Wisconsin football: Reasons for hope and concern as the Badgers finish spring practice
MADISON – Wisconsin held its 15th and final practice of the spring Thursday on the grass field north of Camp Randall Stadium.
The session included dozens of live scrimmage plays and ended with an emphasis on special teams.
Head coach Luke Fickell, preparing for his second full season at UW, met with reporters afterward.
“It’s always good to end well,” said Fickell, whose team went through more than 150 plays of live action during a scrimmage Saturday. “In these situations, you can’t fear getting hurt. I think we proved that this spring.
“We know that in order for us to be in a place to play for a championship, to get to that mindset of making a playoff, this is what we have to do on a daily basis. We’ve got to push. We have to have energy and ultimately we’ve got to continue to raise the level of the things that we do.
“I feel good about where we are. It was a very competitive spring. I think we got a lot better in a lot of different ways, solidified some stability in (certain) groups and created some competitions that will bode well for us in the fall.”
UW, which finished 5-4 in the Big Ten and 7-6 last season, is set to open the 2024 season Aug. 31 against visiting Western Michigan.
Following are reasons fans should be encouraged or concerned based on the team’s development so far.
REASONS FOR OPTIMISM
Led by Chez Mellusi and Tawee Walker, the running back room is deeper and more diverse than last season
UW entered the 2024 season with two experienced tailbacks – Braelon Allen and Chez Mellusi – after the staff chose not to replace Issac Guerendo, who transferred to Louisville.
When Mellusi suffered season-ending leg/ankle injuries in the Big Ten opener at Purdue, the team’s depth was gone.
Then Allen suffered an ankle injury in the first half against Ohio State on Oct. 28. He missed the second half of that game, was held out at Indiana and was limited to three carries against Northwestern. The Badgers had to rely heavily on Jackson Acker and Cade Yacamelli and lost all three of those games.
UW closed the spring with Mellusi and Oklahoma transfer Tawee Walker as the top two backs, followed by Yacamelli, Acker, Gideon Ituka, one of three freshmen who signed in December, and Nate White a redshirt freshman from Milwaukee King. Dilin Jones and Darrion Dupree are set to join the team before camp.
Mellusi was comfortable and productive in Phil Longo’s system before suffering the injury at Purdue. Walker, who played in a similar system at Oklahoma, is a powerful runner who catches the ball effortlessly.
To Walker’s credit, he has fit seamlessly into the locker room and the offense.
"We haven’t noticed the transition as much as the production," Longo said of Walker. "There really was never a learning curve with him. He just came in and it seems like he has been here the whole time and he fits in with the guys in the locker room."
The coaches believe all three freshmen can contribute, and Acker and Yacamelli gained valuable experience last season.
Can transfers Leon Lowery Jr., John Pius and others boost the Badgers' pass rush?
Defensive coordinator Mike Tressel and outside linebackers coach Matt Mitchell acknowledged the inability to consistently harass opposing quarterbacks was a problem last season.
Transfers Leon Lowery Jr. (Syracuse) and John Pius (William & Mary) have the size, length and overall athletic ability to help improve the depth among the outside linebackers and make plays in the backfield.
With Darryl Peterson and Aaron Witt also in the fold, Mitchell should have four options to use each week to make plays off the edge and keep the unit fresh.
Arkansas transfer Jaheim Thomas is part of a significant rebuild at inside linebacker
Two familiar faces were paired together at inside linebacker on the No. 1 unit for most of the spring – veteran Jake Chaney and Christian Alliegro. Alliegro, 6-4 and 240, moves exceptionally well and several times this spring tipped balls after dropping into coverage.
Arkansas transfer Jaheim Thomas, who finished No. 6 in the Southeastern Conference in total tackles (90) last season, should push for a starting position. Even if Thomas doesn’t start, he will get plenty of work because he is capable of making plays between the tackles or coming off the edge in obvious passing situations.
UW brought in two other transfers at inside linebacker – Sebastian Cheeks from North Carolina and Tackett Curtis from USC.
Cheeks rotated between the third and second units in the spring. Curtis was held out of team drills while recovering from off-season surgery but is expected to be ready for camp.
