MIKE LUCAS Senior Writer

BY MIKE LUCAS
UWBadgers.com Senior Writer

MADISON, Wis. — After the tight ends meeting broke up, the players headed for training table to get something to eat. On the way, Hayden Rucci couldn't help but pause and take a snapshot.

"I was just kind of looking around and seeing our group of guys all talking, and it was like, 'Wow, this is pretty cool,'" he said of the feeling of such unity in the presence of teammates.

"It's definitely an interesting dynamic. Some people look at it and ask, 'How are you guys so friendly when you're all competing for the same spot?'

"But we kind of flip that. We're all working together to make each other better and whoever plays … plays. And everybody else helps.

"We're such a tight group, it makes meetings, practice — anything — super fun. And it's definitely a lot of fun being able to help each other outside of just competing against each other."

Keep in mind this level of sentimentality is being expressed by someone who routinely morphs into "beast mode," according to his teammates, whenever he steps on to the field.

"I'd say that's fair to say," confirmed Rucci, a sophomore tight end from Lititz, Pennsylvania. "That term comes in when I'm fully confident and just cutting it loose."

As a whole, this is a confident bunch. It starts with fifth-year senior Jake Ferguson, a proven competitor and playmaker, and ranges all the way to true freshman Jack Pugh, an early enrollee.

"You've got to have some swagger," said Mickey Turner, the seventh-year tight ends coach. "One might be a little more street smart. One is a little more book smart. One is kind of goofy. One is serious.

"But they all play off each other. You don't want them all to be just soldiers and yes men. You don't want them all to be too loose. You kind of what that blend.

"We've been pretty lucky here that the nucleus of the team is so strong. Everybody falls in the right line and is able to be themselves."

As opposed to the alternative, he mentioned, where "You'd just have a bunch of robots."

The tight end room may be diverse — seven different states are represented, including two Cheeseheads — but it's anything but divided. Especially this spring.

"Part of it is they spent the whole offseason working out together, they were in the same lifts, so they just built that bond," Turner said. "It's very supportive. They hang out together when they're away from here, too, which is also good. You want that to go on.

"I've just been really impressed with how they help each other. I've got clips from practice where Ferg is in the back, not even in the play, and he's jumping up and down because one of the other guys did something well or did something physical. They're great that way."

Ferguson could have moved on. But instead, he returned for another year of eligibility, no small thing, since he's one of the most productive tight ends in college football. During last season's truncated seven-game schedule, he led the Badgers with 30 catches for 305 yards and four touchdowns.

"He's the leader, he's the top dog in the room and they all look up to him," Turner said. "But he doesn't act bigger than them, either. It's not like he's too good for them. We're doing enough double-tight and multiple-tight end stuff that he knows he needs those guys as much as they need him."

Ferguson has caught at least one pass in each of his 34 career games. Overall, he has 99 receptions for 1,168 yards, punctuated by seven catches against Illinois and Northwestern in 2020. His return was hailed in the room by everyone he has mentored. Which is everyone.

"As soon as I saw it," Rucci said of Ferguson's post that he was coming back, "I texted him to say how excited I was to be able to work with him again because I learned so much from Jake. Just to have his leadership in the room, I can vouch for everyone that we're all excited to have him back."

Outside of Ferguson, though, only one other tight end had a catch last season. Jack Eschenbach, a converted high school wide receiver, had two. By the end of spring practice, Turner is hoping that someone will emerge in his room as a complementary option to Ferguson. There are many candidates.

"We have enough tight ends who have some experience now after Jake," Turner said of the competition. "Obviously, Jake is going to play. But those other guys have done enough between them that they could all step up and take some reps for us."

Ferguson took 442 reps in seven games, the third highest total on the team behind quarterback Graham Mertz (468) and offensive lineman Jon Dietzen (448). Meanwhile, Rucci had the second most at the tight end position with 164 while utilized in his role as in-line blocker.

"He (Rucci) makes do with a lot of savvy and just a feel for the game," Turner said. "He can find those little holes in the underneath coverage on some shorter routes. He just has to make sure he's hitting the Jugs machine each day and getting his catches."

Rucci had 30 receptions for 645 yards (21.5) and eight touchdowns during his senior year at Warwick High School in Lititz (some 70 miles outside of Philadelphia). During a recent practice at Camp Randall Stadium, he got behind the secondary and caught a deep ball, much to his delight.

