Right now we're projected to have four scholarship safeties in 2021. I'm raising a red flag on this one and I've gotten little indication through news/trends in recruiting or roster changes that the coaching staff is concerned about this. What is the plan at safety for the 2021 and 2022 classes and are there any current roster players who could move to the position?
Looking at the scholarship distribution, Wisconsin is top-heavy at safety with three seniors - Madison Cone, Collin Wilder and Eric Burrell - on the 2020 roster. The following season, four safeties are penciled in: Scott Nelson, Reggie Pearson, Titus Toler and 2021 commit Hunter Wohler. And while that number seems small, I think the Badgers will be fine for a few reasons.
1) I expect Wohler will be ready to play as a true freshman.
2) John Torcio, who turned down an offer from California and a handful of other programs in order to walk-on at Wisconsin, is a scholarship-caliber player. Tyler Mais can also contribute, if needed, something he proved in 2019.
3) I wouldn't be surprised to see Travian Blaylock work at safety this fall.
4) The defensive backfield under Jim Leonhard is becoming more "position-less," something I wrote about in the last mailbag.
I think Wisconsin is still open to taking a second second safety in the 2021 class, but I don't think the staff will force an offer after missing on Justin Walters (Notre Dame), Rod Moore (Michigan), Beau Freyler (Iowa State) and Zakee Wheatley (Penn State). If the staff can lock up Braelon Allen and another safety in 2022, Wisconsin should be just fine.
