Wisconsin's spring camp, an opportunity it did not have in 2020, concluded on Friday. Fifteen sessions -- five of which were open to specific reporters -- came and went, allowing those who participated to develop further in those extended reps.
"Certainly appreciate that we've had this opportunity to have spring practice, and I think, in many ways, got a lot out of it," head coach Paul Chryst said on that April 30 afternoon prior to practice.
BadgerBlitz.com went through the notes, the highlights and the snaps, and attempted to construct a two-deep after what was seen in the handful of open practices this past month.
Writer's note/disclaimer: Reporters saw five of the 15 practices, so this may not paint the entire picture of what transpired during the spring.
QUARTERBACK
This seems pretty easy. Graham Mertz and Chase Wolf were the first and second quarterbacks to receive reps, respectively, during the sessions open to reporters. They looked solid through most of them, though they appeared sharper in the first three compared to the last two we were able to watch.
Both still can make every throw one would like from that room. Each threw less than a handful of interceptions in the handful of open practices, showing some ball security. Mertz continues to prove he can place the ball where it needs to be. He has the arm strength to thread the needle, like in one of the red-zone touchdown passes to Chimere Dike on April 17. He also hit different targets on rollouts, or was able extend to the deeper levels of the secondary. Some were connected upon -- like a deep completion to wide receiver Kendric Pryor on April 17 -- and a couple to Danny Davis that were just beyond his reach.
Wolf stood out to me during apparent red-zone periods - in my eyes, making throws and racking up touchdowns. The Cincinnati, Ohio native has the arm strength, like Mertz, and he also has the most mobility out of all the quarterbacks. I saw a couple throws that hung a bit more than one would like, but he could deliver strikes down the field as well -- as seen on the 17th when he launched a pass that wide receiver Devin Chandler ran underneath and sprinted past two defenders for a would-be touchdown in a "skelley" period.
Danny Vanden Boom continued to show he is a steady hand in a reserve role.