Stock Up, Stock Down: Wisconsin seeks lakeside win over Northwestern

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.

STOCK UP: WR Vinny Anthony

Might as well make it three straight weeks for Vinny Anthony in the stock up department. In that time, he has seven catches for 217 yards and two scores, averaging 31.0 yards-per-catch. In fact, his 26.1 yards-per-catch leads the country for wideouts with at least five receptions. Anthony is a bona-fide big-play threat, and his chemistry with Braedyn Locke only seems to improve each week. The splash plays he provides are obviously a massive boost for this offense, but so is the threat of the big play even when he's not involved. Moving forward, defenses will have no choice but to be weary of Anthony whenever he's in single coverage without safety help over the top.

STOCK UP: QB Braedyn Locke

Braedyn Locke didn't match his numbers from his career day against Purdue last week, but he showed vital development once again in Piscataway. It was so critical for Locke to come out and have another good performance, to stack good outings and continue to display growth and maturity. After a roller coaster of a start where he threw an impressive touchdown on the opening drive and a unforgivable interception on the second, Locke dialed in. The biggest indication of his maturation? The career 50 percent passer just stacked weeks of 64.5 and 71.4 percent completion.

STOCK UP: RB Tawee Walker

Just like Anthony and Locke, Tawee Walker makes a repeat appearance in the stock up category from last week. Also like the quarterback and receiver, Walker has really started to heat up as the Badgers hit the midway point of the season. He now has the keys to the backfield in Madison, and it'll be exciting to watch what he does with them. Notably, the tailback's feel for how his offensive line blocks appears to be improving each week, a point head coach Luke Fickell touched on after the Rutgers game.

STOCK UP: RB Darrion Dupree

Darrion Dupree only tallied 46 yards against Rutgers, but he scored his first career touchdown and made a key statement: he's the clear No. 2 tailback behind Walker. Last week, he operated as the second running back off the bench in the first game without Chez Mellusi. In Jersey, he did the same, cementing his spot as the RB2. Cade Yacamelli still played well, and remains the Badgers leading per-carry rusher. Still, Dupree is already the far superior receiving back and he feels tantalizingly close to breaking a big run. The coaching staff should continue to ride him as the second-string halfback.

STOCK UP: S Preston Zachman

Zachman just had his best game of the season against against the Scarlet Knights. He's been a consistent starter in the back end alongside Hunter Wohler, but he hadn't logged more than four tackles in a game. In Piscataway, he racked up 10, including 1.5 tackles-for-loss and an interception. He's got a great nose for the football and both of his tackles-for-loss came while stuffing the star tailback Kyle Monangai. With the way he can diagnose offenses and react to the play, Zachman has become an exceedingly valuable player in Mike Tressel's defense.

STOCK UP: LB Jaheim Thomas

It hasn't been as easy to notice because it has yet to display itself in the form of splash plays, but Jaheim Thomas' play has quietly improved significantly in the past two weeks and especially against Rutgers. His eight tackles were a season-high, and Pro Football Focus likes his performance too, crediting him with eight "stops" (plays that constitute a negative for the offense) over the past two weeks after accounting for nine in the previous four games. He's been a crucial part of the Badgers' improved run defense, and has also been sent after the quarterback to try to spark Wisconsin's tepid pass rush.

STOCK UP: OG Joe Brunner

Redshirt sophomore guard Joe Brunner was a key part of Wisconsin's game-plan against Rutgers, which demonstrates just how highly offensive line coach AJ Blazek and the rest of the staff think about the first-year starter. The Badgers repeatedly pulled him from his spot at left guard, utilizing him as both a lead blocker and a decoy. Brunner has put together a superb season and looks like a key piece of Wisconsin's future in the trenches.

STOCK DOWN: K Nathanial Vakos

Nathanial Vakos is put in a tough spot considering he's exclusively the place-kicker. He doesn't get a chance to impact the game on kickoffs. Thus, when he misses routine field goals like the 35-yarder he pushed wide right against Rutgers, it stains his performance significantly. Luckily for Wisconsin, it dominated in just about every facet of the game, so Vakos' missed kick was rather inconsequential. Still, he's now just 6-for-9 on field goal attempts this season, which isn't quite as consistent the Badgers would like.