BadgerBlitz.com returns the weekly 'Stock Up, Stock Down' for the 2024 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.

Tailback Tawee Walker made a big statement in Week 1. Listed as Chez Mellusi's backup on the Badgers' initial two-deep, he was clearly the lead back for Wisconsin despite not logging as many carries as Mellusi. He got the first four touches of the game against Western Michigan, and played more snaps than Mellusi overall. While Walker didn't manage to break a big play, he got tough yardage when needed, proved his chops as a receiver and accounted for one of the biggest highlights when he bulldozed over the hapless Broncos' safety Tate Hallock for an impressive touchdown. This backfield remains a committee, but Walker is the closest thing to an RB1 in Madison.

Going into Week 1, one of the biggest questions surrounding the Badgers' offense was how carries would be distributed amongst running backs. Who would emerge as RB3? If Week 1 was any indication, Cade Yacamelli has a stranglehold on that role. He logged four carries for a solid 35 yards, and had the Badgers' longest run of the night (12 yards). He didn't bring much to the table last season as a reserve tailback, but Yacamelli looks stronger and faster as a redshirt sophomore. With his speed, he could be a sneaky threat to break big runs as the Badgers' third running back.

Will Pauling finished as Wisconsin's leading receiver, and Bryson Green looked solid with a few nice catches to move the chains. But did Trech Kekahuna not look like Wisconsin's best receiver? Though he played a curiously limited number of snaps (13), Kekahuna made likely the two best plays from Badger pass-catchers Friday night. On one play, he displayed excellent concentration to reel in a laser from Tyler Van Dyke with a defensive back directly in his line of sight. On another, he got open on a critical third-and-long and corralled a desperation pass from Van Dyke as he was falling to the turf. The receiver is electric with the ball in his hands, yes. But if he has hands like he displayed Friday night, he could easily be the best pound-for-pound receiver in Madison.

Xavier Lucas's stock simply continues to rise. He made this section last week, and after his dazzling Week 1 interception, he finds himself here again. Lucas played all of seven snaps, each one a passing down. His interception was an extraordinary combination of ball skills to reel in the pass with one hand and awareness to tap his feet just before the white on the sideline. Especially with an FCS opponent coming to town on Saturday, expect Lucas' playing time to continue to increase.

Wisconsin's pass-rush was concerningly quiet against Western Michigan, but the player who recorded the sack, which also happened to be the Badgers' lone tackle behind the line of scrimmage, deserves some recognition. Albany transfer Elijah Hills managed to take down quarterback Hayden Wolff late in the fourth quarter to keep Wisconsin from posting a goose egg in the sack category. He played the fourth-most snaps on the Badgers' defensive line Friday night, narrowly beat out by Cade McDonald. His playing time should only increase moving forward.

First and foremost, it's not time to be overly concerned with Wisconsin's quarterback situation. But after a shaky Week 1 performance, it's impossible to not see Tyler Van Dyke's stock fall ever so slightly. The offense as a whole wasn't explosive and wasn't nearly as dominant as it should be in the trenches, two key factors in the unit underperforming. Those shortcomings don't exclusively fall on Van Dyke, of course, but the quarterback didn't necessarily make matters better. There were several miscommunications with receivers and extremely poor decisions with balls thrown directly into coverage. Van Dyke got away unscathed on the stat sheet, but his decision-making will need to be better moving forward.

That's a quick turnaround for CJ Williams, who saw his stock rise last week after a good camp and earning starting spot on the two-deep. After a tough showing in Week 1, his stock falls once again. Williams saw one target in the opener, and let an excellent pass go straight through his hands. He wasn't targeted again afterwards. Consistency has been the issue for the USC transfer, and it was disappointing to see that carry over into his second year in Madison. Williams remains a starter moving forward, but he has yet to establish himself as a true threat catching the ball for the Badgers.

Usually this article focuses on individual players, but both sides of the Badgers trenches belong in the dog house after that performance. The offensive line couldn't get any kind of consistent push. Yes, Walker and Mellusi ran hard, but often because they had no other choice: there was a Bronco defender in their face immediately upon receiving the handoff.

As for the defensive line, it's no secret that this is a weak unit, especially with the loss of James Thompson Jr. Hills' sack was a silver lining on an otherwise dark cloud of ineffectiveness. Again, a single tackle-for-loss is an extremely poor showing, especially against Western Michigan. Both these units have plenty to clean up.

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