MADISON – Falling short of championship expectations in 2021, the University of Wisconsin looks to return to the top of the Big Ten West Division.

The Badgers will have some familiar faces on offense but will have some work to do to improve a unit that has averaged less than 26 points per game the last two seasons. Wisconsin’s defense was No.1 in the country last season in total yardage and against the run, but the Badgers must replace eight starters. UW also is dealing with changes to its special teams and has revamped its coaching staff.

All of it breathes excitement (and some nervous energy) leading into the season opener against FCS opponent Illinois State at Camp Randall Stadium (6 p.m./FS1).

With Wisconsin beginning fall camp later this month, BadgerBlitz.com begins its position-by-position breakdown of the fall roster. We start our analysis with the quarterbacks.

After the rumored/unconfirmed pursuit of former Oklahoma quarterback Caleb Williams on the transfer market ended in Williams going to the expected choice of USC, Graham Mertz will enter this upcoming fall as a redshirt junior and Wisconsin’s unquestioned starter.

Fifth-year senior Chase Wolf has played in 10 career games, including four in 2021. Other than Mertz, he’s the only other quarterback on Wisconsin’s roster who has seen game action.

Redshirt freshman Deacon Hill did not play last season while working as the scout team quarterback, but the 6-foot-3, 248-pound California product possesses a strong arm. True freshman Myles Burkett joined the program in January and went through his first college camp

Mertz’s 2021 season can’t be labeled anything other than a disappointment. After getting his feet wet at the position as a true freshman in the COVID-shortened 2020 season, Mertz was given a strong running game and veteran wide receivers/tight ends but struggled to make the offense move consistently. He threw for over 200 yards just three times (only once coming against a team that finished with a winning record), had at least one turnover in nine games, and threw more interceptions (11) than touchdowns (10). Mertz’s 3.9 interception percentage was the fourth worst in all FBS football.

Sporadic accuracy and a lack of a downfield presence handcuffed the offense. In 2021 offense scored only 37 touchdowns in 13 games and converted just 33.7 percent of its third-down chances, ranking them 111th in the country. The Badgers ranked 120th in the nation in passing yards per game (160.2) and 105th in team passing efficiency (120.7). According to CFB Film Room, Mertz's on-target rate on the deep ball last year ranked 511th out of 513 qualified QBs over the last five seasons.

With first-year offensive coordinator Bobby Engram coming to the program from the Baltimore Ravens, Wisconsin’s quarterbacks spent a large chunk of spring practices emphasizing the execution of simple fundamentals.

“On the field, I'd say the biggest thing was just decision making and then timing and footwork," Mertz said. "And so that's one thing I took in the offseason, really valuing just the reps I got with the guys during winter conditioning. Throwing routes, making sure our timing’s right, and just try and translate it to spring ball, just to get as many reps as possible. So that's one of the biggest areas of just timing, anticipation, location, cleanup a little bit of footwork stuff.”

Throughout the spring, Mertz worked more under center than he has at any point in his prep or college career, the goal to improve footwork, timing, and accuracy to make everything “mesh together.”

“We're obviously gonna continue to use the (shot)gun, but it's been some intangible things as well, just in terms of his communication,” Engram said about working the quarterbacks under center. “With the guys in the huddle, with the guys at the line of scrimmage. As a quarterback, all of those things matter, so we're chasing every detail, and he's working hard at it.”

Not only is Mertz getting a different voice from Engram, he’s getting coaching from graduate assistant Keller Chryst. The nephew of Paul Chryst, who played at Stanford and Tennessee, Keller is assisting Engram with the quarterbacks after working last season with the Wisconsin defense.

“His approach is holistic,” Mertz told UWBadgers of Keller. “He understands being a quarterback is not just being a quarterback on the field. It's how you carry yourself off the field. How you eat, etc. How you do one thing is how you do everything. And he has kind of brought that into our room.

“Just the drills that he has us doing are fantastic. It's getting into our body, getting into our hips, and kind of getting into our mind, too. He's done a great job with having a consistent approach every day. It's nice because he has that, 'When I was playing, this is how I did it.' He's definitely relatable.”

One of the issues Wisconsin has faced the last two seasons is a sharp drop off in production among the backups at the quarterback position. Wolf had two interceptions, in just 16 attempts, and one touchdown last season. Wolf received a lot of reps throughout the spring, and while he showed growth, doesn’t appear to be a long-term solution.

Hill received substantial work, interchanging at times with Wolf as the second up behind Mertz during practices. Burkett saw limited snaps in the open practices. Both don’t appear to factor into Wisconsin’s plans this season.

Mertz finds a rhythm with the abundance of new receivers at his disposal.

Gone are senior receivers Danny Davis and Kendric Pryor, as well as super security blanket Jake Ferguson at tight end, so Mertz delivering throws on target will help flatten the growth curve. The junior quarterback delivered some success in the passing game during the spring, especially when it came to balancing his chances down the field with simple checkdown routes in the flats to move the chains. The good news for Mertz is that sophomore tailback Braelon Allen is multi-talented and a huge danger when he has the ball in his hands. If Mertz can be more of a game manager, opportunities for his natural talent will present themselves.

_________________________________________________

*Chat about this article in The Badgers' Den

*Check out our videos, interviews, and Q&As on our YouTube channel

*Subscribe and listen to the BadgerBlitz.com podcast (as seen on Apple, Google, Spotify and wherever you listen to podcasts)

*Follow us on Twitter: @McNamaraRivals, @TheBadgerNation, @RaulV45, @pete_brey12

*Like us on Facebook