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 / 20: CAESAR WILLIAMS / 19: TYLER BIADASZ / 18: KYLE PENNISTON/ 17. A.J. TAYLOR / 16. DANNY DAVIS III / 15. ZANDER NEUVILLE / 14. DAVID EDWARDS / 13. ZACK BAUN / 12. ISAIAHH LOUDERMILK / 11. RYAN CONNELLY / 10. MICHAEL DEITER / 9. OLIVE SAGAPOLU / 8. COLE VAN LANEN/ 7. ANDREW VAN GINKEL / 6. DONTYE CARRIER-WILLIAMS / 5. T.J. EDWARDS / 4. D'COTA DIXON

Despite missing Wisconsin's final stretch of games in 2017, wide receiver Quintez Cephus (6-foot-1, 195 pounds) was the team's leading receiver. He finished with 30 receptions, 501 yards and snagged a team-high six touchdowns. Hypothetically, if Cephus was healthy for UW's final three regular season games, BIG Ten Championship and Orange Bowl, his final projections were gunning to be the best that the program would have seen in recent memory.

However, that is all hypothetical and in the past. For the junior wide-out and the Wisconsin offense, what matters is the present.

The return of Cephus is a huge boost for Wisconsin, especially when considering his 2017 WR rating (147.2) is the best among 33 returning BIG Ten receivers with a minimum 28 targets last season. Additionally, his numbers and health are important to UW's overall success. With the lack of returning defensive Badgers, the team may need to rely on its offense to carry more of a load. Pair that with the departure of tight end Troy Fumagalli, and there is evidence that Cephus could be Alex Hornibrook's favorite receiving target this season.

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Last season, this true freshman ran his way into the Wisconsin Football record books and is one of the preseason favorites to win the Heisman Trophy in 2018.

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Jonathan Mills covers Wisconsin football, basketball and recruiting for BadgerBlitz.com on the Rivals.com network. Follow him on Twitter at @therealJMlLLS