Wisconsin ended its season on a winning note with a 24-17 over Oklahoma State in the Guaranteed Bowl on Dec. 27. After a brief break, UW will kick up winter conditioning as it begins its early preparation for the 2023 campaign.

Over the next two weeks, BadgerBlitz.com will review each position before turning the page from the 2022 season. Today we'll examine the cornerbacks.

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It wasn’t against the same explosive Oklahoma State offense that the Cowboys possessed in the regular season, but the job Wisconsin’s secondary did against quarterback Garret Rangel was nearly perfect. The Badgers forced 17 incompletions on 31 attempts. UW gave up two touchdowns (an 84-yard screen pass and one off a tipped fourth-down pass) but had two interceptions, holding Rangel to a 32.9 QBR.

Jay Shaw declared for the NFL Draft following the season but chose to play in the game. He was impactful with an off-balanced interception at the OSU 32 that set up a Wisconsin touchdown two plays later. Shaw finished with an 80.7 coverage grade and an 80.6 overall grade from Pro Football Focus, his highest of the season.

Cedrick Dort Jr. also turning his best game in Phoenix. Targeted seven times, Dort gave up only two completions for 22 yards and had the game-sealing interception in the fourth quarter. His 81.7 coverage grade and 80.3 overall grade were easily the best of the season.

Wisconsin corners Ricardo Hallman (67.0 overall) and Alex Smith (67.7 overall) were efficient in their roles, as well.

Wisconsin’s pass defense had holes compared to last season, finishing 29th in pass defense (204.3 ypg), 32nd in yards per completion (11.96), tied for 34th in passing touchdowns (18), 35th in yards per attempt (7.06) and 44th nationally in pass efficiency defense (125.13).

There were two games where the Badgers allowed over 300 passing yards (Purdue and Minnesota) and the Ohio State performance where UW allowed five passing touchdowns and every defender received a coverage grade lower than 70.0 by Pro Football Focus. According to the analytics, however, UW’s worst cornerback performance came against Illinois.

Against the Illini, which finished ninth in the league in passing offense, PFF rated three of UW’s top four cornerbacks with a sub-60.0 rating after Clark, Hallman, and Shaw gave up nine catches on 12 targets and were flagged for four penalties. Two of those penalties gave Illinois a first down inside the UW 3.

Illinois quarterback Tommy DeVito didn’t throw a touchdown but his 18-for-24 passing was the most efficient performance by a starting quarterback against the Badgers all season.

Wisconsin remade the cornerback position last offseason through the transfer portal with three players. Last month, Luke Fickell remade it with a transfer and two high school prospects who were previously committed to him at Cincinnati.

Starting with Amare Snowden, the four-star corner out of Detroit with 6-foot-3 height and an 84-inch wingspan. Originally committed to Cincinnati before following Fickell, Snowden delivers on his ability as a defensive back with his size, length, and recovery speed, able to get the better of slot receivers, bigger pass catches, or bulky tight ends. Those three traits allow him to cover a ton of ground and make a lot of plays.

Fickell and his staff are also immensely familiar with Jonas Duclona, who fits the mold of starting as a nickel cornerback and growing into a field cornerback spot. Either way, Duclona has the physical ability to make an impact early in his career and the versatility to be a valuable commodity to a potential new-look defensive scheme. Those two prospects join Jace Arnold and A.J. Tisdell, who remained committed through the coaching change, as the new wave of projected UW corners.

Trying to add some experience to the group, Wisconsin got a verbal commitment from graduate transfer defensive back Jason Maitre last month. Playing 44 games for the Eagles at both corner and safety, Maitre started 11 of 12 games last season and recorded 42 tackles, six passes broken up, and one interception. He earned a 61.2 overall grade from PFF, struggling with tackles (11 misses) but allowed 16 receptions in 29 targets on 410 coverage snaps.

Wisconsin officially named Minnesota co-defensive coordinator and cornerbacks coach Paul Haynes the program's new CB coach. Haynes coached with Fickell for seven seasons (2005-11) at Ohio State, serving as the defensive backs coach for the first six years and the co-DC and safeties coach in his final year in Columbus, and worked with UW defensive coordinator Mike Tressel at Michigan State from 2018-19. With Tressel as the defensive coordinator, Haynes coached the Spartan defensive backs in East Lansing.

With Haynes as co-defensive coordinator at Minnesota in 2022, the Gophers ranked seventh in the country in pass efficiency defense (108.5). UM also ranked No. 4 in the nation in scoring defense (13.8 ppg) and ninth in total defense (295.1 ypg). In 2021, Minnesota ranked eighth nationally in pass defense (181.2 ypg.).

He has been a DB coach at the college level for nearly 25 years.

“I’ve obviously coached against the Badgers a number of times and it’s a program I have great respect for. I can’t wait to get to work with our players," Haynes said. "They have a desire to be great in everything they do and that motivates me to try and be the best coach I can be.”

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