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.

R.J. Delancy III is one of a group of transfer additions brought in with the intention of revamping and deepening Wisconsin’s defense.

The cornerback from Miami, Fla., was a consensus three-star recruit in the class of 2020. He chose to play at Nebraska out of high school but transferred to Toledo after only one season, where he spent the next three seasons as a regular rotation player. While in the portal, Delancy III also took officials to Auburn and Memphis, in addition to UW.

Now a redshirt senior, 2024 will be Delancy's final year of eligibility.

Delancy’s most appealing and valuable trait is his versatility.

He’s coming off of a 2023 season where he played 182 snaps in the slot and 198 on the perimeter, according to Pro Football Focus.

It helped him become one of the standout defenders on an 11-3 Toledo team that won the MAC championship.

He earned an 87.2 overall defensive grade and 88.3 coverage grade in 2023, both second on the team according to Pro Football Focus.

The biggest question for Delancy is how he’ll handle a higher workload at a higher level.

He played 399 total snaps last season. Wisconsin’s primary slot cornerback Jason Maitre finished with 646 snaps.

It’s unlikely that Delancy will have to play that often this season, given the Badgers’ improved depth at cornerback, but he should expect to play more than he ever has.

Regardless of where or how often Delancy plays, he should be a reliable third cornerback behind Ricardo Hallman and Nyzier Fourqurean.

During spring camp, he filled in on the outside for the injured Hallman and was one of the biggest standouts of the spring. He never seemed overwhelmed regardless of where the coaches put him.

Most importantly for the coaching staff, Delancy has shown the two traits they’ve begun to prioritize most in cornerbacks — the ability to “cover and run”.

“I know he played nickel at Toledo, but we were always looking at him as a corner just because we needed the depth there at corner,” Haynes said. “He showed on film playing on the outside and playing against some Big Ten opponents that we saw that he can cover and run.”

While the higher level of competition will be more difficult, Delancy should greatly benefit from the improved coaching and facilities.

He’s already gaining weight and improving his physique.

“My body changed tremendously,” Delancy said. “Coach Brady (Collins) is a great coach (from) the weight room standpoint. I came here at 174 (pounds), and now my body weight is like 194, so that's a big difference. And coach Brady is just that guy.”

Delancy headlines a group of new additions to a cornerback room that sorely needed depth.

“Getting RJ in was a good addition for us, and then you got Jace (Arnold) and Jonas (Duclona) that are playing a lot more reps and playing a lot better,” Haynes said. “So the depth is a little bit better. I think it's four to five guys that we feel good about that can go in there and win a game for us.”

He’s also one of the players who most represents the program’s changing direction. Like so many others on this top-30 list, Delancy is a transfer who was aggressively pursued by the coaches because of his athleticism and versatility.

If the fifth-year senior from Miami becomes a cornerstone of the defense this season, it’ll be because he’s experienced and can do everything the coaches ask him at a proficient level.

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