Following the conclusion of fall camp, BadgerBlitz.com will take a look at each position group and where they stand with the final phase of the offseason wrapping up.

We'll kick off our defensive overviews with the defensive line.

RELATED: QUARTERBACKS |

Depth. Spring camp made it all too obvious that defensive line depth was one of the biggest concerns on the entire team.

Almost every other room on the defense added multiple players and improved significantly, meanwhile the line lost seven players to the transfer portal. Rodas Johnson and Gio Paez, who finished with the second and third most snaps in the unit, left for Texas A&M and LSU, respectively. Also gone are TJ Bollers (California), Gabe Kirschke (Colorado State), Mike Jarvis (Liberty), Darian Varner (Cincinnati) and Tommy Brunner (Western Illinois).

All in all last season, the defensive line had eight players register 2,011 total snaps, according to Pro Football Focus. They lost four of those players and 940 snaps.

Curt Neal emerged as a trustworthy starter alongside James Thompson Jr. throughout the spring, but there was still a clear drop off in talent after the top two.

Shortly after the conclusion of spring camp, they acquired Brandon Lane via the portal, making one of their most important moves of the offseason. His combination of overwhelming size and athleticism are incredibly rare at any level in today’s game. In defensive line coach E.J. Whitlow’s words, he’s “a guy that’s big, dense, powerful and really athletic for his size.” During fall, he fit in well as the third member of the rotation.

Redshirt senior Ben Barten is one of the emotional leaders of the team and has looked more and more capable over the course of spring and fall camp, as has senior Elijah Hills.

They’ll likely need more bodies as the year goes on and injuries pile up, but the progress they’ve made since the beginning of the offseason is significant.

Youth. While the room has deepened, the future isn’t as bright.

The top five members of the rotation are all in their third year or later. It’s not a problem to lean on veterans, but the lack of youthful impact is worrying.

They introduced three freshmen to the room this offseason — Ernest Willor, Dillan Johnson and Hank Weber.

Willor, the highest-rated recruit of the three as a four star, was moved to outside linebacker during spring to accommodate some of the injuries in that room, namely Aaron Witt and Thomas Heiberger. It doesn’t seem to be a temporary move, either, as coaches have made it clear that they feel Willor is more natural on the outside.

That leaves Johnson and Weber as the lone freshmen. They earned consistent reps with the third team throughout the spring, but are not yet physically mature and rarely made an impact.

There’s hope to be taken from the progress of redshirt freshman Jamel Howard, but perhaps not yet as a top member of the rotation.

How many guys can/will actually play?

Most coaches have a loose number in their mind for desired rotation depth. But some don’t have that luxury, like Whitlow, who’s looking for contributions anywhere he can find them.

Last season’s room saw five players register over 200 snaps, including three with over 380.

Thompson, Neal and Barten feel locked in as members of the top-three, with Lane sliding in as a competent fourth. The question is whether or not players like Hills, McDonald or Howard have what it takes to join the 200+ snaps club.

It’s possible that the coaches try to get creative in order to fill out the defensive line reps. Outside linebacker Darryl Peterson was lining up on the inside more throughout fall camp. They’ll also likely rely on unique blitz packages just to create more noise on the inside.

The addition of Whitlow to the coaching staff had an almost immediate impact on their 2025 recruiting class.

He managed to land three three-star commitments over an 11-day span back in June. The first was Middleton native Torin Pettaway, who originally committed to Wisconsin before flipping to Minnesota, then flipping back.

They soon won over Wilnerson Telemaque, an intriguing athlete with high upside.

Ultimately, the defensive line’s prize of the 2025 class has been Denton, Texas native Xavier Ukponu, who committed earlier in August. At 6-foot-3, 300 pounds, Ukponu is a true nose tackle whose physical maturity should earn him opportunities earlier than others.

In the 2026 class, Wisconsin has offered projected defensive tackles Tony Cumberland (Eugene, OR), Gabriel Hill (Naperville, IL), T. Ionatana Umu-Cais (Englewood, CO), James Johnson (North Fort Myers, FL), King Liggins (Chicago, IL), Tomuhini Topui (Santa Ana, CA) and Jamarcus Whyce (Trotwood, OH).

The pressure is on to add youth to an aging room.

_________________________________________________

*Chat about this article in The Badgers' Den

*Check out our videos, interviews, and Q&As on our YouTube channel

*Subscribe and listen to the BadgerBlitz.com podcast (as seen on Apple, Google, Spotify and wherever you listen to podcasts)

*Follow us on Twitter: @McNamaraRivals, @TheBadgerNation, @RaulV45, @seamus_rohrer, @DonnieSlusher_

*Like us on Facebook