Wisconsin football is in the midst of an offseason that came around all too quickly, as the program missed its first bowl game since 2001. With early national signing day in the books and the transfer portal having just opened on Monday, one of the busiest portions of the college football calendar is in full swing.

With the Badgers' season over prematurely, BadgerBlitz.com will give a breakdown and review of each position on the team in the coming weeks. Before diving into each unit individually, let's hand out grades position-by-position.

Wisconsin's quarterbacks struggled mightily in year two of ex-offensive coordinator Phil Longo's system. Tyler Van Dyke hardly attempted to air the ball out before his season-ending ACL tear against Alabama, so we'll never know what he could've looked like in a less conservative game-plan. Mabrey Mettauer played in three games in mop-up duty, completing his only pass attempt.

Braedyn Locke became the de-facto QB1, and that didn't go as planned. After a stretch of strong performances against Purdue, Rutgers and Northwestern, Locke reverted to his old ways for much of the remainder of the season, struggling with accuracy and decision making. A silver lining of his performance was that he began to develop a solid deep ball, but it was far too inconsistent to truly threaten defenses on every passing down.

Ultimately, Wisconsin's quarterback room failed it once again. With Locke struggling mightily, the coaching staff refused to turn to Mettauer, meaning he either wasn't ready or the staff wasn't ready to give up on Locke (both are troubling). Once again thrust into the starting role, Locke showed bits and pieces of development but was still plagued by many of the same issues. Quarterback remained a problem for the Badgers in 2024.

Wisconsin's tailbacks were solid in 2024, but didn't prove to be the difference makers they needed to be in order to carry a lethargic passing attack.

Tawee Walker had a career year, but seemed to lose some explosiveness towards the end of the season. He had the longest run by a tailback this year, a 55-yard scamper, with a road game over Rutgers already well in hand.

It's fair to partially blame the offensive line's inconsistent push as a reason for the mediocre year from the halfbacks, but rarely if ever did a Badgers ball-carrier take over a game and wear a defense down, both staples of what running backs are expected to do at a school that fancies itself "RBU."

The true freshmen in the room, namely Darrion Dupree, flashed some potential but didn't contribute enough to significantly alter the 78th-ranked rushing attack in the country.

Wisconsin's wideouts weren't necessarily the problem in this abysmal offense. When they actually got the ball in their hands, they proved they were difference makers. Vinny Anthony emerged as one of the better deep threats in the nation, while Trech Kekahuna flashed some special open-field ability. The issue is, neither player got involved nearly enough to impact this offense as much as they should've.

Will Pauling had a down season, recording nine drops and missing two games due to injury. Bryson Green also missed four games and couldn't consistently develop into the contested-catch guru the Badgers needed him to be. CJ Williams was mostly quiet save for a 50-yard touchdown in Week 2.

The wideouts certainly underperformed this fall, but there are more pressing issues within this offense.

Once again, Wisconsin's tight ends failed to make any sort of noticeable impact this fall, combining for just 202 yards. Not only did they not make a mark on the passing game and offer little as run-blockers, at times they were actively detrimental.

Tucker Ashcraft's stretch of three straight games with a dropped pass comes to mind. That was a big deal because this weak offense had little margin for error. Overall, this position just hasn't moved the needle for several years in Madison.

The offensive line had an up-and-down year under first year position coach AJ Blazek. Against some of the weaker teams it faced (Purdue, Rutgers), the line was dominant in run-blocking and managed to consistently move bodies off the ball. Against the stronger front sevens it faced (Penn State, Iowa), it disappeared.

Pass protection wasn't an issue, as the Badgers allowed just 13 sacks, one of the lowest numbers in the nation. That was a bright spot, but the inconsistency in terms of push and physicality up front was maddening. Blazek's unit flashed in 2024; now, consistency will be the key moving forward.

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