Heading into a season with their highest preseason ranking in 18 years, unforseen adversity has been dropped on the Badgers’ doorstep. Wisconsin will be without its top two receivers for at least the first two games.
Following his alleged involvement in the sexual assault charges against suspended wide receiver Quintez Cephus, sophomore Danny Davis has been suspended for the first two games of the Badgers’ season.
Head coach Paul Chryst announced the decision a day after cancelling media availability to gather more information on the allegations made against the two wide receivers.
“Based on the information I have available to me at this time, I have decided to suspend Danny Davis for the first two games of the season,” Chryst said. “Should further information become available that warrants a reevaluation of the length of the suspension, I will assess that information. We have a high standard of conduct within our football program and we cannot accept behavior that is not consistent with that standard.”
A wide receiver group touted as one of Wisconsin’s best in recent memory now finds itself short of experience. Now, with the top two returning receivers out for games against Western Kentucky and New Mexico, the depth of the receiving core will be tested.
Junior A.J. Taylor, who tallied 31 receptions for 475 yards and five touchdowns, and redshirt sophomore Kendric Pryor, who logged 13 receptions for 179 yards and one touchdown are the only two receivers on the roster with significant game experience and are expected to be pushed up to No. 1 and No. 2 on the depth chart in Cephus and Davis’s absence.
Taylor and Pryor both increased their production last season during the five games Cephus missed with a broken leg. In those five games, Taylor recorded 17 catches for 244 yards and four touchdowns while Pryor totaled seven catches for 99 yards and three touchdowns, with two coming on the ground.
Behind Taylor and Pryor, Chryst has a handful of young, inexperienced receivers. His options include freshmen Aron Cruickshank and Taj Mustapha and redshirt sophomores Adam Krumholz and Jack Dunn, none of whom have caught a pass with the Badgers.
When asked about his wide receiver depth, the first two names Chryst mentioned were Krumholz and Dunn, both of whom are walk-ons.
“Jack Dunn and Adam Krumholz have given themselves opportunities,” Chryst said. “And then you’ve got a young group that they’ve got to start coming out of the fog. Guys are here and we’ve got to help them grow and help this team.”
Krumholz appeared in six games for the Badgers in 2017 while Dunn played in eight. Both got most of their work on special teams, and neither recorded a catch during limited reps at receiver.
Cruickshank and Mustapha both enrolled early and participated in Wisconsin’s spring camp, flashing big play potential. Chryst acknowledged the biggest challenge facing the two freshman was learning the offense and knowing what to do on the field.
“They know more now and are more comfortable now than they were in April,” Chryst said after practice Wednesday.
Cruickshank in particular has impressed coaches throughout the spring and summer with his speed, athleticism and elusiveness.
“Captain Obvious could’ve made that call,” Chryst said last spring after being asked if he was impressed with Cruickshank.
Behind their loaded offensive line and star running back Jonathan Taylor, the Badgers should still breeze by Western Kentucky and New Mexico without Davis and Cephus, but having their top two receivers suspended a week before the first game is not how the Badgers envisioned starting their much-anticipated season. The Badgers are No. 4 in the preseason AP poll, their highest ranking since 2000.
Chryst hopes to avoid letting this become a distraction for the team.
“Certainly this is unique for this group,” Chryst said. “I do believe that throughout the season, you try to focus on the things that you can, not control, but impact, and I think our group has done a good job with that. I don’t think you ever go through a season without distractions … There are always things you have to deal with, the players deal with it, and they help each other through it.”
