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 major question marks heading into fall camp will be the play and progression of redshirt junior tackle Logan Brown. Throughout spring practices, Brown consistently lined up with the first-team at right tackle with a grouping that consisted of, from left to right, Jack Nelson, Tyler Beach, Tanor Bortolini, Michael Furtney and Brown.

The former four-star prospect moved over to the right side after having played on the left his enter high school and college career. Position coach Bob Bostad noted the change gave Nelson the opportunity to move to left tackle and Brown the chance to win a starting job opposite.

"Part of the reason was moving Jack to left. That’s just deductive reasoning right there. I want to give him a chance and I want to have him in one place," Bostad told reporters in the spring. "When I got the job and I called the guys, I said I’m going to find the best position for you. Where you’re going to be at your absolute best and try to keep you there."

Brown, who is heading into his fourth year in Madison, has the talent to the become a key piece along the line. Bostad's preference to keep players in one spot could benefit Brown this fall.

"I thought his pass blocking has been tremendously better," Beach said of Brown. "The way Coach Bo is teaching a lot of this stuff, it’s helped the tackles a ton dealing with edge rushes. Coach Bo is a one step at a time kind of guy. Guys are figuring stuff out and I feel like with Brown, his pass sets have been a lot better."

Brown credits the improvement to a change in philosophy from a plus-one to a vertical set.

"It just kind of clicked for me. I think it finally came together. We do a vertical set now so I feel like it just gives us an opportunity to get back, set up and wait for a move. It gives us a little more time to play off the defender," Brown said. "We used to do a plus-one set. Plus-one would be in the middle of a 45 degree and a vertical. Now vertical is what it sounds like, straight back. With that, you get time to move off of the defender and I think it provides a good pocket for the quarterback to step up in the pocket."

A highly-touted prospect coming out of East Kentwood High School in Michigan, Brown has yet to put it all together during his time at Wisconsin. The 6-foot-6, 311-pound lineman has appeared in every game each of the past two seasons, either in a reserve role or on special teams.

Having established tendencies and muscle memory on the left side his entire playing career, Brown will have to create new habits in a short period of time. Either way, consistency will be key in August and beyond.

"It’s a little different. I’ve been playing left my whole high school, my whole college so far, so switching over to the right is a big change. Just muscle memory and trying to build new habits on top of that, but overall I am definitely enjoying it," Brown said in the spring. "Just strength in different body parts. For instance, I guarantee my right leg is probably a little bigger than my left because I always have my right leg being my post, so simple things like that is really the biggest change. And still trying to be quick and efficient with your feet because, you just have so much muscle memory and then you have to build all the habits."

Brown's play this fall could elevate Wisconsin’s offensive line from good to great. The left side appears to be set and should perform well with Nelson at tackle and Beach at guard. Joe Tippmann, who missed all of spring camp, is expected to slot back in at center. Bostad mentioned that he would like to keep Bortolini on the inside, but he may be forced to tackle if Brown doesn’t play well during fall camp.

Brown will be heading into a crucial camp for his development and chance to be a full-time starter. It’s hard to imagine Brown getting another opportunity if unable to land the gig this fall with the wealth of young talent behind him. Highly-ranked linemen like Nolan Rucci, Riley Mahlman and Joe Brunner will each be developing and vying for reps with the No. 1 line at tackle down the road.

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