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.

Not only is Alexander Smith Wisconsin's most experienced returning corner, the redshirt senior is likely the most versatile of the group. The 5-foot-11, 179-pound defensive back has appeared in 36 games with two starts under his belt. Now with the departure of Faion Hicks and Caesar Williams to the pros, Smith has assumed the role of the leader in the room.

“Alex Smith has been unbelievable to watch as far as his consistency and the jump that he took,” defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard, who has deployed Smith at each position in the secondary, said.

During his time in Madison, Smith has seen time in the nickel with the veteran starters but has also worked along the sidelines. With the depleted depth at safety following an injury to Travian Blaylock, Smith is someone who can also slot in at safety, if needed.

“He’s the one who is most ready because he’s done it all in the past. He’s played all of our nickel stuff which you’re about 90 percent of the way to playing safety there,” Leonhard said. "He understands our scheme. He made a huge point of learning all that early in his career, so it’s impressive the knowledge he has of our defense. I can randomly throw him in there and it doesn’t matter what the coverage and a lot of other guys, it’s you’re going to be in the post, you’re going to be here.

"I can script a practice to help them and put them in position and gain some experience but you know what’s coming, I don’t care with him. You can put him with the first group and be a safety and he’s going to have very few mental errors. He’s the one that’s most ready and he’s had a huge camp.”

Smith, who started in the Las Vegas Bowl last year, showcased a noted improvement in his game this spring. His challenge will be to maintain that level of play and assume the role of UW's No. 1 cornerback this fall. Having played nickel for much of his snaps, he’ll likely move over to playing primarily on the outside with Justin Clark working in the slot. Leading a retooled secondary, the play of the group will be dictated by the performance of Smith.

“Well, I'm always transparent with all my players so every decision that I make, especially Alex -- Alex is the leader of my room,'" position coach Hank Poteat said. "So I communicated with him throughout that whole process of bringing in new guys, and they understand that when four guys leave, you're bringing in four new guys. So some of the guys who left were veteran guys, so trying to just continue to have that balance within the room.

“But understanding that, even when you bring in new guys, they still have to earn their position, and I've been transparent with them as well. The guys who are here, you have to beat them out. Everybody in the room understands that, and I think just bringing in a whole bunch of new guys has actually elevated some of the younger guys’ game and allowed them to stay locked into the details and stay focused, and is really pushing everyone. It's creating a lot of competition, so I really like where everybody is heading in my room. So it's been good.”

Poteat and Leonhard will have to battle over how to split the reps for Smith. The versatile defensive back will take on a starting role as corner for the first time in his career and can add be a valuable asset at safety. Tabbed as the leader in the room by Poteat, Smith has also helped with the development of younger corners.

Poteat made sure to stay in contact with Smith, a senior in the program, when it came to bringing in a trio of corners through the transfer portal. To this point, the veteran corner has responded. As the most experienced along with John Torchio, he’ll be leaned on to patrol the back end.

“I’ve seen his game elevate to the next level. He’s playing fast, he’s playing smart. He’s probably my smartest DB. He can probably every position in the secondary. He’s getting reps at nickel corner, safety because he can absorb that information,” Poteat said.

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