BadgerBlitz.com's Wisconsin player draft: Round 20

This summer, the Badgers will be divided.

That is, they'll be separated into three imaginary teams, set against each other by a BadgerBlitz.com.com Wisconsin player draft, a daily selection in which separate groups of 23 are assembled.

Over the next four weeks, BadgerBlitz.com reporters Jon McNamara, John Veldhuis and Jessi Schoville will draft Badgers, picking players one-by-one and placing them on their respective teams, trying to assemble the best 11 on offense and defense, plus one reserve.

Then, in late July, we'll decide — based on BadgerBlitz.com.com staff and member feedback — which team would win.

Who will be selected when? How will the teams develop? What reasoning will be used?

And most importantly, do you agree with the picks? Be sure to discuss in the Badgers' Den.

Ready for Round 20?

My offense is complete, so I need to fill out my defense with the players who are left over. I put myself in a bit of a tight spot, but I was OK with grabbing Jake Whalen to fill out my linebacking corps. Whalen is coming off of a redshirt year so we haven't seen a whole lot of him on the field, but I like that he has a multi-sport background in high school - including wrestling, which has been a winner for Badger linebackers in the past.

I'm definitely going out on a limb here, but that's the spot I put myself in. With the offensive players I picked, I figure if my defense can hold down the fort more often than not I'll be OK in the long run.

It was time to address the offensive line. As I stated earlier in the selection process, I thought Wisconsin’s innate depth on the line of scrimmage would afford me the opportunity to hold off on big bodies until the later rounds. While I would have loved to have landed some of the big names like Ryan Ramczyk or Michael Deiter, there is still great talent at the second, and sometimes even the third alternate.

With that strategy in play, I went with George Panos.

Panos, a redshirt sophomore this coming season, has an outstanding pedigree. His father, Joe Panos, was a star lineman at the University of Wisconsin from 1990-93. In 1993 as a team captain, Joe helped the Badgers secure a Big Ten Title and a Rose Bowl, while blocking for tailback Brent Moss. People who regularly reported on the team at the time considered Joe a major factor in all of that success, which led to his induction into the UW Hall of Fame. After the season concluded in 1994, the Philadelphia Eagles selected Joe in the third round of the NFL Draft where he played until 1997. In 1998 Joe suited up with the Buffalo Bills, where he would stay until he retired in 2000.

Well enough about Joe, back to his son, George. George Panos played and started all four years on the offensive line at Arrowhead High School, a perennial in-state power. He helped the team secure back-to-back titles in 2012 and 2013 and was named first-team All-State by both the AP and WFCA during both title runs.

At 6-foot-5 and weighing in last season at 321 pounds, he is plenty big enough, and has the potential to step in and play some meaningful minutes. He's worked at right tackle this spring, but Panos has experience on the interior and will play guard on my team.

My offensive line is fairly young, so I went with some experience to round out the group. Logan Schmidt, a former walk-on who is heading into his final season in Madison, will be my final selection at the position.

I certainly don't think Schmidt is going to see any meaningful snaps this season unless injuries hit. But he played his role last year and helped with the depth issues, and finished the season as the No. 2 right and left guard on the depth chart. Depending on roster attrition, Schmidt is the type of player who sometimes gets awarded a scholarship during his final year on campus. Hopefully that will happen this fall for the former in-state standout from Richland Center High School.

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