The Camp: A Wisconsin Badgers Football Podcast
Sep 15, 2026 · 52 min · 12 segments
The Badgers are two games into a pivotal season for coach Luke Fickell. Zach and Jesse talk about the progress they've seen and where growth is still very much needed. The guys also play some…
Zach HeilprinHost
Jesse TempleHost
I guess that, I think that is, um, a worthwhile thing to do 'cause Luke Fickell kind of was asked about some of the stuff that was, uh, has happened here the- these first two weeks, and Colton Joseph was a topic of conversation, as you would imagine, and he, uh, again, like he mentioned after the game on Saturday, a little dinged up.
Uh, and so, um, I asked him whether he would be limited this week, 'cause he was limited last week, right? He was limited in practice, and it was a little bit different last week because they were coming off a, a Sunday game, so it was a little bit of a shorter week.
They didn't really do a ton of stuff on Tuesday, but he was limited on Tuesday, limited on Wednesday in terms of him throwing the ball.
The, uh, the downfield passing game was essentially taken off, uh, the plate there, and asked him if he's gonna be limited, and he didn't know, uh, if he was gonna be limited this week.
And, and more it was, uh, you know, if he is gonna be limited and the concerns that, and I should have thrown this in the question, but the concerns, the issues they've had with the quarterback the last few years getting hurt, would you not want to kind of hold him out- Get him back to full health and then maybe allow, whether it's Ryan Hawkins or Duce Adams, an opportunity to play and, uh, he said no, essentially.
And [laughs] that, uh, you know, guys are gonna have to play through things that are, um, that are affecting them.
He hadn't taken a bunch of hits in the last 10 months since he last played and the, the Notre Dame game was very physical and, you know, uh, it was an arm injury or that, that affected him and he's just gonna have to play through it.
How did you take that? I, I took it as him saying he's gonna have to play through some bumps and bruises.
This is a tough conversation to have without the full context, which is what's the injury? What's actually happening? And, and Luke did indicate that it was related to his throwing arm.
He wa- He didn't wanna say what was going on necessarily, but you, for a brief minute you kinda saw him point to, uh, you know, the, the throwing shoulder or the arm or whatever.
Um, but he did, did say that that's what was going on and he said that they had, they knew they were gonna have to warm him up and stretch him out a little bit more pregame and all those kinds of things.
I think one of the things that's tough to discern is the idea of, well, it's been several months since you've played in a game.
It's one thing to get your cage rattled and it's another to have the kind of injury that's gonna prevent you from succeeding as a thrower.
I mean, that's my, I think, biggest storyline here against Eastern Michigan in a game that you would assume Wisconsin should win handily, at least based on how Eastern Michigan performed last week and, um, what you think the Badgers can do well.
But w- what are they gonna do with Colton Joseph? Is he gonna be limited this week? And if he is limited, how does that impact everything on the field since it clearly impacted a lot on the field last week? Um, but the idea that you've gotta play through it, I, I can't sit here and say that that's the right decision or the wrong decision because I don't know what the injury is and how severe it is.
But if it's so, if it's severe enough that he cannot make the basic throws, the screens to Tyrell Henry that you're just misfiring, even the third down in the end zone to Jacob Harris and, and yeah, that, y- you needed...
That's a tougher throw to make than somebody right open in the flat, but you still have to be able to hit it.
I guess that, I think that is, um, a worthwhile thing to do 'cause Luke Fickell kind of was asked about some of the stuff that was, uh, has happened here the- these first two weeks, and Colton Joseph was a topic of conversation, as you would imagine, and he, uh, again, like he mentioned after the game on Saturday, a little dinged up.
Uh, and so, um, I asked him whether he would be limited this week, 'cause he was limited last week, right? He was limited in practice, and it was a little bit different last week because they were coming off a, a Sunday game, so it was a little bit of a shorter week.
They didn't really do a ton of stuff on Tuesday, but he was limited on Tuesday, limited on Wednesday in terms of him throwing the ball.
The, uh, the downfield passing game was essentially taken off, uh, the plate there, and asked him if he's gonna be limited, and he didn't know, uh, if he was gonna be limited this week.
And, and more it was, uh, you know, if he is gonna be limited and the concerns that, and I should have thrown this in the question, but the concerns, the issues they've had with the quarterback the last few years getting hurt, would you not want to kind of hold him out- Get him back to full health and then maybe allow, whether it's Ryan Hawkins or Duce Adams, an opportunity to play and, uh, he said no, essentially.
And [laughs] that, uh, you know, guys are gonna have to play through things that are, um, that are affecting them.
He hadn't taken a bunch of hits in the last 10 months since he last played and the, the Notre Dame game was very physical and, you know, uh, it was an arm injury or that, that affected him and he's just gonna have to play through it.
How did you take that? I, I took it as him saying he's gonna have to play through some bumps and bruises.
This is a tough conversation to have without the full context, which is what's the injury? What's actually happening? And, and Luke did indicate that it was related to his throwing arm.
He wa- He didn't wanna say what was going on necessarily, but you, for a brief minute you kinda saw him point to, uh, you know, the, the throwing shoulder or the arm or whatever.
Um, but he did, did say that that's what was going on and he said that they had, they knew they were gonna have to warm him up and stretch him out a little bit more pregame and all those kinds of things.
I think one of the things that's tough to discern is the idea of, well, it's been several months since you've played in a game.
It's one thing to get your cage rattled and it's another to have the kind of injury that's gonna prevent you from succeeding as a thrower.
I mean, that's my, I think, biggest storyline here against Eastern Michigan in a game that you would assume Wisconsin should win handily, at least based on how Eastern Michigan performed last week and, um, what you think the Badgers can do well.
But w- what are they gonna do with Colton Joseph? Is he gonna be limited this week? And if he is limited, how does that impact everything on the field since it clearly impacted a lot on the field last week? Um, but the idea that you've gotta play through it, I, I can't sit here and say that that's the right decision or the wrong decision because I don't know what the injury is and how severe it is.
But if it's so, if it's severe enough that he cannot make the basic throws, the screens to Tyrell Henry that you're just misfiring, even the third down in the end zone to Jacob Harris and, and yeah, that, y- you needed...
That's a tougher throw to make than somebody right open in the flat, but you still have to be able to hit it.
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