Published Aug 30, 2022
Three burning questions heading into Week 1: Illinois State
Seamus Rohrer  •  BadgerBlitz
Staff
Twitter
@seamus_rohrer

Madison - It's finally game week, as the Badgers begin preparation for their first opponent of the 2022 season, Illinois State.

Coming off of a highly competitive fall camp, what questions loom large on the eve of the season?

What will the passing game look like? 

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The million-dollar question. Quarterback Graham Mertz isn’t lacking confidence heading into his third season as a starter, despite having an almost completely new arsenal of weapons to throw to.

What development will Mertz show? What will his chemistry look like with new starting receivers and tight ends? What will offensive coordinator Bobby Engram add to spice up the passing attack? Mertz called Engram’s offense “an NFL playbook.” This is a multi-faceted question.

It’s safe to say Mertz likes his receivers.

“They got a little swag to them. They’re having fun, they’re competitive as hell. And that’s so exciting to me,” the quarterback said. “It’s a group that loves each other, and they know how to get open on the field, so that’s pretty fun, too.”

Mertz notes that route-running is where he’s seen the biggest jump in camp from his wide outs. But he knows he has things to tune-up as well.

Personally, Mertz feels like his decision making has made the biggest leap in fall camp.

“Not forcing it into windows that aren’t there, making the right play when needed, I’d say that was the biggest improvement.”

After all the speculation, we’ll finally get to see where this passing game is on Saturday. Yes, FCS Illinois State should be taken with a grain of salt. But seeing real, tangible improvement in that department is vital for this team.

How does the defense gel?

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Eight new starters. Two transfers starting in the secondary. Brand new inside-linebacker duo. And yet, the expectation is that the defense will continue the excellence of the 2021 season. Defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard has a lot to do with that. And he isn’t worried about outfitting a defense with mostly new starters.

“The biggest thing is getting them an understanding of how we adjust things in-season,” he said.

“It’s a talented group that came in, motivated to show the kind of character they have and the work ethic they have.”

Indeed, the Badgers defense has some exciting talent that’s been lying in wait. Safety Hunter Wohler and corner Ricardo Hallman are in line for serious playing time. Both were blue-chip defensive backs from the 2021 recruiting class, and have positioned themselves to be impact players.

Wisconsin’s defense also got reinforcements, including second-team all-PAC-12 corner Jay Shaw by way of the transfer portal. Kamo’i Latu, who figured to start on a talented Utah team, also found his way to Madison. So did Justin Clark and Cedrick Dort Jr.

When Leonhard is calling plays for the Badgers defense, greatness is expected. Against Illinois State, the expectation should be to essentially shut them down.

What's going on with special teams? 

Looking at the week one depth chart…starting punter: Andy Vujnovich. Got it.

Starting kicker…Vito Calvaruso? This is interesting for a few reasons.

Calvaruso wasn’t a participant at any fall practice reporters attended. No individual drills, nothing.

In the meantime, redshirt freshman kicker Nate Van Zelst was the starting kicker in practice, and looked very capable. He drilled most of his kicks during field goal periods reporters saw, and also took some reps handling kickoff duties.

Now, we can assume Calvaruso is good to go, or will be imminently. Considering he was barely noticeable at fall camp, it’s still surprising to see him listed as a starter.

Punter returner: Dean Engram. This makes sense. He took most of the reps in camp, and returned punts last season as well.

Kick returner: Isaac Guerendo. Wow, OK. I really like this one. Guerendo has been displaying great burst all camp. He’s added power to the straight-line speed he was known for, and he has a knack for the big play. This is a great way to get the ball in his hands past being the No.3 halfback.

Guerendo only has one career kickoff return, three years ago during the 2019 season. He took it for 56 yards.

WEEK 1 DEPTH, ACCORDING TO WISCONSIN'S GAME NOTES
Pos.First TeamSecond Team

QB

G. Mertz (4TH-JR | 6-3, 216)

C. Wolf (5TH-SR | 6-1, 195)

RB

B. Allen (SO | 6-2, 235)

C. Mellusi (SR | 5-11, 210)

FB

J. Acker (R-FR | 6-1, 239)

R. Nowakowski (3RD-SO | 6-1, 237)

WR

C. Dike (JR | 6-1, 195)

M. Allen (R-FR | 6-1, 211)

WR

S. Bell (R-FR | 6-0, 190)

K. Lewis (SO | 6-2, 190)

TE

C. Cundiff (4TH-JR | 6-3, 236)

H. Rucci (4TH-JR | 6-4, 256)

LT

J. Nelson (3RD-SO | 6-7, 310)

N. Rucci (R-FR | 6-8, 297)

LG

T. Beach (6TH-SR | 6-6, 317)

J. Brunner (FR | 6-5, 317)

C

J. Tippmann (4TH-JR | 6-6, 317)

T. Wedig (3RD-SO | 6-7, 315)

RG

M. Furtney (5TH-SR | 6-5, 315)

D. Barrett (3RD-SO | 6-5, 320

RT

R. Mahlman (R-FR | 6-8, 315)

L. Brown (4TH-JR | 6-6, 313)



DE

R. Johnson (4TH-JR | 6-2, 293)

C. McDonald (3RD-SO | 6-6, 285)

NT

K. Benton (SR | 6-4, 315)

G. Paez (4TH-JR | 6-3, 316)

DE

I. Mullens (5TH-SR | 6-4, 303)

J. Thompson Jr. (3RD-SO | 6-5, 295)

OLB

N. Herbig (JR | 6-2, 228)

K. Johnson (3RD-SO | 6-2, 230)

ILB

M. Njongmeta (4TH-JR | 6-0, 229)

J. Chaney (SO | 5-11, 229)

ILB

J. Turner (3RD-SO | 6-1, 225)

T. Grass (4TH-JR | 6-2, 232)

OLB

C.J. Goetz (5TH-SR | 6-3, 232)

D. Peterson (R-FR | 6-1, 244)

CB

J. Shaw (6TH-SR | 5-11, 187)

S. Melvin (4TH-JR | 5-11, 170)

SS

J. Torchio (5TH-SR | 6-1, 211)

K. Latu (JR | 6-0 | 195)

FS

H. Wohler (SO | 6-2, 210)

P. Zachman (3RD-SO | 6-1, 208)

CB

A. Smith (5TH-SR | 5-11, 183)

R. Hallman (R-FR | 5-10, 177)

NB

C. Dort (6TH-SR | 5-11, 183)

J. Clark (7TH-SR | 5-11 | 180)




P

A. Vujnovich (5TH-SR | 6-3, 230)

G. Meyers (3RD-SO | 6-1, 194)

FP

V. Calvaruso (JR | 6-3, 200)

N. Van Zelst (R-FR | 5-11, 184)

KO

J. Van Dyke (JR | 6-5, 214)

V. Calvaruso (JR | 6-3, 200)

LS

P. Bowden (4TH-JR | 6-2, 233)

Z. Zei (R-FR | 6-2, 221)

H

G. Meyers (3RD-SO | 6-1, 194)

A. Vujnovich (5TH-SR | 6-3, 230)

PR

D. Engram (4TH-JR | 5-9, 170)

C. Dike (JR | 6-1, 195)

KR

I. Guerendo (5TH-SR | 6-0, 223)

K. Lewis (SO | 6-2, 190)

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