As Luke Fickell's third 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 13 to April 24.

BadgerBlitz.com is once again expected to watch any open practices available for reporters to attend. Thus, our position previews continue Saturday with the inside linebackers, a group that must replace two graduating seniors in Jake Chaney and Jaheim Thomas.

SPRING POSITION PREVIEWS: QBs | RBs | TEs | WRs | OL | DL | OLBs

The Badgers lose their top two inside linebackers — at least in terms of snaps — in Chaney and Thomas, but the best player in the room returns: junior Christian Alliegro.

Though he played just 379 snaps as the third-most utilized inside backer, he finished second on the team in tackles with 66. His 3.0 sacks also tied Elijah Hills for the most on defense, and his 5.0 tackles-for-loss led the team.

Alliegro could be the Badgers' most instinctive defender. He flies to the football and is a tackling machine. In Wisconsin's humiliating 42-10 loss to Iowa, in which the entire front seven got manhandled, Alliegro was the only exception, racking up 16 tackles. His combination of speed and physicality earned him playing time as a true freshman, and appears to have him poised to lead the inside linebackers in 2025.

He'll be flanked by two juniors who figure to round out the top of the room in Tackett Curtis and Western Carolina transfer Antarron Turner. The ex-USC Trojan Curtis had an up-and-down 2024 season in Madison. He shined at times like when he needed to replace an ejected Chaney against South Dakota, but also struggled with boneheaded penalties (the Nebraska game comes to mind) and missed tackles (23.3 percent missed tackle rate per Pro Football Focus). Turner, meanwhile, is coming off a very productive season for the Catamounts, logging 61 tackles and three sacks. Turner's ability as a pass-rusher, especially, should be monitored this spring. He wasn't sent after the quarterback all that often last fall (57 pass-rushing snaps), but when he was, he was highly effective with a 26 percent pressure rate. It'll be fascinating to see how Mike Tressel deploys him.

Between Alliegro, Curtis and Turner, those three will likely dominate the reps at the position. Aside from a couple of mop-up snaps, the Badgers played four inside linebackers last season. If they stick to that philosophy, that feasibly leaves room for one more contributor.

Tyler Jansey, a redshirt sophomore, played all of one snap last season but happened to make a tackle on that one snap against Rutgers. He figures to battle it out with redshirt freshman Landon Gauthier for that fourth inside backer spot. Gauthier didn't play at all last season, but this camp represents an excellent opportunity for the Green Bay native to make an impression.

Wisconsin signed two inside linebackers in the 2025 freshman cycle, but only one (Cooper Catalano) will be on campus this spring. There's also three walk-ons in the room who provide depth but aren't expected to see snaps in 2025.

Alliegro has all but locked up the top inside linebacker spot on this defense. He has both the numbers and the raw talent to where that shouldn't be a question. But the second starting spot should be up for grabs, and as mentioned, there's two primary candidates: Curtis and Turner.

At 6-foot-2 and both listed within two pounds of 230 last season, they have a very similar body type. Turner has some juice as a pass-rusher, while Curtis displayed some of that as well as a freshman in Los Angeles. Still, Turner is coming off his best season yet while Curtis struggled at times last fall. Do those two stay on their current trajectories? Can Curtis turn it around with another year in the program? How does Turner adjust from the FCS to the Big Ten?

There's a lot of variables for both players, but both should be hungry, albeit for different reasons. This should be a fascinating battle to track throughout spring.

Curtis and Turner will be intriguing to watch for reasons already outlined, but all eyes will be on Alliegro this spring. How does he look now that he's essentially guaranteed not only a starting spot, but the top spot at inside linebacker?

Last year, Alliegro was the true sophomore who had flashed as a freshman but was buried behind more experienced seniors. As it turns out, he was the most productive player in the room and likely should've been starting himself. He'll be given as much work as he can handle this fall in what should be his biggest season yet.

Alliegro's physical traits are already off the charts, but does he look even faster? Stronger? Is he deployed in more exotic ways now that he's a seasoned veteran? We know he's a skilled run-stopper, but do his instincts in pass coverage appear to have taken another step? Alliegro is the best player in this room and may very well be the best player on the entire defense. His performance this spring should back those notions up.

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