Where Phil Steele ranks each of Wisconsin’s position groups entering the 2023 season
No college football offseason is complete without a skim or thorough read, depending on your preference, of Phil Steele’s College Football Preview.
I could take a million angles from the magazine to preview Wisconsin’s season. But Steele always does a tremendous job with in-depth previews of where each roster stands entering the season.
The Big Ten has seen substantial change this offseason. New coaches are at Wisconsin, Nebraska, Purdue and Northwestern, and top programs, including Ohio State and Penn State, have new young quarterbacks.
What isn’t changed? The Big Ten East and West exist for one final season before USC and UCLA join the conference in 2024. That, and Wisconsin has a terrific running back room.
Here is how Phil Steele ranked every Wisconsin position group entering the season, compared to both the Big Ten and the rest of the country:
Quarterback
Overall: No. 35
Big Ten: No. 3
Ranked behind Maryland (Taulia Tagovailoa) and Michigan (J.J. McCarthy).
Running Back
Overall: No. 5
Big Ten: No. 4
Ranked behind Michigan (Blake Corum, Donovan Edwards), Ohio State (TreVeyon Henderson, Miyan Williams) and Penn State (Nick Singleton, Kaytron Allen).
Receivers
Overall: No. 36
Big Ten: No. 5
Ranked behind Ohio State, Maryland, Minnesota and Penn State.
Offensive Line
Overall: No. 18
Big Ten: No. 4
Ranked behind Michigan, Ohio State and Penn State.
Defensive Line
Overall: No. 31
Big Ten: No. 6
Ranked behind Penn State, Ohio State, Iowa, Michigan and Illinois.
Linebackers
Overall: No. 6
Big Ten: No. 3
Ranked behind Penn State and Michigan.
Defensive Backs
Overall: No. 27
Big Ten: No. 6
Ranked behind Penn State, Iowa, Michigan, Ohio State and Maryland.
Special Teams
Overall: No. 25
Big Ten: No. 2
Ranked behind Iowa.
