Wisconsin's 2024 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.

Riley Mahlman was the sixth commitment in Wisconsin’s historic 2021 class, which would finish ranked 14th in the country.

The four-star tackle and #1 player in the state of Minnesota chose Wisconsin over offers from Iowa, Iowa State, Michigan State, Minnesota, Nebraska, Northwestern and Ohio State.

"Even before the game started, it just clicked that I wanted to be a Badger," Mahlman told BadgerBlitz.com after visiting during a game in 2019. "It became real clear from the get-go. I loved the atmosphere and how much attention the football team was getting - it was awesome.

"I had great conversations with the coaches there and everyone is real nice. It's just the place for me and the coaches were real pumped when I committed. With the win over Michigan and the atmosphere at Camp Randall, I haven't seen much better than that."

The 2021 class was highlighted by Mahlman and two higher-rated offensive tackles — Nolan Rucci and JP Benzschawel. Rucci transferred to Penn State this past offseason, while Benzschawel has yet to find consistent playing time outside of special teams. Mahlman quickly ascended to the top of the room and validated his high rating.

Mahlman earned a starting role as a redshirt freshman in 2022, but wasn’t healthy enough to play until the final month of the year. He then came back for a full 2023 season in which he led the team in snaps with 944, according to Pro Football Focus.

PFF also indicated that he was the most well-rounded of Wisconsin’s starters last season, too. His 73.1 run blocking grade led the starters by a solid margin, while his 76.6 pass blocking grade was second behind Tanor Bortolini. Mahlman drastically improved as a run blocker from 2022 to 2023, bumping his grade up by 16.4 points.

Run blocking took a learning curve given his lack of pure strength. He stands at 6-foot-8, which makes it difficult to maintain the proper size and weight to hold his own against stockier defensive linemen, but is apparently working to improve.

“Riley’s really put a lot into where his hips are this spring and where he’s playing at a depth level, because that’s where your power and balance comes from. He uses his length very well, because he’ll tell you, ‘I’m not a 500-pound bench guy.’ But he knows how to use his levers and pressure-to-pressure and work his hips, and that’s where I’ve been most impressed with him,” offensive line coach A.J. Blazek said during spring camp.

These cliches are thrown around often, but Mahlman and Nelson are the true anchors of the offense.

Will Pauling is perhaps the best player and will deservedly get most of the attention, but the offense’s range of success depends on their tackles. A major injury to either could have catastrophic consequences on their season outlook.

Mahlman dealt with injury concerns in 2022 but bounced back and became one of the most stable and important players on the team last season. If he continues his trajectory and stays healthy, the sky’s the limit.

The offensive line is typically a source of pride and stability for Badger teams, but that’s been far from the case during Mahlman’s time at Wisconsin.

He’s had four coaches in as many years — was recruited by Joe Rudolph, played under Bob Bostad as a redshirt freshman, Jack Bicknell last year and now Blazek.

Mahlman earned a starting job in his second year then suffered an injury that sidelined him for three-quarters of the season. By the time he returned, the coach who helped recruit him had been fired. He played all of 2023 and had a successful individual season, but there was instability next to him at right guard and the offense was never in sync.

The improvements Fickell and company have made in their first year-and-a-half indicate that a return to form on the offensive line is in sight. A veteran like Mahlman should help guide the room back to prominence.

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