Wisconsin's 2023 football season is right around the corner, so BadgerBlitz.com ranked the top 30 players who we think will be the keys to success for Luke Fickell's squad this year.
Playing time, past performance and positional depth all factored into our staff rankings.
RECRUITING STORY
Ricardo Hallman, a cornerback out of Florida, was part of a successful 2021 recruiting class for Wisconsin. The four-star prospect committed to Jim Leonhard and the Badgers over offers from Michigan, Penn State, Iowa State and Ole Miss, among others.
"Wisconsin was the right place because I wanted to be coached by guys like Coach Leonhard and Coach (Paul) Chryst," Hallman told BadgerBlitz.com at the time. "Those two will be able to develop me as a player and I love Coach Leonhard's experience in the NFL. I know that he can help me achieve that dream."
The 15th pledge for Wisconsin in the 2021 class, Hallman was one of eight four-star commits the Badgers signed in that cycle.
STRENGTHS/WEAKNESSES
Hallman, who is getting set for his third season with the Badgers, was easily the star on the defensive side of the ball this spring. Through 15 practices, the redshirt sophomore tallied eight interceptions, which included back-to-back practices with three picks. The takeaways were in the midst of a camp in which Hallman was consistently in the right spot and rarely got beat in coverage.
"Consistency," Luke Fickell said when asked about Hallman in the spring. "I think that if you ask me in particular one guy that’s been as consistent as anybody, I’d say Ricardo."
"We try to strive to not be that occasionally great but being consistently good, which then turns into consistently really good, and then in the long run makes you great," Fickell added. "If I were to pick one, I’d say Ricardo every day has been consistently good and you’ve seen him grow and get better."
The next step for the third-year player is to remain consistent and carry that momentum into fall camp. Hallman is looking to bounce back from a season in which he was demoted from a starting role after a rough outing on the road against Michigan State. In East Lansing, he gave up five catches for 85 yards and three touchdowns. Hallman would only see three snaps for the rest of the regular season before he started in the Guaranteed Rate Bowl against Oklahoma State.
"It was definitely difficult, I'm not going to lie," Hallman said in the spring. "I went through a self battle a little bit. My confidence was a little bit up and down, but I knew it wouldn't affect me too long. I got in a little hole but I got up and got myself right out of it. It was fun being able to get back into the lineup and to start in a bowl game and get back to where I was the first seven games."
WHY HE'S No. 10
Hallman's availability and performance will be relied upon heavily in the fall due to his talent and lack of depth at the position. If Hallman's spring showing is something he can build off of, cornerbacks coach Paul Haynes should have a stout trio with Alex Smith opposite Hallman and Jason Maitre in the slot. If any of the starting trio misses time, however, the secondary will likely have to turn to transfer Nyzier Fourqurean or a true freshman. Early enrollees Jace Arnold and Jonas Duclona were consistently working with the second-team defense in the spring.
OVERALL
Hallman will be asked to be a reliable option at the position as he opens his second fall camp as a projected starter. He's shown all the signs of being a more confident player who is having the game slow down for him in Year 3.
"I just sat there and I just talked to him as we broke our meeting of how intelligent he is," Haynes said. "He is starting to see things a lot better. The better vision you have as a DB, the more plays you can sit there and make, so I think his vision has gone off the roof this spring. There’s a lot of things he still has to get better, so don’t get complacent and keep finding a way to challenge yourself at every single thing."
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