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 wrap up the series by reflecting on Wisconsin's special teams.

In two straight seasons, Wisconsin utilized the transfer portal to attempt to stabilize its kicker position. In 2022, the Vito Calvaurso experiment crashed and burned. But in 2023, former Ohio Kicker Nathanial Vakos brought some much needed consistency to the Badgers' place-kicking spot.

The main talking point when Vakos arrived in Madison was his big leg, as in theory he would give Wisconsin the ability to score from deeper on the field. Vakos' self-described range is anywhere inside 55 yards. The coaching staff clearly believes in him, because he attempted four kicks from 50-plus yards this season. He hit just one of them, a 52-yarder against Iowa, but that's still an improvement from a season ago. In the last year before the Fickell era, the Badgers attempted just one kick from 50-plus yards, and Calvaruso missed it.

While Vakos' big leg didn't quite live up to its billing in terms of production from long-range, the specialist helped Wisconsin improve in other much-needed areas, namely consistency. Last season, the Badgers only hit 62.5 percent of their kicks in the 30-39 yard range. This year, Vakos drilled all seven of his attempts from that distance. He didn't miss a kick under 40 yards, and had just one miss under 50 yards.

It wasn't a dazzling season by any means for Vakos, but his stabilizing effect on the Badgers' special teams can't be overstated. In low-scoring, gritty Big Ten games, it's crucial to have a reliable place-kicker. Vakos is just that.

This may seem rather inconsequential, except for the fact that it became a recurring issue to the point where Wisconsin had to make a change at kickoff specialist.

In the first quarter of Wisconsin's first game, Jack Van Dyke sent a kickoff out of bounds which ultimately led to a scoring drive for Buffalo. That would be a sign of things to come, as the kicker would fail to keep the ball in play on the kickoff four times before getting benched for Gavin Lahm.

Lahm ultimately struggled much less in that department, but he too sent a kick out of bounds against Ohio State. The Badgers played in a lot of tight games this season in which field position was of the essence, but handing your opponent the ball near midfield isn't ideal in any situation. The kickoff is perhaps one of the most routine plays in the sport, but Wisconsin struggled in that department for much of the year.

Wisconsin started the season by trotting out the sure-handed Chimere Dike as primary kick and punt returner. He was fine if not exceptional, but when the receiver was injured and forced to sit out against Indiana, Vinny Anthony took his place and didn't relinquish it.

With his experience and reliable hands, Dike was the safe option. But Anthony was the exciting one, as his track speed gives him a chance to break off a big play every time he touches the ball. Dike is now in Gainesville, Florida for his final season of college ball, leaving the spot wide open.

Rising sophomore Trech Kekahuna saw some action at returner late in the season, and he ripped off a 37-yard kick return in the ReliaQuest bowl. He clearly has the skillset to be an effective returner.

The Badgers also added former Michigan State receiver Tyrell Henry via the transfer portal, and he has experience as a returner as well. Both Henry and Kekahuna figure to push Anthony for kick return reps immediately.

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