Wisconsin's 2018 football season is right around the corner, so BadgerBlitz.com contributors Jon McNamara, John Veldhuis, Jon Gorman and Jonathan Mills ranked the Top 30 players who we think are the keys to success for Paul Chryst's squad this year.

Playing time, past performance and positional depth all factored in to our individual rankings, which were combined into a final score.

30: CHRIS JAMES / 29: ANTHONY LOTTI / 28: JAKE FERGUSON / 27: ALEC INGOLD / 26: BRYSON WILLIAMS / 25: MADISON CONE / 24: RAFAEL GAGLIANONE / 23: BEAU BENZSCHAWEL / 22: AARON VOPAL / 21: SCOTT NELSON

If Caesar Williams can play as well as he did during spring camp this fall, the Badgers should feel a lot more comfortable with their cornerback depth. Injuries held him back over the last two years, but the redshirt sophomore said he was feeling fully healthy again this spring - and he made plays to prove it when he was on the field.

There should be a real competition to start opposite Dontye Carriere-Williams this fall between Williams, Madison Cone and Faion Hicks. In addition to making a ton of plays on the ball during spring camp, Williams has a bit of a size advantage over Cone and Hicks - which could make for better matchups with taller receivers when he is on the field.

Williams will have to stay healthy during fall camp to really compete for a starting job, but you'd be hard pressed to find a player whose stock rose more than Williams' did earlier this year. We'll soon find out if it was a sign of bigger and better things to come for Williams - and the UW secondary as a whole.

Coming off of a strong first year as a starter, this offensive lineman is looking to help take the position group to the next level in 2018.

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John Veldhuis covers Wisconsin football, basketball and recruiting for BadgerBlitz.com on the Rivals.com network. Follow him on Twitter at @JohnVeldhuis.