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Published Dec 31, 2017
BadgerBlitz.com's Orange Bowl Notebook
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John Veldhuis  •  BadgerBlitz
Senior Writer
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@JohnVeldhuis

MIAMI - There was plenty to break down during and after No. 6 Wisconsin's 34-24 win over No. 10 Miami on Saturday night during the Orange Bowl, so in this notebook we'll run through a few things you shouldn't miss to make sure you're up to speed as the Badgers move in to the offseason.

Badgers still waiting on NFL decisions from Edwards and Deiter

With junior cornerback Nick Nelson surprising nobody in declaring for the NFL Draft a year early and junior offensive guard Beau Benzschawel telling reporters he will return for his senior season, the Badgers are still waiting on two juniors to make up their minds on if they want to return to UW for one more year or leave for the draft.

Both inside linebacker T.J. Edwards and offensive tackle Michael Deiter said after the game that they have not made a decision about what they are going to do after this season. Both players have publicly said that they received feedback from the NFL draft advisory board saying that they should return to school for their senior years, but that doesn't necessarily mean they will be back at Wisconsin in 2018.

Neither player's case is clear-cut. Edwards said the NFL had concerns about his speed at the moment, but there's no guarantee that an extra season in college would help him with that. And Deiter has been playing out of position at left tackle, while the league sees him as more of an interior prospect - a center or a guard. If Deiter were to return, he'd probably prefer to play on the inside again as a senior. The Badgers should have options to shuffle their offensive line again and could potentially move Deiter back inside next year, but injuries or depth could force the Badgers to keep him at left tackle in 2018 as well.

Deiter said after the game that he will make up his mind in the coming days, and Edwards should be on a similar timetable. Eligible juniors and third-year sophomores have until January 15 to declare for the NFL Draft, so the Badgers should have some more personnel clarity for 2018 soon.

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