MADISON, Wis. — The Wisconsin Badgers were outside in Camp Randall for the seventh open practice of the spring. BadgerBlitz.com was present for Saturday's action.
Here are my three biggest takeaways.
Backup safeties steal the show
During one of the first plays of team drills, Edwards threw up a deep ball into double coverage, which was tipped by Nyzier Fourqurean into the hands of safety Austin Brown.
It foreshadowed another day of dominance for the secondary, after the interception onslaught we saw Thursday.
The backup safeties — Matthew Traynor and Matthew Jung — were especially disruptful.
On a receiver screen for Vinny Anthony, Jung met him before he could pass the line of scrimmage, forced the ball loose, then picked it up for a would-be touchdown.
Jung didn’t enter with the highest expectations as a transfer from Bethel, a D-III school, but has more than held his own on the second team. His size was always obvious, at 6-foot-3, 225 pounds, but he can move around the field with an unexpected velocity. He even got some first team reps near the end of practice.
While Traynor is slightly smaller, at 6-foot-1, 215 pounds, he can still hit as hard as anybody in the secondary. He laid out running back Gideon Ituka (5-foot-9, 227 pounds) in open space during the back half of practice.
We also saw the defense experiment with more blitz packages than in recent days. Preston Zachman found his way into the backfield for a few would-be sacks.
The safety room, led by a new position coach in Jack Cooper, has been one of the highlights of spring camp. There was some pressure on this group after the departure of safety Hunter Wohler. There’s no way to make up for a player like that immediately, but Jung and Traynor provide hope that they can at least be deeper.
