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He suffered the injury Tuesday when a defender tried to knock the football out of his hands. Pressley underwent surgery Wednesday.
Wisconsin coach Bret Bielema is confident Pressley will be ready for the second game against Marshall. He will have to play with a cast on his hand for the next six weeks.
Pressley has to have some pins removed next week, which is what will prevent him from playing in the first game.
“It doesn’t have anything to do with the surgery,” Bielema said. “It has to do with the sutures. They’ve got to pull something out. That skin exposure won’t be healed by the time we have to play Akron.”
The Badgers have an experienced backup fullback in fifth-year senior Bill Rentmeester, who will take Pressley’s place.
“It’s a little frustrating because I wanted to play, obviously, the first game,” said Pressley, who was named a captain this week. “But (I) also realize, things happen, you’ve got to adjust.
“I’m excited to still be there and support the guys the best way I can when I’m out and come back that next weekend and continue to play ball.”
Bielema said it’s also unlikely senior linebacker Jonathan Casillas, who suffered a sprained knee in the scrimmage last Saturday, will be ready for the opener.
“I would be surprised if J.C. plays in it,” Bielema said. “If he did, it’d be going right up to game time. When it was first diagnosed, there was hope of (him playing). Where he’s at right now, he’s a little ways away.”
The news is better on freshman tailback Bradie Ewing, who is expected to be a big contributor on special teams. He suffered a shoulder earlier in the week, but the X-rays are negative and he should be cleared for full contact for Sunday’s practice.
Special performance: The Badgers led the Big Ten Conference in kickoff coverage last year, with a net average of 47.1 yards. That meant opponents averaged starting drives, following kickoffs, at their 18.9-yard line.
“We’ve shown clips to kids about where our defense starts,” Bielema said. “If (opponents) start inside the 20, they have a one-in-30 chance of scoring. That’s a huge impact on the game.”
A big part of last year’s success was senior kicker Taylor Mehlhaff, who led the league with 25 touchbacks on 73 kickoffs. But coverage was also a big factor. Penn State was second in touchbacks with 19 but ranked ninth in kickoff coverage (40.1).
“We led the conference in kickoff coverage for a reason,” Bielema said. “We had a very good kicker and there were some kids (who) did a tremendous job.”
The Badgers will have a new kicker this year and Bielema surprised reporters Wednesday, when the depth chart was released, when he said junior walk-on Matt Fischer has the lead for the kickoff job. Redshirt freshman Philip Welch has a much stronger leg but has been erratic.
“It has to do with probably more of a mental thing than anything else,” Bielema said. “Because ‘Fish’ is concentrating, giving me a more consistent kick. Philip really gets wound up and amped up, the way he approaches things. If you don’t hit it well, obviously the result is a bad kick.”
With the Badgers hoping to be improved defensively, kickoff coverage will be key and it has been a major emphasis in camp.
“We’ve really tried to emphasize that,” Bielema said. “It’s going to be a big factor in our success.”
