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 continue our analysis with the safeties.

Fall Previews: Quarterbacks | Running backs and fullbacks | Wide Receivers | Tight Ends | Offensive line | Defensive Line | Outside Linebackers | Inside Linebackers | Cornerbacks |

Spring practices were insanely challenging for defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard to get a firm grasp on what his safety position will look like come early September. Not only was Leonhard trying to get a sense of who could replace seniors Scott Nelson and Collin Wilder, but the Badgers went through a host of injuries that limited evaluation.

Sophomore Hunter Wohler and fifth-year senior John Torchio took on first-team reps for over half of the sessions, but a knee injury to Travian Blaylock early during spring practice makes his status unknown and depth a concern heading into fall camp.

It was likely a reason why Wisconsin targeted former Utah safety Kamo'i Latu, a high school teammate of UW outside linebacker Nick Herbig, in the transfer portal and landed his commitment in May. Latu will be competing with sophomore Preston Zachman, junior transfer Bryce Carey, redshirt freshman walk-on Owen Arnett and newcomer Austin Brown, a three-star prospect in the 2022 class.

After playing just 29 snaps in 2020, Torchio became a reliable fixture in Wisconsin’s safety rotation. Appearing in all 13 games with starts against Eastern Michigan, Army, and the Las Vegas Bowl, Torchio played on 383 snaps and tied for the team lead with three interceptions, going along with his 35 starts. He earned overall defensive grades over 90 on Pro Football Focus in his games against Purdue and Northwestern.

“He has very good instincts,” Leonhard said of Torchio. “Some guys really struggle with looking at the quarterback and kind of feeling timing and things like that. That's always been one of his strong suits, and it's fun to watch. He can push … He knows how to paint a picture to a quarterback and understand kind of route concepts and timing.”

Wohler played in all 13 games last season primarily as a contributor on special teams (178 snaps), but the former four-star prospect also received some work in the defensive backfield (70 snaps in six games). He ended his first year with 17 tackles, three for loss, and one sack.

“I think it was huge (playing special teams), just getting that confidence, being able to learn how to play the game, and know that you're not going to be bigger than everyone on the field,” Wohler said. “You're not going to use your athleticism to out beat anyone. It's just knowing that you got to be more tactical. You got to play with your head a little bit more than just to your athleticism, speed and everything.

"So that helped, and then just knowing that it's such a technical game. You have to focus on the little things that details so that has helped me for coming into this spring and being able to just introduce me to the game of college football.”

Blaylock played in 10 contests in 2021 and finished with 10 tackles. It may not seem like much, but Blaylock is entering his fifth year in the program and has earned the trust of Leonhard, so likely not having him in the mix this fall removed a reliable option for the UW defensive coordinator.

Arnett emerged as Leonhard’s third safety in certain sub-packages and the walk-on responded with a couple of tipped interceptions. Arnett will likely split time with Zachman (did not participate in open practices), Carey (began his career as a quarterback at Northern Illinois), and Brown (Leonhard said could be physically ready to compete).

All the uncertainty with Blaylock’s injury and the untested youth saw Wisconsin go after Latu. The 6-foot, 195-pound junior recorded 19 tackles and broke up three passes last season. His breakout performance came against future Big Ten-school USC, as Latu recorded a team-high 10 tackles and earned Pac-12 Freshman of the Week honors.

Torchio doesn’t need to play like an All-Pro, but his level of consistency must improve. While Torchio had two games where he was rated a 90+ by PFF, there were four games where he graded sub-60 overall and nine sub-65 games in coverage. Per PFF, Torchio gave up nine completions on 15 pass plays where he was targeted. Of all the categories graded by PFF, Torchio graded worst in tackling at 66.3. Basically, it’s a lot of fancy stats to say that Torchio has room to grow now that he’s going to play on nearly every down.

The depth must be a concern for Leonhard, as Torchio and Wohler are the only two healthy players who have seen game reps. Throughout spring, Wisconsin utilized cornerbacks to fill the safety spots. Throughout the 15 practices, true freshman Avyonne Jones, redshirt freshman Al Ashford and Kentucky transfer Cedrick Dort Jr. received snaps, while veteran cornerback Alex Smith is an option with his past experiences working at the slot nickel position.

If Torchio doesn’t elevate consistency, or can’t stay healthy, the Badgers (who are already breaking in two new starters at inside linebackers) will be particularly weak through the middle of their defense.

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