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
Tanor Bortolini, an in-state product from Kewaunee, was part of the Badgers' 2020 recruiting haul. The class was heavy on the offensive front, as Wisconsin took five offensive linemen. Bortolini was the fifth and final offensive line commit in the 2020 cycle.
The three-star prospect listed Power Five offers from Wisconsin, Miami, Iowa and Syracuse, as well as a handful of FCS and Ivy League schools.
"I don’t really think I ever had a dream school. I was always open to every option," Bortolini told BadgerBlitz.com after committing. "I was always going to pick what was best for me. I’ve always been a Wisconsin fan growing up, and I thought playing there would be pretty cool. But when I saw they had four offensive linemen, I kind of thought they were moving away from (OLs) and I should look at some other options. Initially that’s where I thought things were kind of headed, but then they started showing interest and things turned out pretty well."
Ultimately, Bortolini's wholistic approach to evaluating schools and offers led him to pick the Badgers.
"Every school had great things about them, facilities, coaches, the players and people there, but Wisconsin had everything that I was looking for. I love the coaches, the people, all the players I’ll be working with have similar interests to what I have. I get along with them very well. The coaches are phenomenal. They have a great style for teaching. It’s closer to home and not overly far away. I guess I was never opposed to flying across the country, but it’s nice for my family to come watch my games and support me. It’s everything overall of why I picked Wisconsin."
STRENGTHS/WEAKNESSES
Bortolini's greatest asset is his versatility. Through his three seasons in Madison, he's proved he can play nearly any spot on the offensive line. In 2020, he worked at center for two games. In 2021, he was primarily a right tackle, but also logged snaps at both guard positions. Last season, Bortolini was primarily a left guard, but sprinkled in some snaps on the right side and also played center during the Bowl Game with Joe Tippmann prepping for the NFL.
“It depends…There is no such thing as left and right," new offensive line coach Jack Bicknell said of his philosophy when it comes to shuffling linemen. "You might have a veteran guy who's gonna be standing right there, and then you might have a young guy who just came in, you’re not gonna move him around yet...I try to approach it like, there is no left and right. Try to figure out who can play center/guard, who can play guard/tackle. And then if a guy’s struggling obviously, alright let's not move him around.”
As an interior lineman, Bortolini has shined as a pass-blocker — in 306 pass-blocking snaps last season, he allowed just one sack and six pressures, per Pro Football Focus. This spring, he was working as the starting center while Cincinnati transfer Jake Renfro dealt with an injury. If all goes according to plan, however, Bortolini will likely play left guard this fall with Renfro snapping the ball.
WHY HE'S No. 11
In many ways, Bortolini is Wisconsin's ace in the hole along the offensive front. His wide repertoire of positions should help Bicknell and Phil Longo sleep easier at night, knowing that if something were to happen to, say, the projected starting center Renfro, he could step right in and log quality snaps. While Bicknell understands the importance of flexibility, the staff would love to see more continuity from an offensive line that trotted out eight different starting combinations in 2022. Thus, look for Bortolini to enter the 2022 season as a starting guard and stay put unless a dire situation arises.
OVERALL
The Badgers' offensive line looks deep and talented once again in 2023, to the point where they may be able to withstand one or two significant injuries without much of a drop in performance. Bortolini's versatility is a major reason why that's the case. He's a plug-and-play player at just about every position on the offensive front, which makes him all the more valuable and incredibly important to Wisconsin's success on the offensive line this season.
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