The Victory Lap.
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Captain Canada
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- Joined: 01 Dec 2018, 00:15
The Victory Lap.
Pretty impressive class you've managed to build here. Expect this defense to take a pretty decent leap forward.
The Victory Lap.
Defense-heavy.
High expectations for coach Singleton
High expectations for coach Singleton
The Victory Lap.
Captain Canada wrote: ↑30 Jul 2024, 11:55Pretty impressive class you've managed to build here. Expect this defense to take a pretty decent leap forward.
I might be bugging -- especially since I thought last year's team was capable of winning 8+ games -- but looking at this roster, it's playoff worthy
The Victory Lap.
stole a player from KentuckyThe Victory Lap.
Wisconsin football depth chart projection: How the defense is shaping up heading into fall camp
E.J. Temple -- New York Times College Football Columnist
MADISON, Wis. — Wisconsin’s defense last season was a group caught between two worlds. The unit consisted largely of players recruited under a previous coaching staff attempting to excel under a different system with different requirements. The end result was a product that fell short of the standard to which Wisconsin had grown accustomed.
The Badgers ranked 38th nationally in total defense, 39th in pass defense, 39th in run defense and 20th in scoring defense. Those marks weren’t terrible, but they also weren’t what defensive coordinator Jerome Singleton had in mind when he said a year ago that the goal was to “mesh the elite” of what worked under the previous regime.
The belief is that, like the offense, Wisconsin’s defense will be improved in Year 2. Who will be a part of trying to elevate the group? Here is a pre-fall camp look at the projected two-deep on defense.
Defensive end
Starters: Ernest Willor Jr. (redshirt junior) and Charles Riley (redshirt junior)
Backups: Will McDonald (redshirt senior) and Marquez Gammon (redshirt sophomore)
Other candidates: Finau Wooleyhand (true freshman) and Russ Sampson (redshirt sophomore)
Willor Jr. had a breakout year, leading all Badgers defensive linemen with 45 tackles, 21 tackles for loss and 7.5 sacks. He was the only defensive linemen to play more than 75 percent of the team's snap and that heavy utilization should continue in his second year with this staff and Singleton's defensive scheme which asks a lot of their defensive ends in terms of taking up blocks in the running game, setting the edge and also getting after the quarterback.
The real question mark is who will be opposite of Willor with Curt Neal now in the NFL. The best pure pass rusher on the team, according to Singleton, is Will McDonald but the senior's struggle against the run led to him playing just 47 snaps all of last year, down from 223 the year prior to Singleton's arrival. The more natural fit for what the Badgers ask of their defensive ends is the six-foot-six, 277 pound Charles Riley whose athletic profile is exactly what a 3-3-5 defense calls for in a five-technique. Riley played well in spurts last year with nine tackles for loss but pales in comparison to McDonald when it comes to pass rushing.
This is likely why the Badgers went after Jaxon Howard in the portal as he does bring that combination of twitchiness and strength against the run but after missing out on him, they'll need to make it work with the guys in the room which also includes a talented true freshman in Finau Wooleyhand.
Nose tackle
Starter: Stewart Sullivan (redshirt junior)
Backup: Brian Coale (redshirt sophomore)
Other candidates: Joe Coker (redshirt sophomore), Tyrone Gaydosh (redshirt freshman), Tashaun Gumbs (true freshman)
Sullivan was pushed hard throughout the spring by the coaching staff, who still feel like his game can take it to another level. Sullivan was solid in 2026 with 35 tackles, eight tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks from his nose tackle position but he'll need to fight off Coale who was taking reps with the first team by the end of spring ball.
Entering his third year, Coale has only played 35 snaps in two seasons for the Badgers so it's hard to imagine him leapfrogging such an established player like Sullivan but a slow start to the year, similar to last season for Sullivan, could see Coale eventually overtake him.
Linebacker
Starters: Kirk Kennedy (redshirt junior), Landon Gauthier (redshirt junior), Christian Alliegro (redshirt senior)
Backups: Josh Devey (redshirt sophomore), Coco Generals (junior), Thomas Heiberger (redshirt junior)
Other candidates: Roddy Orr (redshirt junior), Mo Smoker (true freshman), David Zelenka (sophomore)
Even with the loss of Sebastian Cheeks, Wisconsin brings back arguably their deepest and most experienced group at linebacker. Singleton has made it clear that this linebacker group is largely position less, with guys able to play all three spots at a high level. This makes penciling in the starters an even more difficult task as different combinations offer different strengths and weaknesses but based on last year's playing time, it'll likely be a combination of Kirk Kennedy at SAM, Landon Gauthier returning at MIKE which he shared with Cheeks last year and Christian Alliegro splitting reps at WILL with Thomas Heiberger.
