We all await word for when exactly the college football season to begin. When practices do commence, however, Wisconsin will return an experienced team that will also have significant questions to answer at particular positions.
The defense, despite returning its full lot of starters on the line and in the secondary, will need to replace Chris Orr and Zack Baun, who combined for 24 sacks and 33.5 tackles for loss in 2019. Mike Maskalunas and Leo Chenal are two candidates who saw some time last year at inside linebacker, but whom emerges at outside linebacker will be one of the major storylines for Jim Leonhard's unit.
On the offensive side of the ball, it will be year 0 "A.J.T." -- "After Jonathan Taylor." Nakia Watson, Garrett Groshek, Isaac Guerendo, Julius Davis and four-star signee Jalen Berger all may receive opportunities to shoulder the burden of replacing 6,174 yards of production over Taylor's three years.
At wide receiver, gone are Quintez Cephus, A.J. Taylor and Aron Cruickshank, along with position coach Ted Gilmore. Enter Alvis Whitted, who mentored Davante Adams in Green Bay last season and three All-Americans while at Colorado State seven years prior. Danny Davis, Kendric Pryor and others will likely adjust and compete for roles now with three contributors are out of the room.
Quarterback may be the most popular position that will be watched for those practices before the season, and obviously it will be one AllBadgers.com will watch closely. Jack Coan asserted himself quite nicely last year, completely nearly 70% of his throws for 2,727 yards with 18 touchdowns to merely just five interceptions. He became a leader of the team. Yet you also have Graham Mertz, the four-star 2019 signee and All-American Bowl MVP, who passes the eye test when looking at how he airs the ball out and showed he could keep up with the group in his first year in Madison. Not to mention, redshirt sophomore Chase Wolf combines a strong arm with mobility in Jon Budmayr's room.
However, the most exciting to watch from my vantage point will be those in front of those two aforementioned position groups. The offensive line loses three starters, including its anchor in center Tyler Biadasz. In the past three years, UW has rushed for 222.9, 273.4 and 233.1 yards per game, and in 2019, it gave up just 20 sacks in 14 contests.
With the importance of protecting the quarterbacks and continuing UW's precedent of ground game success, just how coordinator and line coach Joe Rudolph works to find his best five before the season begins will be enticing with the potential combinations and possibilities ahead.
Gone will be Biadasz as he now starts his NFL journey with the Dallas Cowboys, while redshirt seniors David Moorman and Jason Erdmann exhausted their eligibility. Who returns, however, starts with would-be redshirt senior Cole Van Lanen. For the last two seasons, the in-state product from Green Bay (Bay Port) has been a significant presence at left tackle -- starting 13 of the last 14 games in 2019.
The tackle spots should be in good positions with Van Lanen, Logan Bruss or Tyler Beach on the right side. Both will be redshirt juniors next year, and they have game time experience. The latter started two games last season, one at each tackle position. Whom behind them works their way into a game-ready experience will be also worth watching -- including a pair of recent, highly-touted signees.
Spring practices would have been huge for five-star 2019 lineman Logan Brown in receiving reps and seeing just where Rudolph saw him in March and April. Aaron Vopal will also continues his progression after switching from the defensive side of the ball. Though it is his first year in the program, five-star signee Jack Nelson has the frame and the athleticism. I will watch early on just how he handles the speed of the college game.
The main attraction for the offensive line lies within those interior three spots. Biadasz started 41 consecutive games at center between 2017 and 2019, claiming unanimous first-team All-America honors and last year's Rimington Trophy. Spring practices open to reporters in March and April would have given the media a glimpse into the potential suitors to take on the highly-important position. It is hard to speculate upon who takes on that role, but we know from experience last year those who worked there.
Last spring, Kayden Lyles worked at times at center with Biadasz out, but he honed in on guard when fall camp arrived and started four games in 2019. In early March, UW listed him as out for the spring sessions due to a right and left leg injury.
If Lyles is better suited at guard, could someone like Cormac Sampson step in? The tight end-turned-lineman, who again moved back to a tight end last year due to injury, now settles back in on the offensive line. Last fall camp, he played tackle and center. What about Joe Tippmann, a redshirt freshman who received some reps at that position in August?
At the guard spots, there is Lyles and former walk-on Josh Seltzner. Like Lyles, Seltzner started four games last season -- all came in the first six contests. Bruss himself also could find a way into the equation with some cross-positional assistance. He worked at guard for a couple of weeks during spring ball in 2019, then started the road contest at Illinois with Erdmann not playing. That just opens up more potential players for Rudolph to work with mold, and we have not spoken yet about redshirt sophomore Michael Furtney as well.
Again, when practices start up, if reporters are allowed to watch, all are unknown. That being said, with the handful of positions where there will be intriguing battles, the important of the offensive line and the potential for roles stands out the most.
"exciting" - Google News
May 03, 2020 at 12:02AM
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Wisconsin's Most Exciting Position to Watch Once Football Starts? Not the QBs - Sports Illustrated
"exciting" - Google News
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