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 defensive line, which is arguably the biggest question mark on Wisconsin's roster.
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Who's in, and who's out?
Wisconsin returns its top defensive lineman from 2023 in James Thompson Jr, but loses its next two most-utilized players to the transfer portal in Rodas Johnson (Texas A&M) and Gio Paez (LSU). Also departed by way of the portal are TJ Bollers (California), Gabe Kirschke (Colorado State), Mike Jarvis (Liberty), Darian Varner (Cincinnati) and Tommy Brunner (Western Illinois). All told, that's seven defensive linemen who transferred out of Madison this fall.
The Badgers didn't graduate anyone, however, and return a core of players behind Thompson that at the very least have some level of experience. Curt Neal and Ben Barten, presumed starters alongside Thompson, each played over 250 snaps last fall.
As for reinforcements, Wisconsin added two transfers in Elijah Hills (Albany) and Brandon Lane (Stephen F. Austin). It also signed three linemen in the freshman class: Ernest Willor, Hank Weber and Dillan Johnson.
STORYLINE: Can another player step up alongside James Thompson Jr?
Thompson was by far and away Wisconsin's most productive defensive lineman last fall. With 29 total tackles and three sacks, he can and must play at a higher level for this unit to be impactful. Still, he was at least a quasi-serviceable starter on a Big Ten defensive line. No other Badger in this room has come close to that to this point.
Neal and Barten, the presumed next two players on the pecking order, combined for 25 tackles and one sack last season. That's not necessarily due to a lack of reps either, as while neither was a full-time starter, they still combined for 545 snaps, per Pro Football Focus. The only other player in the room with experience in the Cardinal and White is Cade McDonald, who logged three tackles in under 100 snaps last fall.
New defensive line coach E.J. Whitlow didn't delve into specifics this spring when asked how he can get more production out of a lackluster position group.
"Well the big thing for us is we're just gonna compete, right? And finish, and strain, and be violent and everything that we do. Be fundamentally sound, assignment sound and out-work people. Just be hard-nosed, blue collar guys that wanna wreck havoc when we get the opportunities to do so," he said.
Ultimately, Wisconsin might not necessarily have an answer in the defensive trenches yet. The Badgers are relying heavily upon Thompson and Neal, in particular, developing into productive starters. They're also relying on their pair of transfers to make seamless transitions from the FCS to the Big Ten, which is often a tall task.
Neal seems like the most likely starter opposite Thompson by the time fall rolls around. Those two ran with the starters during spring ball, doing so oftentimes in two-defensive linemen looks. That formation suggests that Wisconsin knows production might still be hard to come by in the defensive trenches.
Hills, the Albany transfer, worked his way into the rotation with the ones and twos this spring. He had a quiet camp, like the rest of the position group, but he did begin to make some disruptive plays towards the final practices. If that represents his development as he gets acclimated to the Big Ten, and he can continue to develop throughout the fall, Hills could see plenty of rotational snaps this fall.
"I think he's just continuing to press. When you get a new coach, it's new techniques, it's new verbiage, and he's just been continuing to progress. He's been playing really really hard with a motor, and wants to be disruptive," Whitlow said. "And that's a big thing with the room is they want to be great, they want to make a difference. If you got that mentality, you have a chance every single day."
Lane, the Stephen. F. Austin transfer, also has a chance to insert himself into the defensive line rotation relatively quickly with how much this room is scraping for production. He'll have some catching up to do, however, as he transferred during the spring window and consequently missed spring practice.
Two things to watch going forward
1. Keep an eye on the two freshman joining the program this summer. Willor enrolled early, but Weber and Johnson will practice with the Badgers for this first time in August. The latter especially should be monitored closely, as Fickell mentioned him during Big Ten media days as a true freshman who's impressed. As a defensive lineman with a wrestling background, Johnson appears tailor-made for a Fickell-led program.
2. Do the transfers continue to progress? As mentioned, Hills began to pick up some steam towards the end of spring ball. Can he carry over that momentum into fall camp? What about Lane, who has yet to practice against a Big Ten offensive line? Will he have enough time to acclimate himself to the speed and physicality of this conference? Again, if neither transfer can make a sizable impact this fall, Wisconsin will rely upon sheer development from a handful of players with underwhelming production to this point.
Buzz on the backups
Redshirt freshman nose guard Jamel Howard was one of Wisconsin's biggest recruiting wins in the 2023 cycle, but he's had a quiet first year and a half or so in Madison. He's not progressing quite as quickly as the staff would've hoped, and his reps were few and far between this spring. This will be a big fall camp for the young lineman.
McDonald is a scholarship senior, but has logged just 216 defensive snaps in his career. An unexpected leap from him would be welcome, but seems unlikely at this point.
Wisconsin also has two walk-ons in the defensive line room, Nolan Vils and Will McDonald. The two redshirt freshman will populate the bottom of the depth chart this fall.
Projected Depth Chart
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