The Badgers had a few injuries on Thursday. Here’s an update on both players.
The Wisconsin Badgers completed their ninth spring practice on Thursday, getting into the final stretch of spring ball, which is set to conclude later this month.
As the Badgers continue to go after it, there has been a high level of physicality involved in practices, so it’s not a surprise that players have gotten dinged up a bit this spring.
Wide receiver Trech Kekahuna was hurt very early into spring ball, and a lower-body injury will cause him to miss the remainder of the spring. Later, inside linebacker Thomas Heiberger had a lower-body injury as well that will also cause him to miss the spring.
On Thursday, two rising sophomores got dinged up, with one initially seeming scary.
Running back Darrion Dupree went down after a carry with a non-contact injury, staying on the ground and clutching at his lower body for a few minutes. Upon getting up, he hobbled to the sideline, not putting much weight on his left leg, although things seemed to be better than initially feared, as Dupree stood up and watched much of practice from the sidelines for the rest of the day.
Offensive coordinator Jeff Grimes shared that sentiment on Friday, revealing that none of the injuries in the running back room were serious and an issue for the team.
“I don’t think any of the injuries that we’ve had or anything [is] going to be a long-term issue,” Grimes said about the running backs. “And so, yeah, I think we’re in a good spot.
“I would say as a coach, you always got to be concerned about having enough guys at all positions. And I think we’re at that spot, like we are at a couple of other spots. I think we have enough right now. But if there was the right guy at the right time that we felt could add to our team, certainly we would look at that.”
The other injury was to left tackle Kevin Heywood, who left practice for a bit on Thursday. Offensive line coach A.J. Blazek noted that the sophomore is still being evaluated by the training staff.
“They’re still checking everything out,” Blazek said about Heywood.
Nonetheless, it doesn’t seem like either injury is a big deal for Wisconsin. A loss of either player would be significant, as the Badgers are relying on some of their younger players to step up and contribute this season, with Dupree and Heywood being at or near the top of that list.