BadgerBlitz.com returns the weekly 'Stock Up, Stock Down' for the 2023 season. In this series, we'll offer evaluations of players on Wisconsin's roster in the context of their 'stock.' Performance, playing time and opportunity are all factored into the movement of a player's stock.

It's been a relatively quiet season for Ben Barten, and the defensive line as a whole. Barten has been used somewhat sparingly as a rotational defensive lineman, but the 24 snaps he saw against Minnesota was his third-highest total on the season.

Barten made his first big impact play of the year against the Gophers, bursting into the backfield for a sack that set Minnesota up with a brutal 3rd-and-17, which they ultimately wouldn't convert.

Barten's playing time jumped exponentially in 2023 compared to last season. The Badgers have plenty of question marks along their defensive front, but the lineman's play late in the year could position him for a bigger role in 2024.

Wisconsin's punter Atticus Bertrams hasn't has the flashiest season. He's stabilized the punting position for the Badgers, albeit without much pizazz. However, Bertrams has proved to be reliable if not dynamic down the stretch, and his performance against Minnesota was one of his best.

Bertrams downed three punts inside the 20 yard-line, including one at the nine. He also displayed some great hang-time, allowing his gunners to get downfield and force fair catches. In freezing, blustery conditions, it was an impressive showing. Bertrams appears likely to hold down the punting job in Madison at least for the time being.

Minnesota is in the lower echelon of the Big Ten with 23 total defensive sacks on the season. Nonetheless, the Badgers' pass protection against the Gophers in the Axe Game was top notch.

Tanner Mordecai wasn't sacked. He wasn't hit a single time in the pocket. He was pressured just twice in 27 drop backs, according to Pro Football Focus. That's dominance in pass-blocking from Wisconsin's offensive line.

The Badgers also ran the football extremely well against Minnesota, racking up 267 yards on 6.1 yards-per-carry. It was one of the best rushing outputs of the season for Wisconsin. Time and time again, the big boys up front paved the way with big rushing lanes for Braelon Allen and company to get downhill.

The two pass-interference penalties committed by Nyzier Fourqurean will likely be the most talked-about aspect of the cornerback's performance. Both calls were right, according to the letter of the law: Fourqurean impeded the receiver's ability to work back to the football on an under-thrown ball. Still, these weren't egregious penalties. Fourqurean was actually in blanket coverage, but poor throws led to an unavoidable penalty. Those calls shouldn't be held against the corner.

The rest of the day was a productive one for Fourqurean. He was thrown at 11 times, but only gave up 34 yards in coverage, according to Pro Football Focus. He made some very sure tackles in open space, and wound up second on the team in that department with seven total.

It's worth noting that Alexander Smith didn't play at all against Minnesota after struggling in the back half of the season. Fourqurean, meanwhile, took all his snaps, playing 61 total. That was the second-most defensively. The coaching staff clearly has a lot of trust in the corner. Between Fourqurean and Rico Hallman, not to mention all of the young defensive back talent waiting in the wings in Madison, the future of the cornerback position looks extremely bright for the Badgers.

This is nitpicking. There were't a whole lot of negative performances to spotlight here. For CJ Williams, he didn't play poorly, he just barely played. The lack of playing time for the receiver is causing his stock to dip here at the end of the season.

Williams was one of the most highly anticipated transfers the Badgers signed last offseason, as he immediately became the highest-rated wide receiver to ever commit to Wisconsin in the internet recruiting era. He finished the year with 15 catches for 148 yards.

In some games, Williams on the field plenty. He logged 68 snaps against Indiana, 52 against against Ohio State and 44 against Purdue. That playing time only translated to serious production against the Boilermakers, however, when he logged five catches for 56 yards. The last two weeks of the season, Williams barely saw the field. Against Minnesota, he played just two snaps and was out-snapped by Vinny Anthony and Quincy Burroughs.

Williams' career is still essentially in its infancy. He has plenty of time to round into the receiver he was expected to be in college. However, if he's not significantly more involved on offense next season, it'll be hard to convince the talented wide out to remain in Madison.

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