All Badgers

Wisconsin football: Fall practice recap (August 15)

An overview of all that happened at Wisconsin Badgers football practice on Monday, August 15.

Matt Belz

In this story:

Inching closer to the home opener against Illinois State, Monday's practice on the grass practice field was the third full practice open to the media for Wisconsin Badgers football ahead of the 2022 season.

Working in shoulder pads and shorts, the Badgers practiced for around an hour and a half, with a nice mixture of individual, special teams, skelly, and team time.

Here is a look at some of the major news and notes from Monday's practice.

Status report

Out for camp:

  • OLB Aaron Witt (right leg)
  • ILB Spencer Lytle (still rehabbing from spring)
  • WR Cam Fane (broken finger in right hand)
  • OL Travis Alvin (head injury)
  • TE Cam Large (right knee)
  • S Travian Blaylock (right knee)
  • DE Mike Jarvis (leg injury)

Not practicing today:

  • RB Braelon Allen (seen getting stretched out prior to practice)
  • WR Jordan Dibenetto (right hand injury)
  • K Vito Calvaruso
  • DE Isaac Townsend
  • TE Jack Pugh
  • CB Max Lofy
  • CB Justin Clark
  • CB Alexander Smith (hamstring)
  • CB A'Khoury Lyde
  • ILB Jake Ratzlaff
  • S Deven Magli
  • S Jackson Trudgeon
  • FB Zach Gloudeman
  • WR Chris Brooks Jr. 
  • DE Gabe Kirschke
  • CB Lee Hutton
  • OLB Marty Strey

* Starting safety John Torchio was still in a yellow no-contact jersey today

Scuffles

Midway through fall camp, practice got a bit chippy on Monday. Darryl Peterson and Jack Nelson got into a scuffle and had to be broken up by teammates. The two had been working against one another in full 11-on-11 drills. 

Bryan Sanborn also went past the whistle while tackling Isaac Guerendo later in the scrimmage, which resulted in an exchange between the two players and Guerendo throwing the ball at Sanborn. A slew of offensive linemen came in Guerendo's defense. 

Neither skirmish was overly worrisome but stemmed from players on each side going hard in practice. 

Top plays

  • Skyler Bell caught a deep ball from Graham Mertz in skelly, working against the first-team defense. He got loose on a double-move with Ricardo Hallman in coverage, and Mertz hit him for the long gain.
  • Nick Herbig beat Jack Nelson with a pretty spin move while pass rushing in an extended skelly situation.
  • Chase Wolf connected on a deep throw to Keontez Lewis in skelly for a huge 45+ yard pass.
  • Hunter Wohler came flying off the edge as a free blitzer for a sack on Mertz.
  • Dean Engram had an impressive leaping catch along the sideline on a throw from Chase Wolf.
  • Fullback Jackson Acker leveled Darryl Peterson on a kick-out block, knocking Peterson to the ground and opening a huge running lane for Chez Mellusi in red zone time.
  • Graham Mertz connected with Markus Allen in the back corner of the end zone for a touchdown reception in the red zone. Allen made an acrobatic adjustment to the ball and got a foot down during team time.
  • Markus Allen and Dean Engram hauled in consecutive touchdowns in the red zone from Chase Wolf during 7-on-7.
  • Cedrick Dort nearly came away with an interception off Chase Wolf in skelly. He reacted to the ball and narrowly missed completing the catch.
  • Jake Chaney supplied pressure up the middle on a screen pass in 11-on-11, resulting in the pass being batted down by Keeanu Benton.
  • Chase Wolf found Dean Engram on a slant route for a touchdown with the second team group.
  • Jordan Turner made a diving pass breakup with the first-team defense against Wolf and the second-team offense. The pass was intended for tight end Jack Eschenbach.
  • Chez Mellusi had a long run that would have gone for a touchdown in 11-on-11 time against the second-team defense. 

