5 takeaways from Wisconsin football's ninth spring practice: Cornerback RJ Delancy excels

MADISON – Wisconsin held its ninth practice of the spring Thursday inside the McClain Center.

That leaves Luke Fickell and his staff six more practices to use to evaluate personnel before preseason camp.

Highlights/observations from Thursday follow.

Transfer cornerback RJ Delancy earns praise

Cornerback RJ Delancy, who transferred to UW from Toledo, has been getting more work with the No. 1 unit.

With starter Ricardo Hallman (left shoulder) limited to conditioning work so far this spring, UW won’t have its full complement of cornerbacks until camp.

But Delancy has been working this week with Nyzier Fourqurean and Max Lofy (nickel corner).

Delancy had two terrific battles with wide receiver Bryson Green on Thursday.

Green won the first battle by leaping high over Delancy to make a sideline catch. Delancy got a bit of revenge during a red-zone segment when he broke up a pass in the end zone.

“He is a competitor,” Fickell said earlier this week when asked about Delancy. “He has come in and competed. He hasn’t caused any issues. He has bought into the things we do and the way in which we do them.

“There’s some really good things there.”

Offensive line coach AJ Blazek continues to examine options

With UW lacking experienced depth on the offensive line, first-year line coach AJ Blazek again moved around two projected starters.

Right guard Joe Huber got a few reps at center with the No. 1 unit. Reserve JP Benzschawel took over at right guard during that segment.

Huber also got work at right tackle in place of Riley Mahlman in another segment. That allowed Benzschawel, who appears to be the No. 6 lineman, to work with the first unit.

With UW lacking an experienced No. 2 center, Huber also got work at center with the No. 1 unit. Jake Renfro, the projected starter at center, then worked with the No. 2 line.

James Thompson Jr. displaying determination, toughness

Defensive end James Thompson Jr. suffered an injury to his lower left leg near the end of practice April 6.

A fifth-year senior who is the most experienced defensive lineman on the team, Thompson hasn’t missed any time despite the fact he clearly is hampered by the injury.

He made a terrific play Thursday.

Tailback Tawee Walker, who has been impressive this spring, caught a pass in the right flat but Thompson pursued from inside out and made a diving tackle just a few yards past the line of scrimmage.

Freshman tailback Gideon Ituka can take a hit, dish one out

At 5-foot-9 and 235 pounds, freshman tailback Gideon Ituka is built to be a punishing runner.

Ituka has run hard this spring but on Thursday learned that safety Hunter Wohler, 6-2 and 215 can deliver a blow.

Ituka got into the secondary on a run during 11-on-11 work but Wohler pursued and knocked him off his feet with a shoulder hit.

A few plays later, Ituka was matched up in the open field with reserve nickel cornerback Owen Arnett. Ituka won this battle by lowering his shoulder and sending the 5-11, 208-pound Arnett flying.

Badgers look to portal for depth on the defensive line

UW recently extended a scholarship offer to defensive tackle CJ West, who is transferring from Kent State.

West, 6-2 and 315, played 36 games in four seasons at Kent State.

He reportedly holds offers from UW, Michigan, Texas A&M, Arkansas, Colorado, Kansas State, Miami, LSU and others.

Asked earlier this week about the transfer portal, Fickell said:

"I’m focused on spring ball right now. That’s something that unfortunately we have to deal with. It’s not something I want to talk about. These guys right here are who we’ve got to focus on. The spring portal time is not a big time for us.

"I’m not saying there won’t be something. But the idea of keeping the guys that we’ve got (together) is really going to be the most important thing for us.

"I don’t want to talk about it, because if I’m talking about it then the kids are talking about it."

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Wisconsin cornerback RJ Delancy impressive in spring football practice