2021 Wisconsin Positional Review: Wide Receivers

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. Thursday will bring a look at the wide receivers, a group led by a trio of seniors that will need to be replaced. However, some young talent appear primed to step up.

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Wisconsin's passing game was overall inconsistent throughout the majority of its games. The three-game stretch with Rutgers, Northwestern, Nebraska showed it could become a complementary force to the rushing attack.

In particular, the wins against the Scarlet Knights and Wildcats displayed the most production in the 274 and 229 yards, respectively, gained when facing those two Big Ten programs. In Piscataway, Kendric Pryor and Danny Davis III each accumulated 72 receiving yards in the 52-3 blowout win. Pryor -- who finished with a career-high 32 receptions for 416 yards and three touchdowns in 2021 -- caught four balls on the afternoon. That included a 25-yard touchdown pass to end the first half. All of Davis' yards came on a pitch-and-catch that turned into a 72-yard dash to the end zone in the third quarter.

Then in the Las Vegas Bowl, a glimpse of the future came with true freshmen Markus Allen and Skyler Bell each reeling in a key third down reception. Granted, those were their only catches for the day -- a 31-yard grab by Allen and a 15-yard diving snag by Bell -- but those helped moved the chains.

Davis came close to the mark with an eight-catch, 99-yard performance in the season-opener, but no Badgers receiver went over the 100-yard mark in 2021. Overall, and as noted in our review of the quarterback position, the aerial attack did not meet the expectations of what was on paper -- especially with the returning senior duo of Davis and Pryor that was sorely missing for most of the abbreviated 2020 season.

Many factors as to why the passing game -- which ranked 105th in the FBS in team passing efficiency (120.73) and 120th in passing offense (160.2 yards per game) -- did not take off are not precisely pinned to the wide outs, obviously. The offensive line allowing pressure in the first four games, quarterback play, or other overarching aspects beyond execution are other aspects to examine overall, and just what percentages of blame can be attributed to each is difficult.

The loss at Minnesota saw UW's passing attack, which displayed progress in production the previous three contests, fail to pick up the thwarted ground game. It gained only 171 yards, and missed opportunities stood out, and there were some apparent miscommunication on a couple of snaps.

Personnel-wise, redshirt freshman Devin Chandler entered the transfer portal in October. Though not contributing on offense behind Davis, Pryor, Chimere Dike and sixth-year senior Jack Dunn, his presence could have been seen heading into 2022.

Davis, Dunn and Pryor leave this group, leaving plenty of reps available for the taking. Atop that list is Dike, who showcased his abilities to be a standout receiver during spring and fall camp. When called upon during the season, he displayed the penchant to reel in big-time catches. His back-to-back snaps against Michigan at the end of the first half, a 36-yard reception from quarterback Graham Mertz, following by an impressive 18-yard grab in the end zone brought UW to within a field goal at halftime.

Wisconsin wide receivers coach Alvis Whitted praised Dike during coach availability on the Dec. 15. The assistant believes the rising junior is prepared to be the most experienced player in the group.

"He's been ready since his freshman year," Whitted said. "I have no doubt about his ability to lead and the things that he can do on the field and just how he goes about his daily routine," Whitted said. "How he prepares, how he studies, I think those guys will have no better person to learn from once we start getting back into camp and so on and so forth.

"But I love that kid like he was my son, and he's the standard right now. So he practices the way he plays. Those are the things that I think the other guys will see, and Markus [Allen] has seen that and excited about the direction that he's going and trending."

The question then lies who steps up alongside him with Chandler now off to play for Virginia. Allen is perhaps the name to watch as an emerging player on offense for next season. Many players spoke highly about him when asked who stood out early on during bowl prep practices, albeit it in a short sample size. BadgerBlitz.com also chronicled his first season in December, his frustration and how he overcame that.

Allen flashed his potential in mop up time against Rutgers and received meaningful reps in the Las Vegas Bowl a week ago.

Whitted called out Allen's size and play strength, along with having "some twitch" on his 215-pound frame.

“He's starting to run well," Whitted said. "He's starting to open up his strides when he's running his routes, he's being aggressive at the top of his routes. His play strength is showing up, his ball skills are showing up. He can go make contested catches, and I think he's getting confident. I think he's starting to come into his own as far as understanding and knowing the offense, and really just using his abilities to his advantage. Excited about him and he's going to help elevate the room in that regard."

"Chimere Dike is in the same mold. I can depend on him, and he's a competitive guy that loves ball and wants to win. Just those two in general are what you want to have to start your room to help bring those other young guys along.”

Bell is another name to watch for in this room. Whitted noted in mid-December that the true freshman missed some time this season, and Allen stated a day later that his fellow first-year Badger suffered a hamstring injury.

The Bronx, N.Y., native made an impact with his diving catch against the Sun Devils to move the chains in the Las Vegas Bowl, and spring practices will be huge for his development and progression within UW's offense.

Stephan Bracey Jr. made his return to the field later in the season after a quad injury, primarily impacting the program as a kickoff returner. Can he stay healthy on the field and find a way to contribute on offense?

A.J. Abbott did not see time on the field against Arizona State, according to UW's participation logs, and he only caught one pass for seven yards this season. He played only 26 snaps on offense, according to Pro Football Focus (PFF).

Wisconsin also could return, based on its 2021 fall roster, Isaac Smith and walk-ons Haakon Anderson, Jordan DiBenedetto, Mike Gregoire and Alex Moeller. Three-star scholarship wide outs Tommy McIntosh and Vinny Anthony II also arrive in the summer.

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