Luke Fickell uncertain on Riley Nowakowski's return from foot injury

Wisconsin tight end Riley Nowakowski is likely to miss some time to start the season due to a foot injury. Nowakowski was seen at Saturday’s practice wearing a boot and using a scooter to get around, prompting reporters to ask Badgers coach Luke Fickell for an update.

Fickell revealed that though the injury isn’t one of a season-ending nature, he’s still a few weeks out from being ready to play. He wasn’t able to provide an exact date for his return, but said the team will be “smart” with how it handles his recovery.

“We’re hoping maybe four weeks, five weeks, six weeks,” the coach said. “We don’t know. He’s got another foot as well. We said (receiver) Will Pauling might’ve been out for three weeks or so, but some guys heal really, really fast. We’ll be smart and continue to move forward, but they’re not out for a long period of time. So we’ll definitely have him back, it’s just how soon.”

A former walk-on, Nowakowski joined Wisconsin in 2020 out of Marquette University High School in Milwaukee. He played 13 games in 2022 with most of his action coming on special teams but had often been seen working with the first team during preseason camp.

The Badgers had already seen two tight ends — Clay Cundiff and Jack Eschenbach — leave the team at the start of fall camp. Cundiff later announced via Twitter that he had made the decision to medically retire from football as a result of multiple injuries in his career.

Those departures and the recent news of Nowakowski’s injury have put Wisconsin in a bind at the tight end spot. The Badgers have a couple of seniors in Hayden Rucci and Cam Large who could provide experience. Rucci appeared in 10 games with eight starts this past season to finish with six catches for 75 yards and a touchdown. Large has played just three games in three seasons at Wisconsin.

The Badgers also have redshirt sophomore Jack Pugh. He ranked as the No. 486 overall player and No. 26 tight end in the 2021 class according to the On3 Industry Rating, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies. Pugh has the least experience out of those other tight end options, however, appearing in just one game in 2022 after seeing no action as a true freshman.

With such little depth, it wouldn’t be surprising to see all three players be a factor in some way to start the year. Wisconsin will kick off the regular season on Sept. 2 against Buffalo.