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.

Jack Nelson was a four-star prospect and the second-ranked player in the state of Wisconsin in the class of 2020. The in-sate prospect from Stoughton High School listed an offer from Michigan, and received interest from Iowa as well before he committed to the Badgers in October of 2017. As an early commit, Nelson was Wisconsin's first in the 2020 cycle.

"I have known I wanted to be a Badger all my life," Nelson told BadgerBlitz.com at the time of his commitment. “Just an incredible place, incredible people, I really can’t wait for this next chapter to start. "Again, I have no regrets whatsoever of committing so early. I’m really glad I committed really early. I don’t have a problem with anything.

"I think it’s a great place, great people, great commits, too. Great players already - I met a lot of the guys. Committing early, I have no regrets about that."

Nelson wound up being one of two blue chip recruits along the offensive front in the 2020 cycle, along with fellow in-state lineman Trey Wedig. All five offensive linemen from that class remain, with Nelson and Tanor Bortolini expected to hold down starting spots this fall.

Nelson has been a staple of the offensive line for two seasons now, albeit at different positions. In 2021, he played exclusively at right guard. Last season, he moved to left tackle, where he stayed put the entire year. Protecting Graham Mertz's blindside, Nelson was about as stout as can be. He allowed just two sacks and 11 pressures across 343 pass-blocking snaps, according to Pro Football Focus. There were six games last season in which he was flawless from a pass protection standpoint — no hurries, pressure, penalties, or any sort of disruption.

"That's one of the guys that's been there for a long time, veteran guy. He understands the intensity and the edge that you have to have," offensive line coach Jack Bicknell told reporters this spring. "He's definitely a leader, I think the guys look up to him. He brings the intensity to it and kind of that attitude we want as an offensive line — that we're gonna be a physical group and when you play us, you're gonna know you just played a heck of a football team. He's been just a great example of what we want to be as an offensive lineman at Wisconsin."

Nelson is one of the best pass-blockers on the team, and he should only improve with an entire offseason to focus on the left tackle spot. His six penalties last year are an area could get cleaned up, but penalties were a universal issue for Wisconsin's offensive line last season. Nelson thrives as a pass-blocking anchor, and he figures to be a fantastic security blanket for Tanner Mordecai.

Nelson is likely the best overall offensive lineman the Badgers have to offer. He'll be one of Wisconsin's top NFL prospects when all is said and done this season, and could play his way into the first round of the draft if he continues to grow. As Mordecai's blindside protector, Nelson is one of the biggest keys to the passing game as well as his obvious involvement in clearing rushing lanes for Braelon Allen and company.

In what could be his sendoff season, it's reasonable to expect near dominance from Nelson on the left side. He's proved his ability as an elite tackle, and the opportunity to build on what he did at that spot last year as opposed to having to adjust to a new position should help his development immensely. In a year with several big name offensive tackles eyeing the pros, such as Penn State's Olumuyiwa Fashanu and Notre Dame's Joe Alt, Nelson has his chance to stake his claim as one of the elite tackles in the nation and be mentioned in the same breath as the aforementioned superstars.

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