Wisconsin ended its 2021 season on a winning note by clinging to a 20-13 win over Arizona State in the Las Vegas Bowl on Dec. 30. After a brief break, UW will kick up winter conditioning as it begins its early preparation for the 2022 campaign.

Over the next two weeks, BadgerBlitz.com will review each position before turning the page from the 2021 season. Saturday will bring a look at the offensive line, where an apparent rocky start turned around for those Wisconsin players "in the trenches."

RELATED: Quarterbacks | Running Backs/Fullbacks | Wide Receivers | Tight Ends |

Key reserves for Wisconsin offensive line: Tanor Bortolini (started three games right tackle for Bruss, also started at left guard at Rutgers), Cormac Sampson (started at center in Las Vegas Bowl); Michael Furtney (started at left guard against Iowa).

Wisconsin's line started off shaky, allowing 10 sacks in the first four contests. However, the line rebounded to allow only seven in the final nine contests. That is quite the improvement for the group and, overall, it held nine opponents to one or fewer sacks.

The run game, in particular, stands out. Wisconsin finished in the top 25 for rushing offense this year, averaging 210.9 yards per contest. It ran for 252 or more yards six times in 2021 - 300 or more yards during three outings. Unsurprisingly, UW won all of those games.

Wisconsin ran for 1,870 total rushing yards during its seven-game winning streak. The line also helped true freshmen Braelon Allen develop into a second-team All-Big Ten back. He rushed for 1,268 yards on 6.8 yards per carry with 12 rushing touchdowns. Chez Mellusi also ran for 815 yards on 4.7 yards per attempt with five touchdowns before a leg injury at Rutgers cut short his 2021 season.

UW saw an All-American be crowned within the group with former walk-on Josh Seltzner, drawing a third-team nod by the Associated Press. The fifth-year senior also claimed first-team All-Big Ten honors by the coaches. Starting right tackle Logan Bruss received consensus second-team all-conference accolades.

Left tackle Tyler Beach claimed a third-team selection by the coaches and honorable mention by the media. Interior linemen Joe Tippmann and Jack Nelson received honorable mention by (both coaches and media).

Against Power Five programs Penn State, Notre Dame and Michigan through the first third of the regular season, Wisconsin allowed nine sacks. Six came from the Wolverines in a 38-17 loss on Barry Alvarez Day.

Pro Football Focus credited UW with allowing 46 total pressures in those first three losses of the season. The service also reported the following pressures generated overall by the opponents in those contests -- 16 by the Nittany Lions, 19 by the Fighting Irish, and 30 by the Wolverines. [writer's note: the numbers will not add up, but these were interesting stats to dive into]

The team rushed for under 100 yards three times in 2021 -- Notre Dame (78), Michigan (43) and Minnesota (62). As noted in the running back review, the loss in Minneapolis particularly stung for Wisconsin with the Big Ten West division, a chance to play against Michigan in the conference championship game in Indianapolis and Paul Bunyan's Axe all on the line.

Personnel-wise, Kayden Lyles left the program before the end of the season. He publicly announced his departure on Oct. 25. The former four-star prospect lost out on the battle as No. 1 center to Tippmann, but still played in five games (including one start against Michigan) before moving on. He later tweeted his commitment to Florida State.

The immediate storyline will be who will coach this group starting in the spring with Joe Rudolph's departure to Virginia Tech. The ACC program officially announced the longtime, veteran UW assistant as its run game coordinator and offensive line coach on Jan. 3.

One assistant already on staff, Bob Bostad, boasts successful experience coaching UW's offensive line (2008-11). As of Saturday, however, Wisconsin has not yet named a replacement for Rudolph, and we will see just which direction Paul Chryst takes with the hire.

The other storyline involves the competition at spots on the line with two key departures. Fifth-year seniors Josh Seltzner and Logan Bruss both move on to futures in the NFL, leaving holes at left guard and right tackle, respectively. Tanor Bortolini started three games at the latter position in place of an injured Bruss this season. The redshirt freshman played a total of 329 snaps on the line, according to Pro Football Focus (PFF), grading out at an 87.0.

Seltzner battled the versatile Cormac Sampson for the starting left guard spot in fall camp and won out. Sampson slid inside to be a backup center when Lyles transferred and started against Arizona State in the Las Vegas Bowl in place of an injured Tippmann.

UW then listed Michael Furtney, who will be in his fifth year with the program in 2022, in the No. 2 slots at both left and right guard on the depth chart. He also started at left guard against Iowa in late October. It will be intriguing to see if those two or others step up at this spot.

Beach told reporters in mid-December that he was undecided at that point to return for a sixth year, but the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel's Jeff Potrykus reported earlier this week that the in-state product was coming back for 2022. We have not seen a public confirmation of that from Beach or Wisconsin as of time of publishing.

The tackle position has talent in its youth, and it should be interesting to see how those players develop further during spring and fall camps. Aside from Beach and Bortolini, former four-star prospect Logan Brown will enter his fourth year in the program. Can he challenge for first-team reps on the left side of the line?

Two class of 2021 standouts, five-star recruit Nolan Rucci and four-star prospect Riley Mahlman, just finished their first years in Madison. BadgerBlitz.com chronicled their adjustments to the college game before the end of the season. What strides can these two highly-regarded prospects make in the coming months?

PFF graded Tippmann with an 85.1, the highest among the listed first-team line on Wisconsin's depth chart. Nelson started all 13 games at right guard, and the service gave the second-year Badger a grade of 69.4.

The progressions of Trey Wedig, Dylan Barrett, and J.P. Benzschawel should be intriguing to watch starting with spring practices as well.

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