Wisconsin returned to the field this past week and Wednesday marked its first padded practice since Rose Bowl prep in 2019. Paul Chryst and the Badgers are ramping up for their season opener that is now just over three weeks away.
One of the biggest questions heading into the season: How will UW handle key departures on both sides of the ball? Quintez Cephus, Jonathan Taylor, Chris Orr and Zack Baun are all trying to make a splash in the pros, leaving the depth at each spot in question.
At tailback, Wisconsin's offense will look to fill the giant hole left by Taylor, who totaled over 6,000 rushing yards in his time in Madison. That historical production in the backfield won't be equalled, but redshirt senior Garrett Groshek and redshirt sophomores Nakia Watson and Isaac Guerendo will be asked to maintain the standard in 2020.
“Obviously, Nakia has played a lot of football for us and yet I think all of these guys, their roles are still to be defined. I’ve been impressed with and appreciate Isaac Guerendo. I think he’s starting to feel comfortable at that position,” Chryst told reporters Wednesday morning. “Between those three you hope to be productive and, certainly, you’ve got Jalen Berger and Julius Davis is new. But I think the lean goes on those three (Groshek, Watson and Guerendo) to be productive.”
Watson totaled 331 rushing yards on 74 carries in 2019 while Groshek amassed 194 rushing yards on 42 carries. Neither gained much traction as runners behind Taylor’s 320 touches, but each will now be asked to carry the load.
“Grosh, he’s been tremendous in this offseason," Chryst said. "Despite it being a very different offseason, he’s taken the leadership role to heart and done it in a lot of different ways. Thankful for that and obviously going to need continued leadership from him.
“Last year, guys viewed him as one of our a bell-cows as far as leadership. I think that’s been the fun part of getting going with the young guys and with Grosh.”
It’s hard to put into perspective just how good Taylor was in Madison. Chryst mentioned it’ll be difficult to replace his production even with a three-player led stable of backs.
“Certainly not trying to match what JT did, but we do have to get really good, consistent production from that group," he said. "All three can bring something to the table."
On the other side of the ball, the inside linebacker room will now be without Orr, who turned in a productive senior year with 78 total tackles -14 that went for a loss - 11.5 sacks and five pass deflections. Now, much like the depth at tailback, it will be interesting to find out who steps up as a key reserve over the season.
“We’ve got three guys that have been around and have played, Leo (Chenal) being the youngest. But he has played a lot of football," Chryst said. "We’ve got three guys who’ve got a good sense of how to play in our defense. Then I think you’ve got a really young group,”
The three Chryst referred to being Mike Maskalunas, Leo Chenal and Jack Sanborn. Sanborn led the team in tackles a year ago with 80, while Chenal and Maskalunas added 17 and 16, respectively. After that, there is no other returning inside linebacker who registered a tackle in 2019.
“As we get going and get through preseason practices and even as the season develops, it’s how do those young guys develop?" Chryst said. "How does Jordan (Turner) or Malik (Reed) get this - Preston Zachman. Two of those guys (Turner and Zachman) were going to be here for the spring but, obviously, this was different,” .
Maema Njongmeta is another young player who could have received some reps but hasn’t been able to practice yet.
“We’ve got two different groups, one that has a really good understanding and you got a young group whose talent we like,” Chryst said. “Maema hasn't been practicing yet with us and it will be good to get him going there. I think there’s certainly some question marks after those top three.”
At outside linebacker, Noah Burks and Izayah Green-May are expected to open with the No. 1 defense. Baun, like Taylor at running back, won't be replicated.
“Noah was productive last year in a different way than Zach was," Chryst said. "When you go back and look at it, Noah was consistently productive. The first thing is to kind of keep that and build off of that. Doesn’t have to be someone he’s not. I think last year gave him genuine confidence.
"Then you’ve got Izayah - he’s a legitimate guy. He played and played a lot last year in different areas. He’s got to continue to grow. He’s no longer a young guy. CJ Goetz has done a nice job - last year we kind of moved him, switching posiitons, but now I think he’s had enough time where he’s understanding what’s going on. Spencer Lytle is a guy we're excited about when he came in, he’s kind of always been fighting an injury. Just being able to be on the field consistently he shows some natural instincts to the position and has the ability to help us. Then we’ve got some young guys in Nick Herbig, Aaron Witt and Kaden (Johnson)."
