Wisconsin dropped a hard-fought bowl game against No. 13 LSU to close out its 2023 campaign and the debut season of head coach Luke Fickell. Soon, winter conditioning will get underway, shortly followed by spring practice.

Over the next two weeks, BadgerBlitz.com will examine the 2023 Badgers position by position. Today, we'll continue with the tight ends, a unit that struggled to live up to the standard set in the past two seasons by Nick Herbig.

Wisconsin's outside linebackers were a hot-and-cold unit in 2023. But against the Buckeyes under the lights, they elevated their play and logged likely their best performance of the season.

In total, Wisconsin sacked Ohio State quarterback Kyle McCord four times. Both CJ Goetz and Darryl Peterson got on the board in the sack department, as both edges proved fruitful for the Badgers' defense. Goetz logged six pressures, according to Pro Football Focus, to go along with his sack, three hurries and one quarterback hit. Goetz also forced a fumble; it was perhaps the pass-rusher's best all-around game of the season.

Peterson also logged a sack as well as two quarterback hurries. Wisconsin didn't boast much firepower off the edge in 2023, but both of the primary starters in Goetz and Peterson came to play against Ohio State. The pass rush made McCord uncomfortable all night long, as evidenced by his highly uncharacteristic two interceptions.

The alarm was sounded early — in Week 1, in fact, when Wisconsin failed to log a sack against Buffalo. Failing to take down the opposing quarterback of an inferior opponent isn't typical of a Badger defense, but it would be a harbinger of things to come. Wisconsin's pass rush would struggle all season long.

First-year outside linebackers coach Matt Mitchell's room logged 9.5 sacks on the season. By contrast, Nick Herbig himself logged 11 sacks the year prior. That tells you a couple of things. One, Wisconsin didn't have a star player at the position, an alpha of the room who could be counted on to crank up the heat when it was needed most. Two, the pass-rush-by-committee approach Wisconsin was forced to take produced less-than-ideal results.

Now, Goetz and Peterson each had career years, at least statistically. Peterson in particular gained invaluable experience he can bring with him into next season, while Goetz will move on from the program. Still, the lack of a formidable pass rush was painfully evident all too often. Not every outside linebacker core needs one dominant player like Herbig was, but it needs to be able to bring pressure on crucial downs. Far too often, Wisconsin's vanilla pass rush failed to do just that.

Help on the outside is on the way for the Badgers in the 2024 recruiting class in the form of promising duo Thomas Heiberger and Anelu Lafaele. But Wisconsin needed more immediate help, a quick fix, an instant upgrade. Naturally, that meant tapping into the transfer portal.

The Badgers have reeled in two outside linebackers from the portal thus far: John Pius from William & Mary and Leon Lowery from Syracuse. Pius has an especially impressive pedigree, as he's coming off an FCS first-team All-American season in which he racked up 9.5 sacks.

Considering the Badgers' lack of production in the pass-rush department last season, both players should be given every chance to compete for a starting role. The only returner who appears to pose a real threat to the pair of transfers' playing time is Peterson, who, as mentioned, is coming off his most productive season to date. Jeff Pietrowski will also return to Madison, and considering he played the third-most snaps at outside backer, he should be given a shot to compete for snaps as well.

As currently constructed, the pass rush is shaping up to be a committee approach. But with a more experienced Peterson, two transfers and even the two freshman, the chances Wisconsin fields a potent pass rush in 2024 appears to be greater.

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