Devey carved out a sneaky role for himself last year, playing over one hundred snaps as a pass rushing option at linebacker and Orr also was a key rotation piece with 291 snaps played, primarily on passing downs as a coverage linebacker.
There is some new blood in transfer Coco Generals, coming from South Alabama where he started as a true freshman for Singleton. A path to playing time for Generals is a bit murky as arguably the best player of the unit -- Gauthier -- is penciled in at MIKE and Generals, unlike the others, has exclusively played MIKE linebacker in Singleton's scheme.
Cornerback
Starters: Amare Snowden (redshirt senior) and Jace Arnold (redshirt senior)
Backups: Demario Starr (redshirt sophomore) and Omilio Agard (redshirt junior)
Other candidates: Watts McBride (redshirt senior) and R.W. Cobb (redshirt senior)
Snowden returns as a starter while Arnold elevates into a starting position after backing up Jonas Duclona last year. A guy to keep an eye on is Demario Starr who entered the spring period firmly behind Snowden, Arnold, Agard and the two transfers in Watts McBride and R.W. Cobb, only to be splitting first team reps with Arnold by the end of spring.
Starr is sticky and might already be the team's best man coverage corner but the Badgers primarily play zone so he'll need to improve in that area and as a tackler if he wants to leapfrog a fifth-year player in Arnold.
McBride also impressed during competitive 7-on-7 periods where the team did play a lot of man coverage so if the defense ever does have a specific gameplan that calls for man coverage, McBride and Starr could see bigger roles.
Safety
Starters: Terhyon Nichols (senior), Taylor Medina (redshirt junior), Rico Smith (redshirt sophomore)
Backups: Luke Williams (senior), Braedyn Moore (redshirt senior), Jamerson Knowles (true freshman)
Other candidates: Marques Sneed (redshirt freshman) and Danny Carden (redshirt freshman)
For the second year in a row, one of the top safeties available in the transfer portal chose to come to Wisconsin and with good reason. Nichols joins a group that feature Taylor Medina, the best safety in the country last year, and Rico Smith who made the switch from corner to free safety last year and now gets the added benefit of a full offseason at the position.
If that wasn't enough, the team added a veteran player in Luke Williams whose played at least 200 snaps in each of the last three years with Purdue as well as a five-star freshman in Jamerson Knowles who will be soaking up all the knowledge he can from a room with four players that are entering their fourth or fifth season,
The Victory Lap.
Wisconsin cannot afford enough slow start after last year's disastrous first two months
Adriana Castillo -- usfwire.usatoday.com
Wisconsin was essentially out of the college football picture by the month of October, having loss the first five games of the year, all in excruciating fashion under first year head coach Charles Huff.
The Badgers did win six of their last seven games prior to the bowl game where they would end the year how they begun it with a comeback defeat at the hand of the Pittsburgh Panthers. They open this year against Pittsburgh for their third game against the Panthers in less than twelve months and it'll be a key one as another slow start could mean the end of Huff's tenure in Madison and yet another coaching change for the Badgers.
Ten Best Wisconsin Players
1. S Taylor Medina, Rs Junior
2. S Terhyon Nichols, Senior
3. WR Trech Kekahuna, Rs Senior
4. DT Stewart Sullivan, Rs Junior
5. DE Ernest Willor Jr, Rs Junior
6. LB Christian Alliegro, Rs Senior
7. LB Landon Gauthier, Rs Junior
8. HB Alex Timmerman, Junior
9. G Larry Calmelat, Rs Sophomore
10. LB Kirk Kennedy, Rs Junior
Schedule
Sep 4 vs. #20 Pittsburgh
Sep 11 vs. Southern Illinois
Sep 18 vs. Colorado State
OPEN
Oct 2 vs. Ohio State
Oct 9 at Indiana
Oct 16 at Rutgers
Oct 23 at Iowa
Oct 30 at UCLA
Nov 4 at Illinois
Nov 13 at #25 Washington
Nov 20 vs. USC
Nov 27 vs. Minnesota
Preseason All-American
Second Team
S Taylor Medina
Preseason All Big Ten
First Team
HB Sal McCracken
Second Team
WR Trech Kekahuna
DT Stewart Sullivan
S Taylor Medina
What to watch for on offense: Cole LaCrue entered last year as a lame duck starter with talented and highly heralded freshman Dean Dalton on his heels. LaCrue not only started every game, he was the Badgers' best offensive player, averaging 239 yards per game with a 70 percent completion rate and 33 touchdowns to just eight interceptions. With him firmly established as the leader of the offense, the Badgers should improve in 2027.
