Wisconsin's 2021 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.

Nick Herbig provided an immediate boost to the outside linebacker room in 2020. As a true freshman, Herbig started all seven games, finishing fourth on the team in tackles and tied for first in tackles for loss. At 6-foot-2 and 228 pounds, Herbig's combination of speed and effort make him one of the more intriguing players on the 2021 roster.

“Nick brings an energy about him and a love for the game that you don’t see from many guys, and I think just the enthusiasm and effort and his ability to understand what’s expected will increase his role even more,” outside linebackers coach Bobby April told reporters in the spring.

For Herbig - and the entire group of outside linebackers - he’d like to add more as a pass rusher. Following a season in which Zack Baun tallied 12.5 sacks on his own, the position totaled just four sacks with no one, including Herbig, collecting more than one. As a unit, the defense got to the quarterback just 11 times after setting a school record with 51 sacks in 2019. The true sophomore noted that he has been working on his get off, footwork and going out there with a plan each rep.

"I think a big step for me would be becoming a better spark plug for the team. Becoming a more all-around player, being smarter, being a lot more physical, quicker and really elevating my pass-rush game,” Herbig told reporters this spring. “I feel like last year the pass rush for our defense as a whole wasn't really what Wisconsin is about. At Wisconsin, you're expected to have double-digit sacks each year, so I feel like that's a big part of the game that I need to focus on, as well and bringing that edge to our defense and team."

Herbig, a former four-star recruit, is a candidate for a breakout season in the fall. And with a full offseason, no stops and starts due to COVID and a bigger workload, he should become one of the anchors of UW’s defense.

“Nick is a really mature football player that understands the game well. He plays fast. He's physical.” April said last fall. “All the stuff that you saw from his high school highlights and tapes have come to fruition for us. I love where he is trending.

"He's a guy that's got everything we're looking for. He's smart, tough and dependable, and he checks all three boxes. And he's a great kid off the field, so I can see what people are talking about because the guy’s a playmaker.”

Herbig left an impressive impact on the team as a true freshman, but he left no doubt in how he felt about his performance. Herbig's growth and demeanor could have the talented linebacker set up for a sophomore leap.

“I was definitely not happy at all with the impact I made on the team last year. I feel like I could have been so much more of an impact,” he said. “I feel like that’s a big part of me and I need to be better at that and work harder because, obviously, last year wasn’t enough, so I need to go harder. I definitely had that feeling at the end of the season like I didn’t leave it all out there and I let my team down.“