All Badgers

Wisconsin football: Fall practice recap (August 8)

A report from Monday's Wisconsin football practice inside Camp Randall Stadium.

Matt Belz

In this story:

After a week of practices unavailable to media members, Monday's practice inside Camp Randall was the first 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 nearly two hours, 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 practice. 

Contents

  1. Status report
  2. Special Teams
  3. First-team offense
  4. First-team defense
  5. 7-on-7 notable plays
  6. Red zone skelly
  7. Team red zone
  8. Additional observations

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)
  • Safety Travian Blaylock (right knee)

Not practicing today:

  • CB Alexander Smith
  • CB Max Lofy
  • DE Isaac Townsend
  • TE Jack Pugh
  • ILB Bryan Sanborn
  • CB A'Khoury Lyde
  • ILB Jake Ratzlaff
  • Safety Deven Magli
  • Fullback Zach Gloudeman

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

Special Teams

  • Great punt inside the five by Andy Vujnovich, downed by Dean Engram as a gunner. Markus Allen was the gunner on the other side of the field with the first punt unit. 
  • Dean Engram and Vinny Anthony fielded most punts, though Chimere Dike also caught one. Engram received the first opportunity. 
  • Nate Van Zelst earned all of the reps for field goals and made both of his attempts inside 35 yards. Van Zelst then connected on a pair of field goals around 40 yards in length, before missing a 45-yard try wide right. Vito Calvaruso was limited and did not kick during practice. 

First-team offense

As expected Graham Mertz handled all of the first-team reps at quarterback, while Braelon Allen and Chez Mellusi worked as the top-two running backs. 

At wide receiver, Chimere Dike and Skyler Bell represented the primary receivers, while the Badgers also rotated Markus Allen, Dean Engram, and Keontez Lewis in with the first group. 

At tight end, Clay Cundiff was the first player up, with Jack Eschenbach also receiving reps with the ones. 

On the offensive line, the first team unit was as follows (left to right):

Jack Nelson - Tyler Beach - Joe Tippmann - Michael Furtney - Logan Brown

  • Chase Wolf worked as the No. 2 quarterback, while Deacon Hill received third-team reps. In general, Graham Mertz threw the ball well and was willing to check the ball down, an area of his game that has definitely improved. 
  • The second-team offensive line starred Nolan Rucci at left tackle, Dylan Barrett at left guard, Tanor Bortolini at center, Trey Wedig at right guard, and Riley Mahlman at right tackle. JP Benzschawel also saw reps at left guard with the second team. 
  • While Riley Mahlman worked only with the second-team today, he has received first-team opportunities at right tackle in previous practices. 
  • Brady Schipper and Isaac Guerendo were both involved and received carries, as did Julius Davis at running back. 

First-team defense

Along the defensive line, Isaiah Mullens, Keeanu Benton, and Rodas Johnson were the starting group. Behind them, Jordan Turner and Jake Chaney took the first reps at inside linebacker, though Maema Njongmeta and Tate Grass also saw time as a pairing. 

Nick Herbig and C.J. Goetz were the starting outside linebackers, with Hunter Wohler and John Torchio at safety. 

At cornerback, Justin Clark and Jay Shaw were the top-2 in the base defense. Ricardo Hallman and Cedrick Dort also earned reps when the team went to nickel with Alexander Smith and Max Lofy both unavailable. 

In terms of the second-team defense, Preston Zachman and Kamo'i Latu were the No. 2 safety pairing, while the Badgers shuffled several different combinations along the defensive line. 

Head coach Paul Chryst mentioned that new inside linebackers coach Mark D'Onofrio is still rotating players at inside linebacker, nothing finalized yet in terms of starters. 

