MADISON, Wis. – Wisconsin senior outside linebacker Vince Biegel will miss this weekend’s game against No. 4 Michigan and will miss two to four weeks in total, according to a report by ESPN. There's no official word from the Badgers yet, but it appears as though they will need to take on the Wolverines without one of their top pass rushers.
Biegel, who was ranked as the Big Ten’s top pass rusher by Pro Football Focus through four weeks of the season, has nine tackles in four games for UW this year. That total includes one sack and another tackle for loss, to go along with two other QB hurries.
With Biegel on the sidelines for the next few weeks it’s unclear who will step up and take his place. The Badgers could turn to back up linebackers like senior Garret Dooley or redshirt freshman Zack Baun, who have both played on UW’s second team defense and have 12 tackles between them this season.
The Badgers could also move inside linebacker Jack Cichy to the his original outside linebacker spot, although that could sap UW’s depth at inside linebacker with sophomore Chris Orr out for the season with an ACL injury.
Biegel is the fourth player that will miss an extended period of time for the Badgers this year, with the news breaking just hours after the team announced that place kicker Rafael Gaglianone will miss the rest of the season with a back injury.
--
John Veldhuis covers Wisconsin football, basketball and recruiting for BadgerBlitz.com on the Rivals.com network. Follow him on Twitter at @JohnVeldhuis.