Standout performers

  • Rodas Johnson once again had a solid day. The junior defensive end had the first two tackles in team drills, doing a great job of getting off his man and wrapping up Chez Mellusi for no gain. He was in the backfield for a would-be sack of Mertz also.
  • Chase Wolf showed flashes on Monday. The backup quarterback had a deep toss to Keontez Lewis and strung together three-straight first-down throws with the backups. Engram, Lewis, and Vinny Anthony were on the receiving end of the consecutive receptions. He almost threw two interceptions in the red zone portion of practice, but he responded with touchdown throws to Markus Allen and Dean Engram.
  • Markus Allen made several big plays on Monday. He had two touchdown receptions on the day and nearly had another long gain that he could not complete the catch.
  • Dean Engram had many receptions during practice and continues to show that he will be involved in the offense this season. One of his receptions was a diving touchdown grab on a low throw from Wolf in skelly, while another was a slant route he took for a touchdown.
  • Jake Chaney made a couple of nice plays in team time. He showed an ability to read and react quickly, and he filled the hole nicely on multiple run plays in his direction.
  • Chez Mellusi ran the ball well with Braelon Allen unavailable. He ripped off a long touchdown and looked smooth as a runner despite coming off of a knee injury.

Offensive notes

  • After taking all of the first-team reps at right tackle on Saturday, Riley Mahlman took the first-team snaps on Monday as well. Logan Brown did participate in team drills but was on the second-team offensive line. The second team o-line also featured Nolan Rucci at left tackle, Joe Brunner and Dylan Barret at left guard, Tanor Bortolini at center, and Trey Wedig at both positions on the right side of the line. Barrett also took snaps at center with the second unit after Tanor Bortolini left practice with an injury. 
  • Bortolini had a couple of snaps with the first team offense at left guard in place for Tyler Beach. Logan Brown did not finish practice and was seen receiving attention from trainers. 
  • Based on reps, the Badgers seem to have a solidified top-5 at wide receiver with Chimere Dike, Skyler Bell, Markus Allen, Dean Engram, and Keontez Lewis taking most of the first team snaps. 
  • With Braelon Allen unavailable for individual and team drills, Chez Mellusi and Isaac Guerendo took the first team snaps at running back. 

Defensive notes

  • With several cornerbacks out, the top two corners were once again Ricardo Hallman and Jay Shaw with the first-team defense.
  • Maema Njongmeta and Tate Grass opened up the initial team portion with the first-team group. Jordan Turner and Jake Chaney received plenty of first-team reps too, especially later in practice. That competition remains wide-open it appears, as each player has shown flashes at times.
  • Gio Paez continues to take the second-team reps at nose tackle, while James Thompson Jr. and Cade McDonald have been working at defensive end alongside him. Tommy Brunner also made a great tackle for loss in the team portion working with the second team as a defensive end.
  • Darryl Peterson earned first snaps opposite Nick Herbig in team time, while C.J. Goetz rotated in with Peterson with the first-team unit. Peterson was around the ball throughout practice.
  • The Badgers utilized three safeties frequently, with Kamo'i Latu on the field with John Torchio and Hunter Wohler. Those three seem to be the top-3 at the position for now.
  • Defensive end Isaiah Mullens did not participate much in team drills today. 

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Matt Belz
MATT BELZ

Title: Publisher, Beat Writer for AllBadgers.com, a Sports Illustrated Channel Hello, my name is Matt Belz, and I am the site manager at All Badgers. I previously wrote for multiple years at Buckeyes 5th Quarter and have been the leading publisher here since March of 2022.  When I am not covering the Wisconsin Badgers football and men's basketball teams, I enjoy being outside and spending time with family and friends.  You can follow everything I write about on several different platforms. First and foremost on our site...AllBadgers.com You can follow me personally on Twitter at @savedbythebelz or check out our Facebook page at Wisconsin FanNation on Sports Illustrated.

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