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

At the beginning of spring camp this year the Badgers had three question marks in their defensive backfield. Senior safety D'Cota Dixon is the only returning starter - meaning the Badgers had to find new contributors at free safety and at both cornerback spots as soon as possible.

But while nothing has been finalized yet, redshirt freshman Scott Nelson appears to be the odds-on favorite to win the open job at free safety next to Dixon. Nelson was named one of the team's defensive scout team MVPs last year, and spent his first year on campus working with Dixon as much as he could to prepare himself for a larger role when the time came.

With Dixon sidelined for the spring to rehab some nagging injuries, Nelson took every first team rep at safety during spring camp and flashed when he was on the field. Nelson could very well have some bumps in the road as he continues to adjust to the college game, but he's certainly put himself in a position to be a major contributor in 2018 and beyond.

Another young defensive back, this redshirt sophomore struggled with injuries early on in his career but flashed during spring camp when given reps with the first team.

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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.