Given the hurdles they face, expecting freshmen to make an immediate impact in college football this season is a tough bet to make.
With no spring practices and an altered preseason that will have less chances for reps than a regular training camp, freshmen at the University of Wisconsin would get a pass for taking a bit longer to get up to speed.
But two freshmen — wide receiver Chimere Dike and outside linebacker Nick Herbig — have been drawing rave reviews from Badgers’ preseason practices, providing early dividends from UW’s 2020 recruiting class. That class was the program’s best in the internet recruiting rankings era, but will all but assuredly be eclipsed by the 2021 class.