The Wisconsin Badgers closed out their 2018 season with a blowout win over Miami on Dec. 27, handing the Hurricanes a 35-3 loss in the Pinstripe Bowl.

Now BadgerBlitz.com will take a look back at the season that was, breaking down the bright spots and low points at each position, with an eye on the future as well.

Redshirt freshman tight end Jake Ferguson established himself as Wisconsin's new go-to receiving tight end early in the 2018 season after impressive performances during spring and fall camp, and he set a personal record for receiving yards in a game with 62 yards on three catches (including one touchdown) during Wisconsin's game against Illinois. Ferguson finished the year with 36 catches (second on the team) for 456 yards with four touchdowns - very close to Troy Fumagalli's performance the year before (46 catches, 547 yards, four touchdowns). Expect big things from Ferguson as he looks to build on his first year in 2019.

Senior tight end Zander Neuville did his best to get back on the field and help the Badgers as their No. 1 in-line tight end after he missed the final part of Wisconsin's 2017 season with a torn ACL, but ultimately Neuville played in just three games with one reception before another knee injury forced him to call it a career with the Badgers. Neuville's strength as a run-blocker was definitely missed this year - and the versatility he brought to the table at tight end was hard to replace as well. If he can get healthy he should take a stab at the NFL - his run blocking was something to watch when he was on the field for UW.

-- Redshirt sophomore Luke Benzschawel finished the 2018 season without an official reception (the touchdown pass he caught in Wisconsin's Pinstripe Bowl win was wiped out by a penalty) but the Badgers should feel pretty good about his ability to take over as the team's new in-line tight end after he posted several strong grades from Pro Football Focus this year. A leg injury limited him early in the year, but he finished with an overall grade of 74.3 - good enough to be a regular starter. He received PFF grades of at least 69.9 in four of Wisconsin's final five games, and seems primed for a larger role in 2019.

Barring a shake up on the depth chart, Ferguson should remain the team's primary receiving tight end and Benzschawel looks ready to claim the in-line spot. I will be curious to see what Kyle Penniston does as he prepares for his senior season - he played a lot of snaps in 2018 but wasn't targeted very often in the passing game, and seemed to be caught between roles as he was asked to fill in for Neuville after his injury. Penniston is a talented receiving tight end in his own right, but we'll have to see how many reps the Badgers have to spread around at the position in 2019.

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John Veldhuis covers Wisconsin football, basketball and recruiting for BadgerBlitz.com on the Rivals.com network. Follow him on Twitter at @JohnVeldhuis.