The staff believes the transfers, as well as Alliegro, will offer increased speed and range than UW had at that position last season.
REASONS FOR CONCERN
Injuries along the No. 1 offensive line could be devastating
UW’s No. 1 offensive line during the spring featured Jack Nelson at left tackle, Joe Brunner at left guard, Jake Renfro at center, Joe Huber at right guard and Riley Mahlman at right tackle.
Beyond that quintet, however, spring revealed zero players with significant college experience.
The sixth lineman was guard JP Benzschawel, a redshirt junior who has played mostly on special teams but has 15 games on his résumé.
New offensive line coach AJ Blazek evaluated several combinations in an effort to manufacture depth.
Huber got work at guard, center and right tackle. Brunner got work at left tackle.
By the end of spring, the No. 2 unit featured two freshmen who enrolled early – Kevin Heywood at left tackle and Colin Cubberly at right tackle.
An injury to Renfro or one of the starting tackles probably would force Blazek to use the versatile Huber to plug the hole and then move up a reserve guard.
What led to this situation?
UW saw five linemen leave after last season. Center Tanor Bortolini turned pro; guard Michael Furtney exhausted his eligibility; guard/tackle Trey Wedig transferred to Indiana; guard/center Dylan Barrett transferred to Iowa State; and tackle Nolan Rucci transferred to Penn State.
The staff initially didn’t bring in any transfers and instead chose to rely on five freshmen signees. Derek Jensen, Emerson Mandell and Ryan Cory are set to join the program this summer.
UW is adding two transfers – Leyton Nelson from Vanderbilt and Joey Okla from Illinois.
Both players could vie for a spot in the two-deep in camp.
Considering the lack of experienced depth, it will be interesting to see how quickly Jensen, Mandell and Cory can get up to speed.
Will Tyler Van Dyke or Braedyn Locke open the season as the No. 1 quarterback?
Quarterbacks Tyler Van Dyke and Braedyn Locke split time with the No.1 offense throughout the spring.
Van Dyke has the edge in overall experience because of his 28 starts at Miami before transferring to UW.
Locke, who started three games last season, is more familiar with Longo’s offense.
Neither player was able to take control of the battle during the spring, though Van Dyke appeared to grow more comfortable and cut down on his errant throws in the final few practices.
Both Longo and Fickell insist they are comfortable to see the battle spill over into preseason camp.
The competition makes everybody better," Fickell said. "And I think the uniqueness of those guys legitimately competing with each other does a lot for that entire room."
Both quarterbacks are capable but it will be interesting to see if either player can perform as well as Tanner Mordecai did at times in 2023.
Does the defensive line have enough playmakers to complement the linebackers?
UW’s top three defensive linemen in the spring were end James Thompson Jr., a fifth-year senior; tackle Curt Neal, a redshirt sophomore; and Ben Barten, a fifth-year senior.
Thompson was the most disruptive lineman on the team last season, with three sacks, 5½ tackles for loss and 29 total tackles. Neal and Barten, both reserves last season, had a combined 26 tackles last season.
UW added Elijah Hills (Albany) via the transfer portal and the senior showed quickness off the snap and made plays against the No. 2 line. But can Hills, listed at 6-3 and 287, hold up against Big Ten linemen?
Former linebacker T.J. Bollers was trying to earn a spot in the rotation at end but decided last month to transfer.
Redshirt freshman tackle Jamel Howard Jr. and freshman end Ernest Willor Jr. worked with the No. 3 unit.
Line coach E.J. Whitlow said Willor and Howard made progress during the spring but will either player be ready to contribute in the fall? Will freshmen Dillan Johnson or Hank Weber, set to join the program in the summer, be ready to play immediately?
Two transfer linemen visited UW this spring – C.J. West of Kent State and Jav’viar Suggs of Grand Valley State.
Neither player has selected his new school.
The defense is designed for the linebackers – both outside and inside – to make plays. But the linemen need to at least occupy blockers and draw some double-teams.
Whether UW has the linemen to do that remains to be seen.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Luke Fickell's second Wisconsin team has plenty of room for growth
