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Wisconsin football: Three takeaways from fall camp for the defense

Three storylines that emerged from fall camp on the Wisconsin Badgers defense.

Matt Belz

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The Wisconsin Badgers defense is reloading after losing the majority of the starters from their top-ranked defense last season. While no longer having talented playmakers like Leo Chenal, Jack Sanborn, Faion Hicks, and others is not ideal, it does open the door for some of Wisconsin's young players to step up in 2022. 

After taking part in a critical fall camp this August, the Wisconsin football team is now just over a week away from their first game on September 3 against Illinois State. Local reporters had the chance to see four full practices over the past three weeks, and there were plenty of takeaways from the action.

Here are three takeaways from fall camp for the offense:

Contents

  1. Inside linebacker rotation still up in the air
  2. Defensive line and outside linebacker are stacked
  3. Health of secondary will be important to watch

Inside linebacker rotation still up in the air

One of the more interesting position battles in fall camp was at inside linebacker. The Badgers entered August with a new position coach and multiple quality candidates pushing to replace Leo Chenal and Jack Sanborn.

After all four practices available to media members, I still think there is uncertainty about which two players will get the first snaps against Illinois State.

Wisconsin rotated five different candidates with the first-team defense throughout camp, which continued this past Sunday.

The five players who earned first-team reps were:

  • Tate Grass
  • Maema Njongmeta
  • Jordan Turner
  • Jake Chaney
  • Bryan Sanborn

Media members saw the Badgers utilize several different combinations in practice, and I would not be shocked to see the team rotate players regularly in the season opener to help further inform a final decision.

Grass and Njongmeta are the most experienced players, while Turner and Chaney might possess the highest ceilings based on their athletic ability and speed. Redshirt freshman Bryan Sanborn joined the race later in fall camp and has also emerged as a viable option after flashing in multiple practices.

At this point, I think the inside linebackers are solid. Inside linebacker is not position group where the team does not feel comfortable with who they have in the room, rather all of the players have played relatively even. We will see if this past week helped bring clarity to the position, but I think there is a good chance that the Badgers have an OR designation on their initial depth chart at each position and play four or five players on September 3. 

Defensive line and outside linebacker are stacked

The defensive line and outside linebacker rooms are probably the best position rooms on the defense.

Defensive line coach Ross Kolodziej has done a phenomenal job of building depth along the d-line, and the Badgers enter the season with two or three deep at each position up front. Nose tackle Keeanu Benton is in the best shape of his life and is one of the team's top leaders, while defensive end Isaiah Mullens is one of the strongest and most consistent players on the defense.

However, the emergence of Rodas Johnson at the other defensive end spot and the strong play of James Thompson Jr. in camp give the Badgers a deep and talented collection of defensive ends to rely on. With younger players like Cade McDonald and Gio Paez also standing out and the prospect of having Isaac Townsend back soon, the defensive line should help keep the Wisconsin front seven great against the run.

At outside linebacker, the group is arguably the best collection of talent on the entire roster. Wisconsin has four or five starter quality players off the edge, and Nick Herbig is one of the top edge rushers in the entire country.

Outside linebackers coach Bobby April will also likely deploy a rotation this season given the level of depth at the position, which should allow Herbig and C.J. Goetz, the two likely starters, to stay fresh.

I think the Badgers will also use the different skill sets that players bring to their advantage, and I would not be surprised to see Goetz and redshirt freshman Darryl Peterson used situationally. Goetz is better against the run, while Peterson brings quickness and twitchiness of the edge as a pass rusher that is probably only surpassed by Herbig.

Kaden Johnson will back up Herbig on the field side of the defense, and T.J. Bollers is another young player that has made the most of more opportunities this year.

The strength of the defense is clearly up front for Wisconsin in my opinion. The talent on the defensive line and outside linebacker should help alleviate the question marks at inside linebacker and allow the defense to maintain the high standard that Jim Leonhard has established in Madison. 

Health of secondary will be important to watch

While the depth in the front seven is great, the secondary has been battling some injuries in fall camp.

Assistant coaches Jim Leonhard and Hank Poteat have added a lot of players to the safety room to help make up for the loss of senior Travian Blaylock, who will likely miss the year with a knee injury.

Hunter Wohler and John Torchio are the unquestioned starters at safety, and Utah transfer Kamo'i Latu is probably the No. 3 option for Jim Leonhard based on snaps and ability level. However, after those three, there is a rather steep drop-off. Preston Zachman has stepped up and earned reps with the second-team defense, same with Titus Toler, who was away from football for nearly two years.

An injury to Wohler or Torchio would be a big hit to the defense, as both players have looked really good in fall camp.

At cornerback, Wisconsin has had to play without two of their top four cornerbacks throughout camp. Senior Alexander Smith has been dealing with a hamstring injury, while Toledo transfer Justin Clark has been unavailable with an undisclosed injury of his own. Hank Poteat believes Smith is the team's No. 1 cornerback, and Clark was the team's top nickel corner in the spring. The hope is that both players will be back for the opener, but that is not a given.

With those two key contributors out, UCLA transfer Jay Shaw and redshirt freshman Ricardo Hallman have taken the No. 1 reps and played well. However, the depth behind them is not as prominent with Max Lofy, another slot defender, out with an injury at times in camp.

The Wisconsin staff has been reluctant to rush Smith back with the hamstring injury because he is a proven commodity. However, depth at the cornerback spot is still something to watch if injuries to Smith and Clark persist into the season.

Walk-on Amaun Williams was the primary nickel corner on Sunday and looked good, but the defense has a much higher ceiling when healthy at cornerback.

If healthy, the secondary could be just as good as a year ago. However, the injury status of the group heading into next week will be worth monitoring. 

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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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