Wisconsin's 2022 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 Paul Chryst's squad this year.

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

One of the more exciting developments to track this season will be the growth of redshirt sophomore linebacker Jordan Turner. Former inside linebackers coach Bill Sheridan organized reps to start camp strictly based on snaps played in 2021. With that, the first group of inside linebackers consisted of Tatum Grass and Maema Njongmeta.

As spring progressed, Turner continued to flash and worked his way up to the first unit next to Grass. BadgerBlitz noted a number of pressures from the linebacker, including a pair of would-be sacks and a hurry during a practice.

"Two things. One is he really has a good grasp of the defense. We'll be in our meetings and heck, I'll be asking him like, 'What are you guys doing on this?' or 'What's the call there?' He knows it," Sheridan said. "One thing he's done, he's committed to learning the playbook which is, I tell our guys, that's the first order of business. Don't worry about how to do. First thing you got to do is know what to do.

"And the second thing is he's super instinctive and has like an attacking mode, which is a starting point for everything you're looking for in linebacker play. You got to be able to key and diagnose, but at some point, you have to trigger an attack, and he does that in an excellent fashion. Those are the two things I think he's jumped off the screen on."

Turner is coming off a season where he made the most out of limited action. Though the 6-foot-1, 228-pound linebacker only saw the field for 24 snaps, he tallied a pair of interceptions in consecutive weeks against Rutgers and Northwestern.

Despite Turner's limited experience, the former three-star recruit will be asked to elevate into a consistent piece in the middle this fall. Naturally with the responsibilities that come with being an inside linebacker, Turner will have to grow quickly into a leadership role.

After having Jack Sanborn and Leo Chenal in the middle the past two seasons, Jim Leonhard will be looking for Turner to maintain a level of consistency inside. The front seven will have to get adjusted to a new group of inside backers and how they approach things.

In just 24 reps of live action, Turner has provided a glimpse of what he’s capable of. With the progress he showed during the spring and additional reps with the first unit, look for Turner to become a playmaker in the middle this season. His progression will be a key piece towards Wisconsin maintaining a high level of play from its front seven.

“The three most experienced guys in the room left so, of course, everyone is going to question the linebacker group and who is going to be next and everything," Turner told reporters in the spring. "But I feel like the goal for us is to rely on each other and trust ourselves that we can still do what they do."

First-year position coach Mark D’Onofrio has a nice building block in the middle in Turner. With D’Onofrio coming on after spring ball, though, how he manages reps will be something to watch. Turner, who worked his way into the first team, should secure a starter's role and man the middle.

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