ESPN thinks Wisconsin has a top-10 defense entering 2023
The story of the offseason in Madison, Wisconsin, has been change. Luke Fickell was hired as the program’s new head coach in late November and proceeded to alter much of what we know about Badger football.
The biggest shift of the offseason came on the offensive side of the football. Fickell hired air raid offensive coordinator Phil Longo and immediately infused the program with numerous transfer quarterbacks and wide receivers.
There is also a new-look defense to get used to. Mike Tressel followed Fickell from Cincinnati to fill the shoes of Jim Leonhard.
Related: Ranking the toughest games on Wisconsin’s 2023 schedule
I believe it’s fair to expect growing pains on the offensive side of the ball as the program adapts to the new philosophy. But there is no reason the defense under Fickell and Tressel shouldn’t drive this team to wins early in the season.
The college football staff at ESPN agrees. It has Wisconsin as the No. 10 defense in the country entering this season:
Four of Wisconsin’s top five tacklers from 2022 return, as do 73% of last season’s total tackles. The center of the Badgers’ defense should be strong with the return of linebackers Maema Njongmeta and Jordan Turner, the team’s leading tacklers in 2022. Njongmeta had 95 tackles, 12.5 TFLs, 3.5 sacks and an interception.
The Badgers are one of four Big Ten schools on the list, ranked behind Iowa at No. 6, Penn State at No. 4 and Michigan at No. 2.
While Wisconsin has been known for its defense for as long as I’ve been alive, few national talking points this fall will focus on that side of the ball. Given the track records of Fickell and Tressell and all of the returning talent, it should be the strength of the team yet again this year.
