Less than three months after Wisconsin pulled off a 20-13 win over Arizona State in the 2021 Las Vegas Bowl, the Badgers return to the field this week to kick up spring practices.

UW will run spring ball between March 22 and April 22 this year, according to a recent social media post. This new iteration of Wisconsin football in 2022 will bring the annual additions and attritions the program works through, but the program also revealed several notable changes on the coaching staff.

***SPRING FOOTBALL VISITORS***

BadgerBlitz.com is once again expected to watch any open practices available for reporters to attend. Thus, our position previews continue this week. We wrap up with the specialists on Thursday, where a competition to see who will retain the field goal and extra point duties should be interesting.

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Specialists obviously make up a number of positions -- kicker, long snapper and punter. For the first group, Wisconsin saw Collin Larsh initially announce last season that he would return for his sixth, only to state within the last month that he would move on to pursue the professional level. The Monona Grove product greatly improved in the 2021 season, hitting on 17-of-22 field goals (77.3%) with a long of 48.

UW will also be without Conor Schlichting, who became the team's primary holder on field goals and extra point attempts. The Madison native also punted six times in 2021, and though he averaged under 30 yards per boot, four of the six landed inside opponents' 20-yard-line.

Punter Andy Vujnovich is back for what will be his fifth season in college. The former Division III transfer lit up the air inside Camp Randall Stadium and other venues in the Big Ten last season, recording 46.1 yards per punt in 49 attempts. Sixteen of his punts landed inside opponents' 20-yard-line, and 15 punts registered 50 yards or more in distance. He ranked 10th in the nation in yards per punt.

Other punters on the Badgers' roster this spring include third-year sophomore Gavin Meyers, who has not recorded a punt in his two years in Madison.

Looking at kickers, Jack Van Dyke returns for his third season as a Badger. He only recorded 43 of the team's 70 kickoffs in 2021 -- Larsh performed the other 27 -- and within that set, only 19 went for touchbacks. He did not attempt a field goal last year.

Kicker Nate Van Zelst, a redshirt freshman, did not play last season.

UW officially welcomed Vito Calvaruso to the program on National Signing Day after the Arkansas transfer announced his commitment in late December. He registered 63 touchbacks in 74 attempts in 2021, good for an 85.1% touchback rate.

Wisconsin's long snappers include Peter Bowden, Duncan McKinley and Zach Zei. Bowden, now entering his fourth year in the program, locked down the primary duties last season. Pro Football Focus (PFF) gave the California native a 76.2 special teams grade. McKinley returns from an ACL injury that kept him out all of the 2021 campaign.

Note: BadgerBlitz.com will withhold the preview of kickoff and punt returners until we watch fall camp practices starting next week.