With Wisconsin's fall camp set to start in late July, BadgerBlitz.com will be running through the burning questions that the Badgers will be looking to answer at each position group before they open their season on Sept. 1 against Utah State.
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Position Primer
The Badgers can make the case that they have the deepest group of linebackers in at least the Big Ten - and I think you'd have a hard time arguing with them. Sure, losing T.J. Watt and Vince Biegel from last season presents a new challenge for them at outside linebacker. But the Badgers have so much depth at inside linebacker in particular that they won't be able to play everyone all the time - and they could flex players to the outside to shore things up if they need to.
This position group is a perfect example of how injuries can have a silver lining in the long run. Because while the Badgers lost Chris Orr for the season on their first defensive snap of the year and Jack Cichy (who was the team's leading tackler at the time) to a torn pectoral muscle midway through the year, Ryan Connelly and Leon Jacobs stepped up and filled the void they left behind.
Now that Cichy and Orr are healthy, the Badgers have enough talent to plug several holes at once. Senior Garret Dooley is expected to grab one of the open outside linebacker spots, and Jacobs has since moved back to the outside - a position where his teammates think he has found a real home in his final season at UW.
And even with Jacobs flexed outside, the Badgers still have four experienced players available for two inside linebacker spots in Cichy, Orr, T.J. Edwards, and Connelly.
From there it might be hard to find reps for younger players, but JUCO transfer Andrew Van Ginkel and sophomore Zack Baun could push their way into the rotation at outside linebacker. And it might be a development year for the younger inside linebackers - so don't be surprised to see someone like Arrington Farrar take a redshirt year even after he played at defensive back early in his UW career.
Returning Players
Incoming Players
One Burning Question: Can the Badgers replace the pass-rush production of T.J. Watt and Vince Biegel?
There's no doubt that a lot of eyes will be on the inside linebacker spot, if only to see who ends up starting out of that talented group of four experienced players. But I think all four will play for UW during the season, and getting the start might be more a formality if the Badgers rotate players a lot during games.
The real burning question is if the Badgers can replace Watt and Biegel's pass-rushing production from last season. The duo combined to rack up 22 tackles for loss in 2016 - with Watt's 15.5 leading the way for UW.
Part of the problem is that it's been hard to judge how Wisconsin's new first-team outside linebackers, specifically Dooley and either Jacobs or Baun, have been performing. Spring camp's relative lack of contact (especially when the quarterbacks are concerned) means that pass rushers have to pull up before they can make contact, so you have to judge based on the timing of a play. We'll see if fall camp provides some more answers - but we might not know for sure just how dangerous Wisconsin's pass rush will be until they start playing games.
There's definite room for optimism, though. Dooley quietly finished his 2016 season with more tackles for loss than Biegel did (6.5 compared to 6), but Biegel did miss two games with his foot injury in the middle of the season. Zack Baun and Leon Jacobs also combined for 4.5 tackles for loss in limited snaps last year, so the talent appears to be in place. We'll just have to wait and see if they can deliver when the pressure is on in 2017.
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John Veldhuis covers Wisconsin football for BadgerBlitz.com on the Rivals.com network. Follow him on Twitter at @JohnVeldhuis.