The Wisconsin football team was back in action for fall camp day nine after an off day on Saturday.

As we progress into camp, we are getting a good look at live action. There was plenty of back-and-forth between the offense and defense today, with a few players standing out.

Here are my notes from Wisconsin football practice on Sunday.

Running Backs Progressing Despite Injuries Compounding

The running game for the Badgers has started to progress. At the start of camp, finding running lanes was a difficult task. But today, there were multiple gaping holes along the offensive line for the running backs to hit that ended up resulting in big gains.

Abu Sama and Darion Dupree headlined the group today with the first team offense. Mason Lane and Harrison Bortolotti got reps with the second and third teams. Bryan Jackson, Nate Palmer, and Juju Pope were all with the rehab group today off to the side.

I thought Sama looked really good, particularly catching the ball out of the backfield. There were multiple plays where he was either the designed target or a safety valve for the quarterback and didn't have a drop from what I saw.

One play in particular, the defense blitzed aggressively, but guessed the wrong hole. Sama got the handoff and bounced right through a wide open hole for an absolutely huge gain.

The Wisconsin offense is going to need the running game to be effective if they are going to move the ball at all this season. From what I saw today, it's heading in the right direction.

Two Receivers Stand Out

Eugene Hilton Jr., Chris Brooks Jr., Tyrell Henry, and Malachi Coleman have been getting a majority of the attention during camp.

But today, two other receivers made the biggest plays.

Oklahoma State transfer Shamar Rigby, who had been working his way back from being a little banged up, started getting reps with the first and second teams. He made a few plays today that caught my eye, highlighted by a nice back-shoulder catch from Colton Joseph that would have made Aaron Rodgers and Jordy Nelson proud, for a gain of 25+ yards along the right sideline.

Kash Brock also flashed again. Despite just being a freshman, Brock has worked his way up to earning reps consistently with the second team and is making the most of it.

Whether it’s Ryan Hopkins or Deuce Adams, Brock has been a frequent target. Today, he caught multiple passes for short gains, but has shown he is a serious deep threat as well. He got behind his defender, but Adams overthrew him.

On the second-to-last play of the day, Hopkins hit Brock deep on the right sideline that would have been a huge gain against the first-team defense. He’s been impressive thus far in camp. With a crowded room, he may not get a ton of reps this season, but keep an eye out for Brock sooner rather than later.

Positional Battles Continue

The backup quarterback position continues to be back-and-forth from what I’m seeing. Adams and Hopkins continue to take turns with the second team, while Danny O’Neil took reps with the third team today.

Both made some nice throws today, but I’m not sure either separated themselves from the other. However, that’s difficult to do when the defense is in your face. Every quarterback had to throw the ball away today because the defense was consistently getting pressure.

Emerson Mandell continued to do rehab work on the side, so Blake Cherry and Stylz Blackmon rotated in at right guard with the first team from what I saw. Assuming Mandell is back in time for Week 1, the Badgers will have some nice depth behind him, regardless of who wins the backup job between Cherry and Blackmon.

On the defensive side of the ball, the CB2 battle is still ongoing. Jai’mier Scott and Eric Fletcher continue to rotate opposite Javan Robinson. If I had to guess, I’d say Scott is technically in the lead, but both should see the field plenty this season, in my opinion.

Other Notes

- Kevin Heywood is still out after being labeled ‘day-to-day.’ Lucas Simmons-Johansson continued to take reps at right tackle with the ones, and Hardy Watts with the second team.

- Saw a lot of 12 personnel today (one running back, two tight ends). Grant Stec, Jacob Harris, Emmett Bork, and Ryan Schwendeman rotated with the ones. Nizyi Davis has been flashing the last few practices. The TE room quietly has some nice depth.

- Mason Posa had a nice play today, deflecting a pass from Colton Joseph and coming down with the interception, his second of Joseph in camp. The defense was pretty fired up.

- Sebastian Cheeks continues to be a problem for the offense. The senior edge could be in for a nice season.

- The defense has a lot of depth and can rotate players in at multiple positions without a lot of drop-off. I really like what I’m seeing from that side of the ball.