Departures Mean Wisconsin Will Count On Young Players vs LSU

In today’s day and age of the transfer portal, University of Wisconsin left tackle Jack Nelson had an appropriate reaction as he watched multiple teammates, classmates, and friends choose to leave the program: brief sadness turned to excitement.

“Those are some of my best friends, but it’s next man up mentality,” Nelson said. “If that’s their decision, I’m going to support them 100 percent, super excited for their future, still great friends with them, but here is here. We got guys here ready to step up and take their place.”

Wisconsin’s roster is noticeably different than the one used to knock off Minnesota in the November 25 finale in Minneapolis.

Thirteen players have entered the portal from Wisconsin’s roster, while the Badgers will be without nine players listed on their two-deep depth chart against the Gophers.

Tailback Braelon Allen, center Tanor Bortolini, and nickel Jason Maitre aren’t participating in the bowl to prepare for the NFL Draft while offensive lineman Trey Wedig (Indiana), receivers Chimere Dike (Florida) and Skyler Bell, defensive linemen Rodas Johnson and Darian Varner and linebacker Jordan Turner (Michigan State) entered the portal.

There are six starters in that group and some considerable contributors. Allen battled through injuries in the second half of the season to lead the team with 984 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns, four of which came in the final two weeks in wins over Nebraska and Minnesota. Bortolini had the highest Pro Football Focus pass-blocking grade among the offensive linemen (80.3). Dike and Bell were UW’s top two pass catchers in 2022 and combined to catch 57 passes for 624 yards and two touchdowns this season.

Turner was third on the team with 61 tackles and fourth with 6.5 tackles for loss. Johnson started all 12 games while Maitre’s 646 snaps were fourth most on the defense.

Their absences and a month’s worth of bowl practices have opened opportunities for others to grow into bigger roles in Monday’s bowl game.

The redshirt sophomore has stepped in for Dike before. Anthony was thrust into the starting role fielding both punts and kickoffs against Indiana, averaging 7.3 yards per punt return. Against Northwestern, after not playing more than eight snaps in a game all season, Anthony had 41 snaps against the Wildcats and finished with 47 yards, including a 35-yard catch-and-run on a deep crossing route on the Badgers’ first drive.

With Bryson Green battling an injury, Anthony played 55 snaps against Nebraska and 64 against Minnesota. He is listed as the starter opposite Green for the bowl.

“he’s a dude that just goes no matter what,” quarterback Tanner Mordecai said. “He’s not afraid with the ball in his hands. You saw him on punt returns … He just sticks it and goes. He’s shown he can run the whole route tree and do it pretty well.”

Kekahuna has played four regular-season games on kick return but is not in jeopardy of losing a season of eligibility with bowl games not counting toward the redshirt rule. He is backing up Anthony at kick return but, with Bell in the portal, is listed as the No.2 slot receiver behind leading receiver Will Pauling. Fickell said Kekahuna would “see a lot more action” during the bowl game.

Renfro transferred to Wisconsin to take over the starting position. He’ll finally get that chance against LSU, his first game since the 2021 season when he was an all-conference player for Cincinnati.

Renfro missed all of 2022 with a knee injury, missed most of spring practices with a stress fracture in his left leg, and a sprained right foot cost him most of preseason camp. When Renfro was medically cleared, there weren't many opportunities for him to get reps. That changed when Bortolini declared for the draft.

“I might not be the same guy I was two years ago but I’m a new player now,” Renfro said. “I’m a more mature player. I’m just really excited to get back out there.”

A self-described smart center who is “tough and nasty and willing to get my hands on someone and dig people out of there,” Renfro says he is 100 percent.

“He’s a great football player, no doubt,” Nelson said. “He’s got the film in previous years to back it up. He’s played against some great teams. I think it’s definitely hard to get back into the flow of things. There’s some rust to knock off, just playing with a new team and with new people, but he’s done a hell of a job so far. I think he’s only getting better, which is exciting to see.”

Overcoming an ACL injury to play in four games last season as a true freshman, Neal has appeared in all 12 games in a reserve role this season behind Johnson. Averaging 21 snaps per Big Ten game, Neal could play between 40 to 50 snaps.

“He’s stepping up in terms of being a disruptive, explosive football player,” defensive coordinator Mike Tressel said. “There are guys who are out there like that, and this will be a big opportunity for them against a real talented group of guys.”

UW spent most of the season rotating Turner, senior Maema Njongmeta, and junior Jake Chaney in the two inside linebacker spots. With Turner gone, a lot of buzz has been generated around Allegro, the true freshman who began the season as an outside linebacker and worked mostly on special teams.

He has played 32 defensive snaps this season, registering only four tackles, but has caught the eye of Tressel as someone who can be impactful against LSU.

“He continues to show his athleticism making plays out here on the practice field,” Tressel said. “As his confidence grows, he plays that much faster, and you see more and more of that so his athleticism can shine.”

The one likely unnatural move brought on by the portal is transitioning Brown from safety to the nickel corner position to replace Maite. Recruited as a safety, and where he spent all season as the co-free safety with Kamo’I Latu, Brown has played just 67 of his 277 defensive snaps in the slot this season. It’s not impossible for a taller defensive back to handle the spot if that player has a solid skill set, according to Tressel, which he and others believe Brown has to make the move work.

“He’s doing really well; he really is,” safety Hunter Wohler said of Brown. “Very good athlete, which makes it easy for him to transition, and he’s picking up on it really quickly. He understands where he needs to get to on the field. He’s understanding his landmarks, and then you just play. Football is football at the end of the day, no matter what position you’re playing. The more reps he gets the better off he is, but he looks really good. I’m excited to see what he can do in the game.

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