5

— PFF College (@PFF_College) February 21, 2025

The 6-foot-7 Koziol arrived at Wisconsin two months ago weighing 237 pounds. Collins said he now weighs 257 pounds. Koziol, the best playmaking tight end Wisconsin has had since Jake Ferguson four years ago, caught 94 passes for 839 yards and eight touchdowns at Ball State last season. He was rated by 247Sports as the No. 3 tight end available in the transfer portal.

His increased bulk should help him adjust to the Big Ten and a new offense under coordinator Jeff Grimes that will feature plenty of two-tight end sets with Koziol and Tucker Ashcraft. Collins said Ashcraft, who weighed 255 pounds as a sophomore, is up to 260 pounds. Koziol and Ashcraft have spent the offseason working out together.

2. Wisconsin coach Luke Fickell has talked this offseason about wanting to be bigger along the defensive line and at the boundary outside linebacker position. Multi-year starter Darryl Peterson has been a big part of that shift. Collins said Peterson went from weighing 248 pounds last season to the 260-265-pound range.

“He’ll have his hand in the ground, setting the edge,” Collins said. “Is there a play he might stand up? Yeah. But stop trying to be the TJ Watt stuff because, no disrespect, but you don’t have that, and that’s OK. You will be better doing this. You will be better for the team and individually doing this.

“Obviously, we know a big emphasis for us was to add size, mass up on that D-line. And so when you’re playing those Iowas and those teams that want to go run-heavy, well, now you’ve got the guys to do it. Not only do you have the size, but you’ve got the bodies.”

Louisville transfer Mason Reiger, another veteran outside linebacker, will miss spring practice. He posted on his Instagram account that he underwent surgery last week to have a titanium rod inserted into his right tibia due to a third stress fracture and will be out for six to eight weeks.

3. Collins said defensive lineman Ben Barten, who returned for a sixth season, has been as impressive as any leader on the team. Barten was listed at 308 pounds last season but is closer to 325 pounds, according to Collins.

“His services are very much needed,” Collins said. “He’s got talent. He’s big, he’s strong. But not being satisfied with how things have been as an individual, as a unit and as a team. To me, that’s been the coolest because his leadership right now is through the roof.

“He’s moving really well. He’s going to be a force. Do we need Ben to play 50 snaps? No. But he really stands out.”

Barten started all 12 games for Wisconsin last season and averaged 40 snaps a game. But he exceeded 50 snaps in four of the final five games for a defensive line that struggled. The Badgers added five transfer portal defensive linemen and return Barten, Brandon Lane, Dillan Johnson and Jamel Howard.

“Ben probably took the most ownership as far as having — not a say — but a huge piece of who we brought in,” Collins said. “Like getting a feel for them. And really coming back, taking advantage of today’s college world, of getting paid but also understanding that he has a shot to play at the next level, a really good one.”

4. Speaking of bigger bodies along the defensive line, Collins said there have been several noticeable transformations among the team’s transfer additions. He said transfers Charles Perkins (UT-Martin) and Michael Garner (Grambling State) have impressed him in the weight room. Garner arrived at 280 pounds and is up to 305 pounds.

Parker Peterson, a transfer from Tulane, arrived at 304 pounds and is now 315 pounds. Corey Walker, a transfer from Western Michigan, has gone from 270 pounds to roughly 295 pounds.

5. Collins highlighted fifth-year senior cornerback Ricardo Hallman, who was listed at 185 pounds last season and is now 190 pounds. Hallman was outstanding as a sophomore in 2023 when he recorded seven interceptions. His numbers decreased last season with fewer teams targeting him, and he opted this offseason to bypass the NFL Draft.

“Rico last season did not weigh as much and it really ate at me because I’d be like, ‘Damn, why’s he so skinny?’ ” Collins said. “But he’s 190 right now. His body fat is lean. He is big. And I think he is way faster than he was last year. We’re looking at our Catapult numbers, and he hit 21 miles an hour. We’re like, ‘Dude, he never hit 21 before.’

“Now I think it’s because of a lot of things. He’s coming back. He knows this is the last go-around. I think he’s back for all the right reasons. He knows he had a big year two years ago and then he didn’t last year. Well, why is that? Well, teams respect you now. They didn’t throw to you much. But also, for you to get better at the next level, you’ve got to tackle better, got to do these little things. Let’s face it, anybody that came back or is here, they wanted that challenge.”

6. Much of the focus this spring in watching the running backs likely will be centered on second-year players Darrion Dupree and Dilin Jones. But junior Cade Yacamelli shouldn’t be forgotten. Yacamelli averaged 8.3 yards per carry last season but inexplicably did not earn a carry in any of Wisconsin’s final five games. With the running back group relatively low on scholarship numbers, his leadership has stood out.

“He works his ass off,” Collins said. “He looks like a freak, but he always does. Any time he’s called upon, he does his job. How do you not love that guy or how do you not respect him? And he cares so much because he knows there are other guys in his room that are pretty talented. But he demands the best from them. They demand the best from him, and it’s awesome.”

7. Expect Wisconsin’s offensive line to be even bigger this season as it shifts into a more physical approach. Collins said starting center Jake Renfro was 310 pounds, up eight pounds from last season. Starting right tackle Riley Mahlman was 318 pounds, up 10 pounds from last season. Redshirt freshman Emerson Mandell has gained 10 pounds and is roughly 320 pounds. Kevin Heywood, the potential starting left tackle, has maintained his weight of 325 pounds while starting left guard Joe Brunner is roughly 315 pounds.

8. Several of Wisconsin’s 15 freshman early enrollees have drastically changed their physiques in less than two months. Collins said outside linebacker Nicolas Clayton has gone from 200 to 222 pounds and inside linebacker Cooper Catalano from 199 to 220 pounds. Quarterback Carter Smith is up 14 pounds from 179 to 193 pounds, while tight end Emmett Bork is up 10 pounds from 238 to 248 pounds.

“Carter is awesome,” Collins said. “He’s got moxie. He squatted 405 pounds the other day, and that was impressive.”

Collins said Clayton ran a 4.6-second 40-yard dash and was among the fastest early enrollees on the first evaluation day other than safety Grant Dean. Collins said offensive lineman Hardy Watts and defensive lineman Xavier Ukponu were the strongest incoming freshmen. Collins and quarterback Billy Edwards Jr. have described wide receiver Eugene Hilton Jr. as mature for his age with a good work ethic, strength and quickness.

9. Wisconsin’s projected starting inside linebacker duo of Christian Alliegro and Tackett Curtis have both had productive offseasons so far. Collins said Curtis, in particular, looks like a different player because he is healthy. Curtis transferred to Wisconsin from USC last offseason but underwent sports hernia surgery and didn’t participate in live snaps during spring practice. Curtis was listed at 228 pounds last season, and Collins said he is up to 235 pounds.

“He would push through anything and just find a way around it,” Collins said. “But I think now he knows he’s totally good.”

(Photo of Darryl Peterson: John Fisher / Getty Images)