MADISON, Wis. — Joe Huber lets his play do the talking.

Literally.

The 6-foot-5, 311-pound Wisconsin offensive lineman does not say much.

"I am surprised he even said anything to you guys (reporters)," offensive line coach Jack Bicknell Jr. said. "That would be more words than I ever heard him say.

Last year, the Cincinnati transfer had "From my silence comes violence" pasted on a T-shirt. That mindset — or personality trait — helped Huber go from a walk-on to a starter with the Bearcats. Soon, it may help him earn a starting role with the Badgers, who have had six fall training camp practices thus far.

"Joe just does everything well," new UW and former Cincinnati head coach Luke Fickell said. "He's a great example of what effort looks like."

Huber, a redshirt junior, started all 13 games for Cincinnati last season at right tackle and posted a 71.5 pass-blocking grade and an 83.7 run-blocking grade, according to Pro Football Focus. He's been playing different positions since joining the Badgers in the winter.

Thus far, Huber has gotten most of his reps with the first-team offense at left guard. He's occasionally worked with the second-team offense at center.

"It doesn’t matter to me (where I play)," Huber said. "Each position is a little bit different. You have to adjust to each position."

It's unclear where Huber will stand when Cincinnati transfer center Jake Renfro returns to full strength. Renfro worked with the first-team offense in the spring before suffering a stress fracture in his leg and missing the rest of camp, forcing redshirt junior Tanor Bortolini to move from left guard to center. Huber and Trey Wedig rotated at left guard.

Bortolini has continued to play center throughout fall training camp thus far, while Renfro has been easing his way back into action with the second-team offense. Assuming Bortolini moves back to left guard, Huber could still push for the right guard spot. Regardless, Bicknell knows he has options.

"That's probably his best skill. He can probably play all five positions," Bicknell said of Huber. "His best position may be guard. He's kind of taking one for the team because I was determined to make sure we had centers.

"That's his biggest asset. It's his versatility. We haven’t played him at tackle yet, but I have seen him play tackle. I know he can do it. He's a really good athlete. He's very flexible."

Huber, a Dublin, Ohio, native, only held a pair of walk-on offers in high school. He chose Cincinnati over Akron and quickly earned a scholarship after joining the program in 2020.

"Being a walk-on, you come in and know you have to work harder," Huber said. "You have to get noticed. I knew that coming out of high school. My main thing was putting on some more weight. My goal was to get that scholarship. Once I go that, I kept pushing for the starting spot."

Last season, Huber posted an 80.6 overall Pro Football Focus grade. That's the highest grade among returning Big Ten linemen ahead of the 2023 season.

"I honestly don't understand how he was a walk-on," Renfro, who was part of Cincinnati's 2020 recruiting class, said. "He came out there and was one of our best on day one as a freshman. He's a stud."

Huber has earned that reputation quietly.

"He's a very quiet guy," Renfro said. "But don't take it the wrong way. He'll dominate you on the field."

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