MADISON - At the end of the 2021 season, it was clear something in Wisconsin’s offense needed to change. Yes, the rushing attack kept the unit afloat during a seven-game winning streak, but the Badgers were still a fairly one-dimensional team on that side of the ball.

A complete rebuild wasn’t necessary. The pieces were there, they just needed someone to look at them from a fresh angle.

Enter Bobby Engram. The father of Badgers’ wide receiver Dean Engram, Bobby was hired in January on a two-year deal. Engram had worked in the NFL since 2014, and was most recently the Baltimore Ravens’ tight end coach. Making $1 million in 2022 and $1.1 million in 2023, he’ll be paid handsomely to add juice to Wisconsin’s offense.

Besides losing three top pass-catching options in Jake Ferguson, Danny Davis and Kendrick Pryor, the Badgers return many key players on the offensive line and in the backfield. Engram will have returning, experienced talent to work with.

What can we expect to see in 2022 with Engram at the helm? Everyone knows Wisconsin wants to run the football — that part won’t change much. But how does Engram enhance the pass game and make the Badgers more balanced offensively? There are clues from what BadgerBlitz.com has seen and heard at fall camp.

Wisconsin’s offense traditionally features the running back, but not often does it involve running backs catching passes. Last season, Braelon Allen caught eight balls in total. Chez Mellusi caught seven.

Expect that to change this year, if not drastically then at least slightly. In the fall camp practices open to reporters, the halfbacks have been running a lot of pass-catching drills individually. They’ve also been working on catching swing routes out of the backfield from the quarterbacks outside of team sessions.

“They’re all pretty good in the passing game,” running backs coach Al Johnson said, referring to his top three of Allen, Mellusi and Isaac Guerendo.

Indeed, all three have looked comfortable and natural catching passes in fall camp. If that play carries into the season, it could be big for its role in eliminating the need for a specialized third-down back.

“Running backs here already hold so much weight. (Engram) gives us an opportunity to be pass-catchers out of the backfield,” Mellusi said. “He does a really good job of honing in on that and making sure we’re involved in that.”

If the Badgers do implement the tailbacks more in the passing game, it should help spread the field and give Graham Mertz more playmaking options.

The offense didn’t need a complete tear-down. It needed a tune-up, and Engram knows that.

“You come in, you build. There’s a solid foundation here, a lot of good football and a lot of winning,” he said.

It’s been a balancing act between implementing his own system and adjusting his offense to the players on the roster. But ultimately, Engram understands that he must play to his players’ strengths.

“We’re trying to add some new and different twists, and I think a lot of that is personnel driven. What do you have? We’ve got some really talented guys outside, some good running backs, some tight ends that are capable.”

That appears to be Engram’s philosophy — implementing fresh ideas based on the guys in the room. Mertz, the facilitator of the offense, appreciates Engram’s approach.

“The thing I appreciate about Coach Engram is, he wanted to make it our offense. Really come together and morph with what we already had as far as verbiage and stuff like that, and add a bunch of new wrinkles,” he said. “It’s his offense, but he made sure he made it our offense, and we can own it.”

According to Mertz, much of the terminology has remained the same under Engram, albeit with new play calls. As the new coordinator tailors his offense, he’s keeping a certain level of familiarity to what was already built when he got to Madison.

At first, it sounded like generic coach-speech, an obvious oversimplification of what’s actually going on. And to some extent, of course, it is. But as more players started mentioning specifically ‘attacking’ the defense, it’s stood out as one of Engrams more pertinent philosophies.

“You wanna attack a defense, make them play on their heels…that’s how we wanna play,” Mertz said.

“I will say, the main thing he’s been preaching is attack, be on an attack mindset,” receiver Markus Allen added. “Attack the defense, besides them just covering us and attacking us, make them cover you and guard you for four quarters.”

It’s safe to assume this ‘attack’ mantra is mainly directed at the passing game. Not that the rushing game was flawless last season, but when Allen gets out in space with a few lead blockers, that’s a full-on assault.

How will that manifest itself in the pass game? Last season, Wisconsin ran predictable pass patterns on predictable downs. Breaking tendencies and keeping defenses on their heels by adding a little intrigue will be paramount.

Around the offense, it seems to be well understood that using the whole field is key in reviving the passing game. Last season, Mertz loved working the middle, intermediate routes. Now, Engram is trying to diversify the pass game by opening up more parts of the field.

“Spreading the field, a little more balance. Obviously we’ll have to wait till Sept. 3 to see all the secrets come out. I think it’s gonna be a really dangerous offense,” wide out Chimere Dike said.

Balance, in both run-pass splits and in working different areas of the field, is another approach that is being stressed.

“At the end of the day,” Dike said, “if teams are stacking the box we wanna make them pay.”

“You gotta attack everything,” Mertz added.

From the looks of it, the Badgers are at least making an attempt to use the whole field better offensively. If it’s something they can improve on, the predictability of this offense will plummet, which will only be beneficial.

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