Here is a look at 10 football players who could play key roles as Wisconsin tries to win the Big Ten West Division
OFFENSE
Graham Mertz, quarterback
Fair or not, Mertz’s play will be dissected and scrutinized from Wisconsin’s opening offensive series this season.
The redshirt junior quarterback has 21 starts on his UW résumé but too often his play has been inefficient. His completion percentage is .616 and he has almost as many interceptions (15) as touchdown passes (19). He averaged one interception every 38.6 attempts in 2020 but that number was worse last season at one every 26.9 attempts. Mertz must make better decisions, avoid forcing the ball into tight coverage and take check-downs when they are available.
“I want Graham to play with great confidence and consistency and understand that he is doing his part when he can make all those around him better,” UW coach Paul Chryst said. “That is going to involve a lot of different things.
“There’s going to be times when it is squarely on him and he’s got to be able to do it throwing or putting us in the right play. There’s going to be times when it’s not as direct – getting us out of a bad play or minimizing something. Really want him to trust in himself and go play and play with consistency and understand that we’ve got a lot of faith in him.”
Mertz opened the 2022 season impressively. He completed 14 of 16 attempts (87.5%) for 219 yards and a touchdown in UW's 38-0 victory over Illinois State.
Braelon Allen, running back
Big Ten defenders learned last season that Allen, a 17-year-old freshman at the time, was a budding star. He was a newbie at tailback but his combination of size, strength, quickness and balance allowed him to average 6.8 yards per carry and finish with 1,268 yards and 12 touchdowns.
Expectations outside the UW locker room will be greater this season for Allen, who should be a Doak Walker candidate (best running back in the nation). Allen has the mental makeup to handle any additional pressure and increased attention from defenses. He is mature and focused and, barring injury, should be better this season than he was in 2021.
Like his quarterback, Allen was impressive in the opener. He set a program record for longest touchdown run with a 96-yard score and finished with 148 yards on 14 carries.
Skyler Bell, wide receiver
Junior Chimere Dike is the team’s most experienced wide receiver but Bell is part of a group of talented youngsters who will have to develop quickly.
Bell played in one game last season, the Las Vegas Bowl. He had one catch for 15 yards in the victory over Arizona State but had a solid spring and consistently made big catches in camp. The 6-foot, 190-pound Bell is strong, tough, can make contested catches and does not lack confidence.
He was targeted twice in the opener and had two catches for 21 yards.
Jack Nelson, offensive lineman
After starting all 13 games at right guard last season, the redshirt sophomore slides over to left tackle to protect Mertz’s backside. At 6-7 and 310, Nelson appears to have the ideal frame to play tackle.
New offensive line coach Bob Bostad believes Nelson is better suited to play tackle than guard and Nelson said during camp he feels more comfortable on the edge than he did on the interior.
Clay Cundiff, tight end
With Jake Ferguson in the NFL, UW will need a pass-catching threat at tight end. Cundiff appears to be the most intriguing prospect.
He missed UW’s final five games last season after suffering a gruesome leg injury Oct. 30 against Iowa. He finished with only three catches in the five games he played but his average of 28.7 yards per catch was impressive.
Cundiff showed the ability to get open on vertical routes and he appears fully recovered from the injury. He gives Mertz another dependable target, as he showed in the opener with two catches for 23 yards.
DEFENSE
Keeanu Benton, defensive lineman
The senior defensive lineman is arguably the most indispensable member of the defense, a player UW can’t afford to lose to injury. Why? Benton can play over the center in a 3-4-4 look or between the center and guard in a 2-4-5 look.
Ignore Benton’s tackle total (25) because the number is misleading. Benton can eat up blocks to free the inside linebackers to attack runners and can do the same to help outside linebackers get pressure on the quarterback. UW does not have a player capable of replacing Benton and matching his level of execution.
Nick Herbig, linebacker
UW fans got a taste in 2020 of the type of player Herbig could become. He started all seven games at outside linebacker as a freshman and showed promise as a pass-rusher off the edge.
Herbig was more consistent as a sophomore last season when he led the team in sacks (nine) and finished second in tackles for loss (14½). He averaged 0.69 sacks per game after recording just one sack in 2020 and improved his tackles-per-game average to 4.9 from 3.7 as a freshman. Herbig leads a deep group of outside linebackers and is determined to make more big plays in 2022.
His play in the opener was encouraging. Herbig had two sacks, for 15 yards in losses, and four total tackles.
John Torchio, safety
With sophomore safety Hunter Wohler expected to be sidelined several weeks because of a left-leg injury suffered in the opener, Torchio's presence becomes more important.
Torchio has five starts and 27 games played, by far the most experience of the safeties. He returned an interception 100 yards for a touchdown in the opener and added a sack and three tackles.
Leonhard likely will use both Utah transfer Kamo'i Latu and Preston Zachman to fill in for Wohler. Both played well in the opener but neither one is as advanced or as versatile as Wohler, a graduate of Muskego High School.
"I think that it’s close enough that they’re both going to play," Leonhard said of Latu and Zachman. "They’re both going to have their roles and split that job a little bit."
Jordan Turner, linebacker
UW's inside linebackers might make up the youngest unit on the defense.
Turner a 6-1, 225-pound redshirt sophomore, made his first college start in the opener, alongside Maema Njongmeta.
Turner has the strength and attitude to be a run-stuffer but in limited work last season (24 snaps) recorded two interceptions. He recorded a sack and four tackles in the opener and should be on the field frequently in 2022.
Alexander Smith, defensive back
The Badgers signed three transfer cornerbacks in the offseason: Jay Shaw of UCLA, Justin Clark of Toledo and Cedrick Dort of Kentucky. All three should see playing time.
Clark and Smith, a fifth-year senior who was a key reserve last season, sat out the opener because of nagging hamstring injuries.
According to cornerbacks coach Hank Poteat, Smith can play anywhere in the secondary. The hopes is that once he is healthy he can be a constant in the back end and could play multiple positions.
"We know what he’s done," Leonhard said. "He’s played a lot of ball for us. He had a tremendous spring and summer and the biggest thing is when he comes back no setbacks. We’re trying to be smart with him."
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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Wisconsin players to watch: Graham Mertz, Braelon Allen, Keeanu Benton
