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.

Austin Brown joined Wisconsin at the tail end of the Paul Chryst era as a member of the class of 2022.

The three-star safety from Johnston City, Illinois earned first-team all state honors as both a junior and senior. He earned 19 total offers and ultimately chose the Badgers over Boston College, Northwestern, Illinois and Michigan.

“Growing up, I was born in Columbus, Ohio, and both at The Ohio State University hospital. I have pictures of me being an Ohio State so being a Big Ten fan, I always knew who the Badgers were," Brown told BadgerBlitz.com in 2022. "Anybody who knows college football knows who the Wisconsin Badgers are. To be a part of such a renowned college program that everybody knows and one I’ve known since I was a kid, one that had produced tons and tons of NFL talent and has a strong defense every year, is something I’ve looked forward to every single day since I signed my name to paper committing myself to them. I’ve been working my hardest to get there."

Brown’s athleticism was immediately obvious to any school that recruited him.

He was a multi-sport athlete who excelled at both safety and running back in high school. At the time of his signing, there was even talk of him playing a hybrid safety/linebacker role in Wisconsin’s old 3-4 scheme.

At 212 pounds, he’s the second-heaviest safety on the roster after Hunter Wohler, and would be the heaviest cornerback, but his weight has yet to slow him down athletically.

"That's what you love about Austin. You look out there, and you got a guy at 6-foot-1, 6-foot-2, 210-215 pounds that's different than a lot of nickel backs that we had in the past played with," Fickell said during spring camp.

On the flip side, Brown entered college with some coverage concerns. He’s improved during his few years in Madison, especially throughout the course of last season, but there’s still definite room for growth. Luckily, playing with Wohler should take the pressure off of his coverage duties.

Brown rose up the depth chart over the course of last season and is the exact type of player Fickell and defensive coordinator Mike Tressel are seeking out.

He checks every box of the staff’s “tough, nasty, disciplined” mantra, and has succeeded wherever the coaches have put him.

In 2023, he lined up in the box 109 times, 105 at free safety and 123 in the slot, according to Pro Football Focus. The versatility he showed last year essentially ensures an important role for him this season.

If the junior can continue his spring camp momentum, he and Wohler could be one of the more appealing dynamic duos on the entire roster.

Of all players on this top-30 list, Brown’s specific role for the upcoming season might be the least certain. He began spring camp in the slot corner role, but once Kamo’i Latu went down with an injury, he moved to safety and stayed there for the duration of spring. Brown looked absolutely worthy of a starting job, and ended up outshining Latu.

He could earn more snaps at slot corner, which is where he started in place of Jason Maitre during the bowl game against LSU. But this was the role expected to be primarily filled by new transfer RJ Delancy, whose impressive spring performance indicated that he will likewise be difficult to keep on the bench.

Ultimately, overthinking the nuances of roles may be futile for a player as skilled as Brown. He’s the exact type of player Fickell is looking for. He’ll find a way to get on the field.

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