Wisconsin Badgers 2024 Spring Position Preview: Specialists

As Luke Fickell's second act in Madison draws closer, BadgerBlitz.com will break down Wisconsin's roster position by position ahead of spring camp, which is slated to take place from March 22 to May 2.

BadgerBlitz.com is once again expected to watch any open practices available for reporters to attend. Thus, our position previews wrap up Monday with the specialists, a unit that returns its starting kicker and punter.

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Wisconsin returns its starting kicker and punter from a season ago, which is big for continuity. Both players played well enough to retain their spots on the roster and keep the staff from pursuing other options in the portal, but both have room for improvement in their second year in Madison.

Nathanial Vakos handled all of Wisconsin's place kicks, and he figures to be locked into that spot this spring. He hit all 34 of his extra points, and went 15-for-19 on field goals. On shorter-range field goals, Vakos was automatic — he hit all of his attempts from inside 39 yards. In the 40-49 yard range, he went 3-for-4, and on kicks of over 50 yards, he went 1-for-4. When Vakos came to Madison, much was made about his booming leg. He certainly displayed that this past fall, but he has the ability to post better numbers on long-range kicks.

Atticus Bertrams had a un-remarkable season in his Badgers debut. He averaged just 41.3 yards-per-punt, and his hang-time of 3.81 can assuredly be improved upon as well. Bertrams was never catastrophically bad for Wisconsin, but rarely did he truly flip the field and help the Badgers win the field-position battle. Simply put, Bertrams was average in 2023. It's plausible that special teams coach Matt Mitchell would like to see more out of his Australian specialist in 2024.

One of the more frustrating storylines with Wisconsin's special teams last fall was an inability to keep kickoffs in bounds. Jack Van Dyke sent enough kicks out of bounds to where he was unseated by Gavin Lahm midway through the year. When all was said and done, they essentially split kickoff duties — Lahm had 32 attempts, while Van Dyke had 29. Van Dyke is no longer on the roster, and so Lahm figures to compete with Nate Van Zelst at the kickoff spot. However, it will be interesting to see how that plays out considering that spring practices will likely be indoors in the McClain center, where the roof is too low to practice live kicks and punts.

In terms of returning kicks, Wisconsin needs to replace the 23 combined kicks and punts that Chimere Dike fielded. Dike's reliable hands always made him a safe option, but his lack of top-end speed and acceleration also always made him a relatively low-ceiling option. Enter Vinny Anthony, who possesses both top-end speed and acceleration in spades. He fielded 20 combined kicks and punts last fall, and figures to be the favorite to man at least one of those jobs this fall. Other options include redshirt freshman Trech Kekahuna, who flashed some return ability in the ReliaQuest Bowl, and Michigan State transfer Tyrell Henry, who returned 25 kicks and punts for the Spartans last year.

As mentioned, the McClain center is a notoriously poor place to practice special teams, as the roof is too low to run live kickoff and punt drills. Last spring, when the Badgers practiced their punt formation, an assistant simply threw a football to the returner while the punter's actual kick clanged off the ceiling unceremoniously.

Fickell is a stickler for special teams, and always has his nose right in the middle of every special teams rep and drill. However, he's also noted that he wants to go live with more tackling in spring and fall camp more this offseason in regards to team periods. Does that bleed into some practice time that would've been spent working with the specialists?

With Dike now in Florida Gator blue and orange, Wisconsin needs to find a new primary returner. Dike's departure deprives Wisconsin of a veteran presence at returner, but again, the possession receiver's ceiling was always relatively low at that spot. The door is now opened for a more dynamic return man to step up.

While the Badgers can't practice live kickoffs and punts in the McClain center, they still simulate them with various drills. There will likely be a bevy of returners given a chance given the relative inexperience of the returning players. But it will be interesting to see the staff's philosophy at the position. Does Henry, the most experienced return man, take the majority of the reps? Will the reps be divided evenly, as they essentially were last spring? Who else besides Henry, Anthony and Kekahuna does the staff examine at the position?

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