Notes: Badgers will benefit from change to redshirt rule

CHICAGO - Count Wisconsin head coach Paul Chryst as one of the many FBS coaches who were glad to see the NCAA make a change to football’s redshirting rules. Starting this season players will be able to play in up to four games and still retain a year of eligibility - an idea that would have come in handy for previous Wisconsin players.

“It’s a good thing, I really believe. Really, we started talking about it last year … with Jack Cichy. Cichy redshirts a year, then he misses half a year with an injury and then he misses a full season. Out of five years he gets to play for two and a half years,” Chryst said after his opening press conference at the Big Ten Media Days in Chicago.

Chryst said now the Badgers and other teams will have more time to make a decision about which players are ready to contribute - and also give younger players time to grow and potentially contribute at the end of the season without surrendering a full year of eligibility.

“If a guy is ready … who are we to say what the future is going to bring? Now with the rule … you can do it. I still believe that you have to make sure that the players are ready to play. It’s wrong of you to put a guy on the field if he’s not ready,” Chryst said. “What’s kind of nice now is that you don’t have to decide two weeks in to camp or three weeks in to camp. Scott Nelson is a good picture - he did some good things and then got hurt, and he was going to be out for a bit so what do you want to do? I think it will be nice that way in that you don’t have to make a decision now, you just keep working.”

Chryst also said he thinks the rule change will keep the team’s true freshmen motivated throughout the season, since they could have a chance to contribute at the end of the season if they keep getting better after the season starts.

“I think for a player’s approach, I think there are sometimes where it’s like ‘Oh, I’m redshirting’ and then they can kind of shut it down,” Chryst said. “Now you’re continuing to grow and progress. I think the new rule will impact their approach or their mindset a little bit.”

“There’s no doubt that there are some guys where as the season progresses they are ready and could add value. I think it will also change their mindset because they won’t check out because they are redshirting.”

The Badgers made a move to shore up a potential depth issue on their defensive line by moving redshirt freshman Kayden Lyles from the offensive line to nose tackle. Lyles spent spring camp working at center and guard and took some reps with the first team, but the Badgers lost two expected contributors at defensive end during the summer in junior Garrett Rand and Isaiahh Loudermilk. Rand will miss the entire season, and Loudermilk is expected to miss at least a few games after undergoing surgery.

Lyles’ move to nose guard should at least allow the Badgers to build up some depth behind senior nose tackle Olive Sagapolu, and head coach Paul Chryst said that Lyles was willing to move to defense to help the team - and he did not rule out a move back to the offensive line later in Lyles’ career.

“Obviously we wanted to add a bit of depth,” Chryst said Tuesday after his opening press conference at the Big Ten media days. “He’s all-in on defense right now. Our intentions are … he came and he wanted to be an offensive lineman. This is a good way for him to help the team. We didn’t have to have these long talks (with him). This is right for him and it’s right for the team.”

The Badgers will have to be without Garrett Rand in 2018, but sophomore defensive end Isaiahh Loudermilk should be able to return to the field at some point for UW - however the Badgers have not provided a specific timetable as he recovers from an offseason surgery. That said, head coach Paul Chryst did say that Loudermilk’s recovery is going well - in part because Loudermilk is feeling good as he works his way back onto the field.

“It’s been good,” Chryst said of Loudermilk’s recovery. “I don’t know about (being ready for the first game) but he was in the weight room and he was working, and more importantly he feels like it’s going well. That you’re thankful for.”

The Big Ten announced their preseason awards on Monday and the Badgers led the way in the Big Ten West with two players earning preseason recognition: senior linebacker T.J. Edwards and sophomore running back Jonathan Taylor. Edwards is preparing to lead the way for Wisconsin’s defense after electing to return to Wisconsin for his senior season, and Taylor is looking to build on top of a stellar freshman season - and make some more noise in the race for the Heisman Trophy in his season season with the Badgers.

The Badgers updated their roster for the 2018 season before the start of the conference’s media days and made a few notable changes since the end of spring camp. The first is that two scholarship players are no longer with the program in senior offensive lineman Brett Connors and sophomore running back Sam Brodner. Connors played in 30 games for the Badgers over the last three seasons and was versatile enough to play multiple spots along the offensive line. Brodner missed the 2017 season after tearing his ACL during spring camp last year, and looked to be on the mend after he was able to get on the field for this year’s spring camp.

The Badgers also listed former three-star prospect Isaac Guerendo at running back - the former high school speedster was originally listed as an athlete by the team when he signed his national letter of intent during the early signing period at the end of last year. Former three-star prospect Jaylan Franklin was also moved to outside linebacker after he was originally recruited and signed as a tight end.

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John Veldhuis covers Wisconsin football, basketball and recruiting for BadgerBlitz.com on the Rivals.com network. Follow him on Twitter at @JohnVeldhuis.