MADISON, Wis. — The Wisconsin Badgers were back inside the McClain center for their ninth practice of the spring.

BadgerBlitz.com was on the scene. Here are my three biggest takeaways from Thursday's action.

For the defensive line and edge rushers, the first handful of spring practices felt like a discovery phase. There was an abundance of new players the coaches needed to see, which led to a somewhat disjointed and inconsistent rep distribution. They also rarely blitzed or did anything too creative, schematically speaking.

It seems that phase is complete. Over the past few practices, we’ve begun to see a more consistent hierarchy as well as a more aggressive and creative approach from the coaches. This has led to a few consecutive days of dominance on the defensive front. Thursday was just another example.

Corey Walker, the 292-pound edge rusher from Western Michigan, had another strong day. He was able to use his size and power to create problems for left tackle Kevin Heywood, who stands at 6-foot-8, 325 pounds.

Though no one stood out more than Sebastian Cheeks, who registered the most pressures and would-be sacks of any player on Thursday. Like Aaron Witt, Cheeks now plays both on and off the line of scrimmage. Yet he’s been one of their best edge rushers of the spring, so it’ll be difficult to keep him too far from the pocket.

The way the coaches have used Cheeks is one of the bigger examples of their increased creativity. They often move him off the line, but still close enough to occasionally blitz, which led to many of his Thursday pressures.

There are times when the defense has as many as five linebackers on the field at the same time — Christian Alliegro and Tackett Curtis on the inside, Corey Walker and Darryl Peterson on the outside, then either Witt or Cheeks roaming around the box. This personnel group gave the offense issues on Thursday.

The term “multiple” has become a buzzword for this coaching staff, but we’re beginning to see some true multiplicity in the front seven.