Senior QB Tyler Van Dyke exuding confidence, embracing leadership role at Wisconsin

As Wisconsin head coach Luke Fickell reflected on the mixed results from his debut season — a campaign that included the most losses by any first-year Wisconsin coach (six) since 1990, an offense that averaged its fewest points per game (23.5) since 2004 and a defense that ended with its lowest national ranking (39th) in nearly two decades — the area he was most eager to address entering Year 2 was leadership.

From Jan. 1 onward, according to Fickell, the Badgers made it their priority "to attack every aspect of the leadership within our program," beginning with Fickell himself and trickling down to assistant coaches, staffers and players as the culture in Madison continues to evolve amid a new regime. 

"Another one of those things that's going to be put to the test," Fickell said at Big Ten Media Days earlier this summer. "I know this: It starts with me. Obviously, the leadership starts right there. But it also permeates throughout our entire program."

The resilience that Fickell saw as his players clawed their way out of a three-game losing streak late last season to earn a berth in the ReliaQuest Bowl laid the foundation for an offseason rooted in personal accountability. Wisconsin returned 10 starters from the 2023 squad that finished 7-6 overall (5-4 in the Big Ten) and fortified the roster with a transfer class and high school recruiting class that were both ranked 23rd nationally by 247Sports. It means that expectations for the current season, which began with labored victories over Western Michigan and South Dakota, are significantly higher for a program whose previous head coach, Paul Chryst, was fired despite averaging 9.7 wins per year outside the pandemic-shortened 2020 campaign. And Saturday's