With Wisconsin's roster all but finalized and the season right around the corner, the Badgers have their sights set on fall camp. Once again, the team will travel to UW-Platteville for the first portion of practice up until Aug. 11.

As the dog days of summer heat up, so will position battles and the intense competition for snaps once the season rolls around. Up until fall camp, BadgerBlitz.com will preview each position on the roster. We'll continue with the cornerbacks, a unit led by returning NCAA interception leader Ricardo Hallman.

RELATED: QUARTERBACKS | RUNNING BACKS | WIDE RECEIVERS | TIGHT ENDS | OFFENSIVE LINE | SAFETIES |

Wisconsin saw three corners enter the transfer portal this offseason: Amaun Williams in the winter, and AJ Tisdell and Michael Mack in the spring. None of those players took a snap last year, but the Badgers also lost starters Jason Maitre and Alexander Smith to graduation.

To shore up the cornerback room, Wisconsin reeled in three promising freshman and Toledo transfer RJ Delancy. The freshman — Xavier Lucas, Jay Harper and Omillio Agard — weren't early enrollees, so we didn't get to see them this spring. Delancy, however, has been on campus for months and put together a very good showing during spring camp.

The Badgers return their top two outside cornerbacks from a year ago in Hallman and Nyzier Fourqurean. Initially, the sixth-year senior Smith was the starter opposite Hallman, but Fourqurean ultimately supplanted him with his superior play and measurables.

Fourqurean's debut season in Madison had its ups and downs, which was to be expected from the former D-II player making the leap to Big Ten football. Still, the corner won the favor of the staff, who began to play him at the boundary spot where he could use his 6-foot-1 frame as a press technician. Fourqurean gave up a few too many completions — he'll need to improve on his reception percentage allowed of 66 — but athletically, he made it clear he belongs in the Big Ten.

Fourqurean was already in prime position to start opposite Hallman in 2024, but he's all but cemented himself into that spot with his spring practice performance. The corner was entertaining to watch with physical play and sticky coverage throughout camp. He also simply oozed more swagger and talked more smack, highlighting how his confidence has developed alongside his level of play. During spring, Fickell singled him out as one of, if not the most improved player from last year to now.

"I feel like I've always been able to play at this level. It's just about going to do it now. I just gotta keep preparing, keep getting better every single day. Obviously, last season didn't go how I wanted it to go, and I had to learn from that," he said this spring.

"I feel like I had to get a lot stronger, both upper body and lower body. That was a big thing for me last year, just speed-wise, working my breaks, working my technique at the line of scrimmage and things like that."

Fourqurean also revealed to reporters this spring that last offseason, he underwent surgery for a rare syndrome that prevented him from partaking in most offseason activities. That left the corner feeling much less prepared for his debut year in the Big Ten. With a full, healthy offseason in Madison, the sky is the limit for this young corner.

Hallman, meanwhile, has a tall task ahead of him this fall in following up his seven-interception season that somehow only earned him an All-Big Ten honorable mention. The undersized corner was a ballhawk, but he wasn't just an interception merchant. His 50.8 reception percentage allowed both led Wisconsin's cornerback room and proved that he was dynamic in coverage as well and not just a lucky defensive back who had a few balls fall into his lap.

"I'm really excited for what this team can do this year, and I think everybody has a super focused mindset right now," Hallman said this spring. "First year with a new staff, it's hard to get acclimated. But I think now everybody sees the vision, everybody's bought in."

1. Who starts at slot corner? Unlike a season ago, Wisconsin's defensive staff should have multiple options it feels comfortable deploying at nickel. Max Lofy, who missed all of 2023 with an injury, is a prime candidate. He's an experienced player who's spent almost all of his time on the field in Madison in the slot. The Toledo transfer Delancy is another option, and while he can play both inside and outside, he might be good enough to the point where the staff just wants him on the field. With the two outside corner spots essentially locked in with Hallman and Fourqurean, the slot is a logical option for him. However the dominos fall with the cornerback depth, there's much more flexibility and talent for coach Paul Haynes in 2024.

2. How quickly can the youngsters develop? The Badgers have the luxury of having some talented top options at cornerback, meaning if all goes according to plan, the younger players in the room shouldn't need to be counted on. Still, there's loads of intriguing young talent in this room. The blue chip true freshman Lucas and Agard join the program this summer, and the former four-star redshirt freshman Amare Snowden enters his second fall camp with the Badgers. Wisconsin has the requisite manpower at cornerback, but the youth at this position is some of the most exciting on the entire roster.

Sophomore Jonas Duclona looks like one of the top backups at outside corner. He took snaps on defense as a true freshman, albeit in late-game blowout situations. The staff appears to be very high on his ceiling, and he'll likely continue to rotate into ballgames when the situation calls for it.

Redshirt freshman Jace Arnold is right there with Duclona, although based on his rep count, he's slightly behind Arnold in terms of development. The aforementioned Snowden began to see more reps towards the back end of spring practice, and he remains a very exciting prospect with his prototypical 6-foot-4 frame.

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