Luke Fickell expects Jake Renfro to return from injury, unsure on timeline

Jake Renfro is on the mend and hopes to be back on the field at some point early in the year for Wisconsin, according to head coach Luke Fickell.

Renfro came with Fickell from Cincinnati and was a starter for the Bearcats and earned All-AAC first team honors as he started 13 games for Cincinnati during the historic playoff season in 2021.

However, Renfro missed the 2022 season with an injury and is still dealing with some right foot issues in the preseason. But at recent media availability, Fickell said the veteran O-lineman is progressing well.

“Renfro? You know what, we’re hoping it’s three or four weeks,” said the Badger head coach. “We don’t know exactly, but yeah, we’ll get him back. It’s just — you don’t know how quickly will we get him back. I don’t know that we’ll get him back for game one, but we’ll get him back game two or three I hope. We’ll kind of see, it’s a it’s just a foot sprain.”

After that response, Fickell was asked if he thinks Renfro will immediately crack the rotation once he is back.

“Yeah, I mean, I think more than anything, if based on how it goes. I mean, it might be an opportunity that his body has a lot more time to heal if he doesn’t end up making it back into into the rotation or even being a one,” said Fickell, who believes the team is versatile up front.

“I mean, I think that we’ve got some combinations that we can do. I think the uniqueness is a challenge is try to find the five that fit the best, because those guys, they’ve got to be in unison.”

Don’t doubt Jake Renfro, though, warns Fickell, as he is absolutely good enough to get on the field once healthy.

“But I wouldn’t put it past him. I mean we’ve seen enough from him to know that uh when healthy and he gets himself back into in the shape he needs to to play, he’ll be in there”

Jake Renfro ranked as the No. 12 inside offensive lineman according to On3’s Transfer Portal Rankings. He played high school football at Providence Catholic (Illinois) High School, where he was a three-star prospect. He was the No. 2109 overall recruit in the 2020 cycle, according to the On3 Consensus, a complete and equally weighted industry-generated average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies.