Wisconsin's 2018 football season is right around the corner, with fall camp expected to start at the end of the month. With that in mind, BadgerBlitz.com will be running through the burning questions the Badgers are facing at each position group as they look to build on last year's 13-1 season.

QUARTERBACKS / RUNNING BACKS / WIDE RECEIVERS / TIGHT ENDS / OFFENSIVE LINE / DEFENSIVE LINE

Ever since the Badgers made the switch to a 3-4 defensive scheme under Dave Aranda the UW linebackers have been the beating heart of some very productive defenses. The outside linebackers in particular have been the playmakers - with the 3-4 becoming a springboard for the likes of Joe Schobert, Vince Biegel and T.J. Watt to move on to the NFL.

Last year the Badgers were tasked with replacing both Biegel and Watt, and while they weren't quite as flashy as their predecessors Leon Jacobs and Garret Dooley turned in to an effective pairing at outside linebacker - combining for 21.5 tackles for loss in their senior seasons.

Now the Badgers need to find two new starters again on the outside, although junior college transfer Andrew Van Ginkel played about as well as anyone else on Wisconsin's defense down the stretch last year and seems to have earned one of those two starting spots.

The Badgers did get a bit of good news during the offseason when inside linebacker T.J. Edwards elected to return to Wisconsin for his senior season instead of moving on to the NFL. Edwards, fellow senior Ryan Connelly, and junior Chris Orr will give the Badgers one of the best inside linebacker groups in the Big Ten, if not the country, and they should help solidify the middle of Wisconsin's new-look defense - giving whoever steps up on the edge a chance to shine at one of the most important positions in Wisconsin's defense.

The good news for the Badgers is that their inside linebacker spots seem set: with T.J. Edwards, Ryan Connelly, and Chris Orr manning the middle, Wisconsin's run defense should be set up for success. But just like last year the Badgers are going to need to develop a new pass rush - one that will give their young secondary a chance for success and not leave them on an island in coverage for too long.

Andrew Van Ginkel looks perfectly capable of stepping in to a starting job. His 10 tackles for loss last year ranked fourth on the team - behind Garret Dooley, T.J. Edwards, and Ryan Connelly. But the Badgers need to find someone who can step up on the other side of the defense, or else teams will scheme to stop Van Ginkel without paying any price.

At the moment the top candidate to claim the other outside linebacker job looks like junior Zack Baun, a talented athlete who has had his share of injury trouble since arriving on campus. Baun was supposed to be in the mix for playing time last year - potentially as the No. 3 outside linebacker - before a foot injury in fall camp ended his season before it began. Baun should be healthy for fall camp, but he'll need to stay on the field to have a chance of putting his athletic talents to good use.

If Baun ends up being unable to contribute then the Badgers could turn to walk-on junior Tyler Johnson, who saw the field here and there during the 2017 season and made some plays when he had the chance. Johnson will see if he can push Baun for that starting job - or at least become more of a rotational player this year.

In preparing for our fall camp series, Jon McNamara and John Veldhuis sat down to break down what they are expecting to see out of Wisconsin's position groups during the pre-season. Their conversation is included below.

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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.