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
This season, senior T.J. Edwards (6-foot-1, 242 pounds) will be one of the most essential pieces on a defense that lost seven starters from one of the program's most historic seasons. Although he considered going pro, Edwards returns to UW and is looking to build off a year when he finished with the second-most tackles on the team (81) and was a finalist for the Butkus Award.
What makes Edwards such a key part of the Wisconsin defense is his ability to fill gaps. He is rather quick to strike opponents, as evidence by his 53 solo stops just a season ago. Although defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard did not rely on Edwards to be much of a pass rusher last year, the graduation of many experienced players could force Edwards to evolve his game- which would only improve his NFL stock.
As one of the leaders on a defense that is significantly more inexperienced, Edwards' numbers should increase in 2018. In fact, a panel of media members selected Edwards - along with teammate Jonathan Taylor - to BIG Ten football preseason honors before the conference's media days kicked off in Chicago on Monday morning. Now, it is time for Edwards to see if he can live up to expectations.
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This redshirt senior brings leadership, playmaking and 55 tackles in 2017 back to Camp Randall for his final year.
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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
