Wisconsin ended its 2021 season on a winning note by clinging to a 20-13 win over Arizona State in the Las Vegas Bowl on Dec. 30. After a brief break, UW will kick up winter conditioning as it begins its early preparation for the 2022 campaign.

Over the next two weeks, BadgerBlitz.com will review each position before turning the page from the 2021 season. Tuesday brings a recap of the outside linebackers, where a sophomore shined and a sixth-year senior finished his UW career on a solid note.

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Nick Herbig further emerged as a threat in the pass rush and opponents' backfields, finishing third on the team in tackles for loss while leading the defense in sacks. Over two-thirds of his sacks (6.5) came against three opponents -- Notre Dame (two), Iowa (2.5) and Arizona State (two). The Hawaii native started off the season with 3.5 sacks and 4.5 tackles for loss in the first four contests, a bright spot in the team's rough 1-3 start.

Noah Burks returned for a sixth year in 2021, and he quietly racked up 8.5 tackles for loss, finishing fourth on the team in that category. Pro Football Focus (PFF) credited the Indiana product with 24 total pressures this past season, again good for fourth on the defense.

C.J. Goetz filled in as a pseudo-defensive lineman role against Army, registering 1.5 tackles for loss during the non-conference victory in October.

True freshman Darryl Peterson played in two games and only 35 defensive snaps, according to PFF, but he found time on the field during the 2021 Las Vegas Bowl. Those 17 reported reps came during meaningful game action and not while the contest was in hand, like the Rutgers win in early November.

Overall, Wisconsin tallied 39 sacks -- 15.5 coming from the outside linebackers (the most of any position group). The Badgers' defense ranked No. 1 in rush defense (64.8) and total defense (239.1), No. 3 in third-down conversion defense (28.7%) No. 4 in team passing efficiency defense (109.5) and No. 5 in passing yards allowed per game (174.3).

This is not necessarily attributed to only the outside linebackers, but the defense failed to record a sack during the home blowout loss Michigan and the close win against mobile quarterback Adrian Martinez and Nebraska.

Again, like the defensive line and the outside linebackers, the starters really shined in this group, and finding one particular low from Bobby April III's room is tough this season.

One area could be the unavailability of sophomore Aaron Witt and third-year sophomore Spencer Lytle. Witt did not play during the 2021 season, as UW designated him out with a right leg injury. Lytle played in only six games this season, not participating in the final seven regular season games before returning for the Las Vegas Bowl.

Personnel-wise, Izayah Green-May announced after the regular season that he would enter the transfer portal. He signed with Northern Illinois during the early signing period.

Burks departs the program after playing in 55 career games at UW (33 starts among them), and his overall consistency and reliability will be missed. Herbig returns for his third season as a starter, and expectations should be high as a junior. Now comes the question of who will receive the reps next to him?

There is talent and capable players in the group that could provide depth and production in 2022, which should help keep the group as a strength of a defense even with the departure of Burks and Green-May.

Looking at UW's last depth chart of the regular season, Goetz has played in 33 games during his Wisconsin career, and the rising fifth-year senior has emerged as a key reserve in recent years at the outside linebacker spot. Lytle, when available, could fill a significant role as well. UW designated the California product in the two-deep at the position in 2021, but he has played in 12 games the past two years. Burks spoke last spring about the strides the 6-foot-2, 230-pound edge rusher made.

Peterson flashed during fall camp in the reps he received, even at one point working alongside Herbig as an outside linebacker pair. BadgerBlitz.com discussed with the Ohio native about his adjustment to the college game in August. He participated in the blowout victory at Rutgers during garbage time, but intrigue abounded when he saw action early on against Arizona State on Dec. 30.

Herbig entered Wisconsin as part of the 2020 class that boasted Witt and Kaden Johnson. Witt, when he returns, should provide a presence on the edge with his 6-foot-6 stature, a different frame compared to others in the position group. April boasted about the Winona, Minn., native and his mindset last spring.

"The guy is a guy you want in a street fight with you," April said in early April. "He has no fear to put his face into the boiler and come out."

UW listed Johnson at 6-foot-2 and 233 pounds on the fall camp roster, and his progression will be something to keep tabs on this spring. Herbig, as seen in the video below, said he was "proud" of the roommate, praising his mentality in early November.

There's also T.J. Bollers, who enrolled early last spring. The 6-foot-2, 258-pound Badger and No. 105 player in the 2021 class did not participate in a game this season, but he boasts physical tools that will be intriguing to watch later this year.

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