Notes: Mason Reiger Breaking Out For Wisconsin in Fall Camp
PLATTEVILLE, Wis. — Wisconsin and head coach Luke Fickell brought in 18 new players from the transfer portal this past offseason. While he wasn’t one of the more heralded additions, for various reasons, Louisville transfer Mason Reiger has quickly put his stamp on the Badgers in fall camp. After missing the entire 2024 season and spring football due to a knee injury, the senior edge rusher appears to have come back stronger and is putting together a heckuva preseason for UW, which has generated plenty of buzz over in Platteville.
“He’s had an outstanding camp so far,” outside linebackers coach Matt Mitchell told reporters following Friday’s practice. “He put a product on tape for about 10 practices that was a high level. He’s a great football player, has an unbelievable feel. Not sure there’s a job he can’t do. He’s a hard charger. He has a chip on his shoulder, being a former walk-on at his previous institution. He’s been the most productive guy out of camp in my room.
“It’s been impressive.”
Reiger has not participated in team drills the last few practices, but it isn’t believed to be serious. In his 2023 season at Louisville, Reiger (6-5, 248) finished with 5.0 sacks in 10 games. Per On3, Reiger was a three-star transfer prospect.
Cheeks Remains a Consistent Presence
Junior Sebastian Cheeks, who started his Wisconsin career at inside linebacker, had another sack during Friday’s practice. Not that he’s a small guy (6-3, 241), but when you look at the position room, Cheeks certainly isn’t the most imposing presence on the edge. However, he’s arguably been the most consistent going back to last season, where the North Carolina transfer had 3.0 sacks as a sophomore.
“He’s got a really good get-off. He puts a lot of pressure on tackles with his get-off,” said Mitchell. “Probably the biggest factor, he’s really, really intelligent on first and second down. We just do different things with him and he’s got a really good feel and is smart about backfield sets.
“He’s found a home, not just at Wisconsin, but a position, I think, suits him well. We’ve got a lot of body types in there. Maybe not prototypical in terms of the length, but as good as it gets in terms of athleticism and get-off.”
Along with Reiger and senior Darryl Peterson, Cheeks has been a constant with the first-team defense in fall camp.
How Many Will Mitchell Use This Fall?
In his first season as Wisconsin’s outside linebackers coach, Mitchell said he never took CJ Goetz off the field. In 2024, Mitchell was using three outside linebackers weekly. He admitted it showed in their play, particularly down the stretch of each season.
That won’t be the case this fall. The Badgers have a deep room of outside linebackers and edge rushers, who Mitchell feels can match up with whoever is on their schedule. Behind Reiger, Cheeks, and Peterson, Mitchell has a variety of potential lineups this season.
“You start with a workhorse in Darryl Peterson and then you have Corey Walker, who’s coming back off a back (injury) and has come back the last couple days and shown some flashes, a little rusty,” Mitchell explained. Gotta get Micheal Garner back. We have some big dudes. Then you have some guys who are really twitchy and can do some stuff with speed — Sebastian, Tyreese (Tyreese Fearbry), Nick Clayton has really flashed the last couple days.
“Have a diversity of body types, diversity of skillsets, so we will match our people versus their people. Even Aaron Witt has shown great leadership. He’s primarily playing our ‘star’ position, but he knows a lot of the stuff and has played a lot of ball.
“We’ve made a lot of improvements from year one to year three. The biggest improvements have been the recruitment of different body types and talents to match some of the different things. Whether you’re playing Oregon, and that’s a specific style of play, and you’ve got to play Iowa. I think (we’re) better equipped to handle some of those edges.”
Will Clayton Get a Look?
One of the top players in Wisconsin’s 2025 class, Clayton (6-5, 237) enrolled early and had a monster spring. He’s cooled off in fall camp a bit, but the talent remains obvious. Could Clayton burn his redshirt this fall?
“I really trust him on third down,” Mitchell stated. “I do have some better pass rush — I believe. We’ll see if it shows up on tape. When you talk about Cheeks, Fearbry, Mason Reiger, those are good pass rushers. Tyreese, he’s still learning the scheme of the defense, but when he goes in 1-on-1’s, he’s really good.
“I think the biggest thing with Nick, talking about bodies, if he’s fresh on third down and guys are gassed, maybe have some opportunities. And then I’m really pressing him on special teams as a true freshman — kickoff, kickoff return, punt block — get on those different schemes so he can get that experience and help us so when those moments come in the Big Ten, it’s not too big.”
Kicker, Punter Competitions Still Open
While Wisconsin returns both starters at kicker and punter, junior Atticus Bertrams and senior Nathanial Vakos have been fighting for their jobs in fall camp. According to Mitchell, redshirt freshman Sean West has been giving Betrams all he can handle, while senior Gavin Lahm has been neck and neck with Vakos.
“We have a tremendous amount of confidence in both guys, in field goals and extra points,” Mitchell said of the kicking battle. “I think the thing we’re trying to look at is the kickoff, too. Lahm, last year, did a great job. 13 returnable kicks on a 12-game schedule. But Vakos has really improved over the summer in terms of his hang time and distance on the kicks. It’s a heckuva competition.”
“Sean West, the freshman, has done a really good job. He’s putting heat on Atticus.”
Mitchell was also quick to give credit to the long snappers.
“Nick Levy, the transfer from Purdue, has come in and done a phenomenal job,” said Mitchell. “That is an upgrade in terms of the blocking and protections. Feel really good about him. Goodman (Andrew Goodman), who we brought in from Tulane, has done a really good job, too.
“We have depth at specialists. You always cross your fingers a bit with specialists in terms of injuries, but I feel like we’re better equipped to handle that.”
Three Leaders For the Punt Return Job
Sophomore running back Darrion Dupree and sophomore wide receiver Trech Kekahuna have both repped at punt return, but it appears Wisconsin is down to three candidates for the job.
“We’re making progress back there,” Mitchell stated. “I think the three guys we’re repping back there, Tyrell (Tyrell Henry), Vinny Anthony, and Jayden Ballard. We’re looking for guys with great communication that can get vertical. It’s definitely something that we need to continue to work on in camp. We’re not there yet.
“We also have to factor in, if we use Vinny — Vinny was really good for us at kickoff return last year. You’d also be worried about same guy doing (punt) returner and he’s also gonna play on offense too.”
