Notes: Colton Joseph Settling in For Kenny Guiton, Wisconsin Offense
MADISON, Wis. — It wasn’t the best of starts for quarterback Colton Joseph in his first spring at Wisconsin. The Old Dominion transfer, who racked up over 3,600 total yards and 34 touchdowns last season, came in with a lot of hype. Over the past two weeks, Joseph has started to settle in, capped off by a nice performance in Saturday’s scrimmage.
Joseph’s best attribute has been his running, in addition to his ability to extend plays outside the pocket. However, the Badgers and quarterbacks coach Kenny Guiton believe the junior signal caller is improving his decision-making and confidence as a pocket passer.
“I think you can feel it when his pocket presence comes, because he’s a guy that we all knew could run and do different things, but he didn’t really do a lot of the things that we’re doing in the pass game. He was a guy that really took a lot of shots and had some RPOs and things, and that was really cool to see. But his transition of having to take a drop in the pocket, you could tell, was just a little different for him at the start of spring,” Guiton said following Tuesday’s practice.
“And now you see him kind of taking those drops and the naturalism that he has of working the pocket with great pocket awareness and then taking off or creating a second play for the skilled players. It’s just, it’s easy to see like when he kind of calmed down, relaxed, and just played ball.
“I kind of felt at the start of it, he felt the pressure of, ‘Hey, I’m at a new school. You know, people are expecting me to be this certain person, and things like that. You can kind of see it in this play, where it was a little more nerves than him just playing football. And so about practice three or four somewhere in there, where you just kind of felt like, okay, he’s hitting his stride. And then I thought later on in spring, once we got to the last two weeks or so, it was just like now he’s playing football.”
Hopkins Exceeding Expectations
Wisconsin heavily prioritized quarterback Ryan Hopkins in the 2026 recruiting cycle, but the true freshman has exceeded even Guiton’s expectations. Now battling sophomore Deuce Adams for the backup job, Hopkins has caught the attention of everyone in the program, not just for his play on the field, but for the way he carries himself off of it.
“I don’t know if I’ve ever had a high school senior come in and spend reps with the 2’s,” Guiton said. “It’s the full package. It’s not just being able to make a throw. It’s the total package of being a leader, knowing exactly what he’s supposed to do and doing it at a high level.”
Tressel Looking For More Depth at Two Positions
Defensive Coordinator Mike Tressel was asked what positions still need to build depth ahead of fall camp and the 2026 season. He listed defensive line and cornerback. The bodies are there, but Tressel thinks there’s some untapped potential in those rooms.
“We need to be in a situation like we were last year, but even better,” said Tressel. “We need to be able to roll five or six guys to that interior spot. We’re taking some strides, but there’s still some guys that need to take that next step.
“Jake Anderson, he’s going to be a really good player, but it was not Big Ten play that he was playing, and understand how much strain is going to be required every single play. Hammond Russell is a guy who’s really impressed me. If he can keep stepping it up and be his best at every rep, because you need to at his thing.
“I’m really excited about the corners that came in, but how many of them can step up to the level of consistency where you are a starter, and help us win the Big Ten type of dude? “Having five guys that you think are good players and have potential is one thing. Having four guys that you think can start and win the Big Ten is another.”