"That was pretty cool," he sheepishly admitted. "I'm pretty sure it was Boomer (Danny Vanden Boom) who threw me a great seam right down the left side of the field, a great play to beat the defense. I'm crediting more our offense than my speed. But it was fun opening up a little bit and running."

Rucci hadn't forgotten the feeling. But he knows his role and what got him on the field.

"Coming into college, I knew what it was going to be like stepping into the tight end room at Wisconsin," he said. "You weren't going to be a shining star at first. Maybe not even in the first couple of years. I wasn't expecting anything else other than learning and maybe getting some reps.

"That's why I was so thankful for the opportunity to get some playing time this past season. Whatever role is needed of me is what I will be. I'm never looking for the spotlight or the attention. I'd rather contribute to the team rather than make it focused on me."

During the offseason, Rucci gained about 10 pounds. He's now in the mid-260s.

"It has helped a ton with blocking, which is one of the things that I was mainly focusing on after last season," he said. "My main concern was still being able to move. It's a tough thing to balance between being viable blocking, which is what I'm working on, and still being able to run routes."

To this point, Turner had a plan for Rucci.

"I didn't want him to worry about his weight when we were lifting during our eight weeks this winter," he recalled. "I said to him, 'I want you to get as strong as possible.' And now that we're in spring practice, I'm going to streamline him back down a little bit and get him into football shape."

Rucci is flexible and seemingly comfortable adjusting to whatever the situation warrants. Athletically. Or academically. After his Accounting 100 class Wednesday afternoon, he took the time to talk about the direction that his schooling has taken since arriving on campus.

"Accounting is definitely one of my toughest classes but it's interesting and it's good to learn," he conceded. "When I got here, I was directed to the Business School and I didn't really know what I wanted to do. Looking at the majors, I decided on real estate.

"I had a little bit of interest in it then. But this semester — my first semester of actually taking a real estate class — I've been loving it so far. That's my major now and my intended career path. It's been cool to follow with all the different things going on with the pandemic."

Any return to normalcy, to whatever degree, would be welcomed by Rucci, of course.

"Oh, my God, you don't even know," he said. "I cannot tell you how excited I am just to be able to walk outside and talk to somebody without having the stress. You don't even realize with the pandemic how much stress is put on you.

"I know waking up every day, it's like, 'Shoot, is this a day where I have to get tested? Do I have my mask? Am I being safe?' It definitely adds a whole new aspect to your life that you have to be worried about. I can't tell you how excited I am hopefully to sometime soon get rid of that (stress)."

He's excited, too, by the prospect of fans returning to Camp Randall and Big Ten venues.

"Last year it was weird running out there to silence besides the fake noise," he said. "They did a great job blending the crowd noise over the speakers. But it's absolutely different looking and seeing gray empty bleachers instead of all the faces of the fans cheering you on."

In June, he will be joined by his younger brother, Nolan, a 5-star offensive tackle.

"He came up here a couple of weekends ago and spent two days," he said. "That's two days out of how many we'll get to spend here together? I'm so excited to have him up here with me."

Nolan Rucci is one of the star catches in the 2021 class based on the recruiting analysts. Pugh may not have generated celebrity or much advance notice, but he appears to be a good fit in the tight end room. Take it from Rucci, who has already seen the strides that he has made this spring.

"From where he started when we were hitting heavy bags to him today answering questions in the meeting room, he has completely changed as a player," Rucci said of Pugh, who hails from Hilliard, Ohio. "It's so cool to see how much he has grown in just a couple of weeks."

Citing the benefit of Pugh's exposure as a mid-year enrollee, Turner said, "When the rest of the freshmen show up in June, he'll be like a veteran guy instead of just swimming for dear life."

Using this analogy, Eschenbach needed water wings when he first got here. Not anymore.

"He's another guy who has been among the most improved," Turner said, "from a guy last year who was just fighting to get on the travel squad to now where I think he's a guy you can count on play-in and play-out. He should be a great special teamer for us, too."

The tight end room has clearly taken on its own personality. Whether it's Ferguson, Rucci, Eschenbach or Pugh. Whether it's Clay Cundiff, Cole Dakovich, Jaylan Franklin or Cam Large. You will find them all battling for reps on the field. And communicating off the field. It's why Rucci took the snapshot.

"It's just so much fun going into the meeting room every day with everybody in the room," Rucci reiterated before outlining a collective goal. "As a team, I want us to define who we are and set our goals for the season. We've been working since Day One on that."

Finding a potential complementary receiving piece to Ferguson remains a work in progress.

"We need it," Turner said of answering that question. "And I think they're ready for it."