BadgerBlitz.com returns the weekly 'Stock Up, Stock Down' for the 2024 season. In this series, we'll offer evaluations of players on Wisconsin's roster in the context of their 'stock.' Performance, playing time and opportunity are all factored into the movement of a player's stock.

Is Christian Alliegro the best inside linebacker on the Badgers? He certainly played like it in Iowa City. While virtually everyone else on Wisconsin's front seven got embarrassed by Iowa, Alliegro was the one player who seemed to have a sense for run fits, racking up 16 tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss and a sack. He flies to the football but is also a thumper, laying big hits on ballcarriers whom he meets in the hole. The linebacker might be the brightest young player on this defense.

Wisconsin's gem of a true freshman tailback Darrion Dupree seems to get better week in and week out. While Tawee Walker was all but bottled up against the Hawkeyes, Dupree averaged 7.4 yards-per-carry (52 yards on seven handoffs) and had the longest run of the night on a 15-yard scamper. He's just a very natural runner for a true freshman and has a penchant for moving the sicks. This backfield will be his for the taking in 2025.

Braedyn Locke finds himself in the stock down category for the second straight week after perhaps the least inspiring performance of his Badgers career. There's been games he's played poorly, simply being unable to move the chains consistently and facilitate the offense. Then there was Saturday night in Iowa City, where he was about as mistake-prone as they come. Locke had two bad picks and should've had at least two more with balls thrown right to Hawkeye defenders. His turnovers and passes batted at the line of scrimmage are both huge problems at this point. If Wisconsin had another option besides true freshman Mabrey Mettauer, Locke would be benched on the spot.

Tucker Ashcraft was painfully detrimental to the Badgers' efforts in Iowa City. He racked up three penalties, all of them procedural, and dropped a pass over the middle that hit him in the hands. The sophomore, who's opportunities have abounded since he stepped on campus, has had the better part of two seasons to prove he's the answer at tight end. That hasn't happened in the slightest.

John Pius has been a major disappointment this fall. After looking like exactly what the Badgers needed on the edge this offseason during spring and fall camp, he's practically been a non-factor for Mike Tressel's defense. Make no mistake — the entire Wisconsin front seven saw its stock fall after the debacle in Iowa City. Pius was especially poor in his 24 snaps, however. He was actually solid in the pass-rush department, logging one pressure in three pass-rush snaps, but he had a boneheaded penalty when he lined up in the neutral zone on a play where Alliegro made a great stop. He also badly missed a tackle on a scrambling Brendan Sullivan. And of course, Wisconsin had absolutely zero contain on the edge in the running game.

Nearly every Badger defender that played could see their stock drop dramatically this week, but how about a player who inexplicably didn't play: outside linebacker Sebastian Cheeks. Cheeks has been one of Wisconsin's most productive pass-rushers in a fraction of the snaps of its regulars on the edge, and yet has seen his playing time dwindle to almost nothing in recent weeks. The linebacker's pressure rate, according to numbers from Pro Football Focus, is about 20 percent. Meanwhile, Peterson's is 10 percent, Lowery's is seven percent and Pius' is 14 percent. Cheeks played just four snaps against Iowa, while other outside linebackers, namely Pius and Aaron Witt, struggled mightily. The North Carolina Transfer's rapid ascension — and puzzlingly quick downfall — has been a strange development in Tressel's defense this season.

Again, the entire offensive line could see its stock plummet after the atrocity in Kinnick Stadium. Huber stood out as a particularly weak link against the Hawkeyes, however. He was called for two penalties and was undisciplined all night along with the rest of the front. The interior of the Badgers' offensive line was especially poor in the trenches, and while Huber's fellow starting guard Joe Brunner is often used at the point of attack as a pulling blocker, Huber is often asked simply to not mess up. He hasn't been the difference-maker Wisconsin has desperately needed up front the past two games.

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