Key Wisconsin Badgers 2020: No. 25 Caesar Williams

Wisconsin's 2020 football season is (hopefully) right around the corner, so BadgerBlitz.com ranked the Top 25 players who we think will be the keys to success for Paul Chryst's squad this year.

Playing time, past performance and positional depth all factored in to our staff rankings.

Redshirt senior Caesar Williams continued to improve over the course of last year and ultimately cemented himself as a starter at cornerback alongside Faion Hicks. Williams, 6-foot and 185 pounds, led the secondary with 12 pass breakups, and was only behind safeties Eric Burrell and Reggie Pearson in tackles with 35. Williams also added an interception last fall against Minnesota, which ultimately punched Wisconsin’s ticket to the Big Ten title game and Rose Bowl.

Much like the rest of the secondary, Williams’ biggest strength is his experience. Through his time at UW, he has appeared in 28 games with 12 starts. One of the signature sequences during his 2019 campaign came when Williams broke up back-to-back passes to Minnesota wideout Tyler Johnson to help thwart a Gophers' comeback. Williams added two more pass breakups and an interception in that contest.

The Badgers' secondary is filled with experience, but the issue has been consistency amongst the group. Defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard has mixed and matched corners, and Williams found his stride as the season progressed. The next step will be to remain consistent and become a permanent starter on the outside.

Williams and the cornerback group can all improve by creating takeaways. Though the unit was No.12 in the nation in 2019, it only forced 12 interceptions, the team's lowest mark since 2015. The Texas native has picked off an opposing quarterback twice, once in each of the past two seasons, but Wisconsin corners have only accounted for six interceptions in the last three years. No cornerback has snagged more than one interception in the last two seasons. Moreover, Rachad Wildgoose, Hicks and Williams have accounted for the meager four interceptions by corners over the last two years.

Leonhard shuffled his secondary throughout the season after losing safety Scott Nelson and working in corners Alex Smith, Donte Burton, Deron Harrell, Semar Melvin and Wildgoose. But by the end of the year, both Williams and Hicks solidified themselves as starters on the outside.

Leonhard seems to have his pairing on the outside with Hicks and Williams, but Wildgoose is still very much in the conversation with the No. 1 defense. They can create a formidable trio if each continues to improve and build off their solid 2019 campaigns. Chryst and Leonhard will be looking for help from their veteran-laden secondary as they try to replace the pass rush that seniors Chris Orr and Zack Baun provided.