MADISON, Wis. -- The eagerness to learn what the 2023 Wisconsin football team would look like grew this winter with each passing day as an assistant was announced or another commitment joined the mix.

Though the defense was under a new direction for the first time since 2016, it didn't look all that different during the first day of spring. For most of the team period, defensive coordinator Mike Tressel rolled out his unit in a 2-4-5 look - an alignment that was a staple under Jim Leonhard.

During the second and third practices was when some of the wrinkles and shake ups started to emerge. Tressel started to include a number of three safety looks. His outside linebackers also lined up with their hand in the dirt or right alongside an inside linebacker and a 2-3-6 (or 3-3-5) was the latest inclusion. All of which is part of a detailed plan for Tressel.

"We basically went through the first two practices and put in our normal down and distance stuff," Tressel said while speaking with reporters Friday morning. "What we call CNN situation, which is competitive normal normal situations against 11 personnel because that's the most common personnel grouping we face on offense. That's what's coach (Phil) Longo's most common personnel grouping so that's what we did Day 1 and Day 2."

The most notable differences up to this point have been three different alignments for Hunter Wohler, the defensive linemen and outside backers.

Through three practices, Wohler is giving every indication that he is primed for a breakout year in his third season with the program. He has been deployed primarily at linebacker depth and been allowed to roam or blitz, while also being used in a traditional safety alignment. The Muskego (WI) native is responsible for one of the highlight plays so far after stepping in front of a throw from Tanner Mordecai intended for Braelon Allen that would have been returned for six points in a normal setting.

"First of all, he has great instincts and the better your instincts are, the better you can play to the box because it just happens a little bit faster," Tressel said of his young safety. "Leverage gives you vision, so the deeper you are, the more time and space you have time to react, so him having really good football instincts allows him to play a little bit closer and still see it happen and react. You have also seen in the past that he's comfortable in the box and taking on tackles and he's a physical strong tackler.

"What we're able to do with him I would call it a hybrid position. There are going to be times and calls where he's going to seem like a true linebacker and there are going to be times and calls where he's doing some safety things. We're able to mix up some of the blitz and pass from those types of positions where you're not be able to do without an obvious tell."

At outside linebacker, Darryl Peterson hasn't been lining up in front of an offensive tackle as often. He's been used at normal linebacker depth along with in a regular edge-rusher stance. Defensive ends have been asked to rush without their hand in the dirt and get to the passer from the edge as well at times, something they'll have to get comfortable with.

While everything on offense feels new, the most recent practice saw the most usage of 12 personnel, a formation that includes two tight ends and a running back. That allowed Longo to get comfortable with those sets and provided Tressel an opportunity to work through looks against that personnel grouping.

"Day 3 we put the shoulder pads on and the focus was on red zone and our defense against 12 personnel while still in CNN, normal down and distance situations," Tressel detailed. "As we move forward in practice four and five we're going to start putting in third down packages. Beyond that is putting in adjustments so that the guys can game plan and adjust. Then it's putting in situations where Coach Fick and Coach Longo and I will say, 'ok, we're going to emphasize two minute or emphasize short yardage or goal line stuff,' and that schedule is still a little bit to be determined based on how guys pick things up moving forward."

The early schedule for both units was coordinated head coach Luke Fickell and both coordinators. The back half of spring is still in the works and dependent on how quick the team picks things up.

"I think that's the only way to be a great team," Tressel added. "I think you have to work together. You can't have a tempo offense that's results in an unfundamentally sound, poor defense or you're eventually going to lose and vice versa. You can't be all about defense and the offense is simply asked to prepare the defense because eventually you're going to lose, so we work together and I think we do a great job of it. And we're going to continue to do that because we want to be the best on both sides of the ball."

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