What to watch for on defense: The loss of Jamison Patton was expected to be a heavy blow, only for the Badgers to land an equally talented player in the portal in Terhyon Nichols who the coaching staff is extremely high on. Nichols is explosive, instinctive and should bring some of the same tone setting qualities that Patton brough to the defense last year when he transferred from Iowa State.
The team will be far better if... the Badgers become more consistent on offense. They had a few good games but went too many quarters were offense was not only not scoring but putting the ball in harms way and giving the defense a short field.
The secondary, particularly the corners, must improve in coverage this year.
Key players to a successful season: Trech Kekahuna is recovering from a leg injury that ended his junior campaign and will miss the first half of this season as well. It's a young receiving corps so Kam Adams-Parker needs to continue evolving into being that top guy at receiver and help the Badgers' offense stay afloat until Kekahuna returns.
The defense needs to improve their pass rush and that starts with Ernest Willor Jr. having an established running mate. Will McDonald has the tools to be an effective pass rushers while Charles Riley had some production last year so between the two of them, someone opposite of Willor needs to step up.
The season will be a success if...Wisconsin is competing for a spot in the Big Ten Championship through November.
Key game: They need to get the monkey off their back with Pittsburgh.
Game by Game Predictions
Sep 4 vs. #20 Pittsburgh: L
Sep 11 vs. Southern Illinois: W
Sep 18 vs. Colorado State: W
Oct 2 vs. Ohio State: L
Oct 9 at Indiana: W
Oct 16 at Rutgers: W
Oct 23 at Iowa: L
Oct 30 at UCLA: W
Nov 4 at Illinois: W
Nov 13 at #25 Washington: L
Nov 20 vs. USC: L
Nov 27 vs. Minnesota: W
The Victory Lap.
The All-American / All-Conference teams are so messed up. Medina wins two awards and makes no teams.
The Victory Lap.
Week 1 Preview: at Pittsburgh Panthers
Returning Career Leaders
Passing: Eli Holstein (72 cmp%, 267 yards per game, 109 TD, 32 INT)
Rushing: Eli Holstein (42.6 yards per game, 4.4 ypc, 14 TD)
Receiving: Lamar Seymore (69 receptions, 41.2 yards per game, 7 TD)
Pittsburgh Panthers Projected Starters
QB #10 Eli Holstein, Rs Senior | 6'4", 230lbs | 88 ovr, 84 spd, 87 acc, 88 awr, 98 thp, 86 sac, 84 mac, 72 dac
HB #15 Montravius Lloyd, Rs Senior | 5'10", 215lbs | 86 ovr, 86 spd, 91 acc, 94 cod, 88 car, 89 btk, 86 trk
HB #26 Juelz Goff, Senior | 5'9", 190lbs | 84 ovr, 91 spd, 97 acc, 96 cod, 78 car, 72 cth
WR #83 Lamar Seymore, Rs Senior | 6'1", 185lbs | 83 ovr, 94 spd, 94 acc, 93 cod, 86 cth
WR #6 Rico Gonzalez, Sophomore | 6'4", 190lbs | 79 ovr, 88 spd, 88 acc, 85 cth
WR #27 Cameron Monteiro, Rs Junior | 6'1", 180lbs | 79 ovr, 99 spd, 99 acc, 81 cth
TE #7 Jeremy Johansson, Rs Sophomore | 6'2", 246lbs | 80 ovr, 79 spd, 81 acc, 82 cth, 73 rbk
LT #67 Tai Ray, Rs Senior | 6'6", 330lbs | 81 ovr, 93 str, 86 pbk, 69 rbk
LG #57 Gerald Montgomery, Junior | 6'1", 299lbs | 83 ovr, 88 str, 74 pbk, 88 rbk
C #62 Rico Rathman, Rs Sophomore | 6'3", 291lbs | 81 ovr, 82 str, 73 pbk, 74 rbk
RG #75 Troy Lathan, Rs Junior | 6'4", 302lbs | 76 ovr, 83 str, 80 pbk, 75 rbk
RT #73 Finn Daley, Rs Senior | 6'6", 296lbs | 79 ovr, 92 str, 87 pbk, 71 rbk
Coach Singleton's Notes:
‣ I swear to god if we let Eli Holstein light our ass up again, my resignation letter will be drafted.