Brady Bekkenhuis

Physical Profile

Listed at 6-6, 295 lbs. Taller than 42% and heavier than 51% of 2026 Offensive Tackle prospects in the SEC Scouts database (182 with a listed size).

Play Style

He is a downhill, physical blocker who plays with a wrestler's mentality. He gets off the ball quickly, plays with a low base and good pad level for his height, and works to finish blocks instead of just covering up. He looks comfortable pulling and moving laterally, and he wins with hand placement and balance more than with raw power. At tackle his film is more about run-game physicality than a finished pass set, which is part of why the projection is inside.

Strengths

• Pad level and leverage: evaluators consistently mention his 'really low base' and good pad level for a 6-6 lineman. Wisconsin's staff called him a physical finisher on the interior, which supports a move inside.
• Finishing: scouts describe him as a 'nasty' player who 'fires off the ball.' Once his hands are on a defender, he plays through the whistle. That fits a gap and duo run game.
• Wrestling carryover: 119-22 career with top-4 state finishes in back-to-back years. That shows up as hand fighting, keeping his balance while recovering, and knowing how to win leverage, all of which help inside against quick 3-techniques.
• Moves well for his size: he pulls well and shows lateral quickness, which fits guard duties on counter and pin-pull and on combination blocks to the second level.
• Can play several spots: evaluators say he has the frame for tackle or interior line at the Power 4 level, and Wisconsin has mentioned both guard and center. That gives the depth chart options.

Areas to Improve

• Adjusting to the interior: most of his high school film is at tackle. Guard and center bring faster contact, more twists and stunts, and quicker decisions against A-gap and B-gap pressure. If he plays center, he also has to learn snapping and making the line calls.
• Strength against better competition: Massachusetts high school football rarely puts Power 4 interior defensive linemen in front of him. He needs a full strength and conditioning cycle before he can anchor against 300-pound-plus Big Ten nose tackles and keep his pads down at 6-7.
• Pass-protection technique: most evaluations focus on his run blocking. His hand timing, depth in his set, and ability to pass off stunts in passing situations were not graded much and need to be developed.

College Projection

He is at Wisconsin as a true freshman in 2026, the only offensive lineman in the Badgers' 2026 class and one of six freshman linemen on the roster. A redshirt year for strength work and the interior transition is the most likely path, with the four-game redshirt rule allowing some special-teams or late-game snaps. A realistic timeline is rotational interior depth in 2027 and a chance to compete for a starting guard or center job in 2028-29. That could come sooner if the staff settles him at one position early and he reaches the 310-320 range with his movement intact.

NFL Outlook

He is a mid-tier four-star. Tall interior linemen with his movement, wrestling background and toughness are the kind the NFL drafts as day-three guards or centers if they become multi-year Big Ten starters. His ceiling depends on whether he can keep his pads down inside at 6-7. If he can, his length is an advantage over typical guards. If he can't, he may move back to right tackle. Early projection: a Day 3 draft candidate who needs three or more years of starting production.

Best Fit

A Power 4 program with a gap and duo-based run game and a long history of developing linemen, where he can redshirt and be built up physically. Wisconsin fits well: its offense uses guard pulls and double teams, and the staff recruited him specifically as a guard/center. He would be a weaker fit in a spread, zone-only offense that asks interior linemen to get out in space more than to move people.