7-on-7 notable plays

  • Graham Mertz check-down to Braelon Allen in the right flat. 
  • Great contested grab by Skyler Bell on a comeback route with good coverage by Ricardo Hallman. Mertz with an on-the-mark throw.  
  • Deep out route from Mertz to Keontez Lewis was caught, but out of bounds. 
  • Miscommunication between Mertz and Markus Allen, as Allen misread the situation, throw incomplete. Allen would respond with a nice leaping catch from Wolf a handful of plays later. 
  • Chase Wolf with a slant route to Jordan Dibenedetto for a big gain. 
  • Chase Wolf with a hitch route to Dean Engram. 
  • Keontez Lewis with a nice catch over the middle on a ball thrown behind him by Wolf.
  • Checkdown throw from Hill to Mike Gregoire. 
  • Big catch by Tommy Mcintosh in tight coverage by Semar Melvin. The freshman was on the receiving end of a high throw from Deacon Hill, but used his length to haul it in. 
  • Hill also completed a third pass in a row to Haakon Anderson.

Red zone skelly

  • Back-to-back short throws to Jack Eschenbach from Graham Mertz. 
  • Touchdown throw of 10+ yards from Mertz to Skyler Bell, who was draped in coverage by Semar Melvin in the back of the end zone. Impressive throw and catch in a tight window. 
  • Tate Grass knocked down a pass from Mertz intended for Clay Cundiff just inside the end zone. 
  • Chase Wolf to with a nice toss to Clay Cundiff on a crossing route, working against Jordan Turner. 
  • Chase Wolf with a touchdown throw to Keontez Lewis on a drag route in the middle of the end zone with the second team. 
  • Short touchdown throw from Wolf to Dean Engram, who beat Titus Toler on a quick route.
  • Amaun Williams with a pass break up in the back of the end zone, the pass toss from Wolf was intended for Haakon Anderson, but was thrown high.  
  • Deacon Hill with a first down throw to Haakon Anderson on an out-breaking route. 
  • Hill was intercepted by Preston Zachman on a scrambling throw. Hill would have likely been sacked. 

Team red zone

First team offense

  • A short run by Braelon Allen through a crease on the right side of the line.
  • Nick Herbig with a tremendous tackle, hog tying Braelon Allen on an outside run to the left side of the field
  • Keeanu Benton single-handedly collapsed the right side of the line, forcing Graham Mertz to check the ball down on the right sideline the running back out of the backfield. 
  • Good gain up the middle by Chez Mellusi, brought down by Tate Grass. 
  • Wobbly throw from Mertzto the back of the end zone for Jack Eschenbach, who was unable to bring it down for a touchdown off play action. 
  • An incomplete pass intended for Clay Cundiff in the red zone. 

Second-team offense 

  • Kaden Johnson and CJ Goetz both bring pressure on Chase Wolf, who overshoots Keontez Lewis on the right sideline.
  • Good gain up the middle by Isaac Guerendo, following right behind a pulling Dylan Barrett. 
  • Jake Chaney in Chase Wolf's face forces him to throw the ball away. Chaney knifed through the middle of the second-team offensive line.
  • Amaun Williams almost with an interception on a poor throw from Wolf behind the receiver. 

Additional observations

  • Former Wisconsin linebacker Jack Cichy was working with the tight ends, supporting Chris Haering as an additional assistant.
  • Former UW running back Rachid Ibrahim was helping with the running backs and Al Johnson as an additional assistant. 
  • Former Wisconsin safety Michael Caputo was with the outside linebackers and coach Bobby April. 
  • Though listed as a fullback, former walk-on Garrison Solliday also saw some time at inside linebacker with the third team defense.  
  • Vinny Anthony, Austin Brown, and Tommy McIntosh were three freshmen I noticed receive team reps at times, each primarily working with the third team units. 

Related links:

You can keep up to date on everything at All Badgers by liking + following our Facebook page and Twitter account:

Facebook - @AllBadgersSI
Twitter - @SI_AllBadgers

You can also follow Site Publisher Matt Belz at @savedbythebelz on Twitter.

Published
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.

Home/Football