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.

CJ Williams had his best day as a Badger and his best statistical day in his collegiate career Friday night against Purdue. The wide receiver reeled in five of his seven targets for 56 yards, and moved the chains on multiple occasions.

Not only was it encouraging to see Williams finally put forth a notable statistical performance, but some of the plays he made in the process displayed the raw talent that the wide out possesses. One on play, he caught a laser over the middle and bounced off a hit, staying on his feet and gaining extra yards. On another, he displayed incredible concentration looking the ball in on a risky throw from Tanner Mordecai with a defensive back right in his line of sight.

"That's just the little work that I do with coach (Mike) Brown, the little work that I've done in the past with my pops," Williams said after the game. "It's just a matter of making plays, watching the ball in. That's something I focused on in the fall, seeing the ball, watching the spin, and that kind of showed out there."

This offseason, and particularly during fall practices, Alexander Smith was absolutely lockdown from a coverage standpoint. He was always on the receivers' hip, and more often than not in position to make a play. It had been a quiet start to the season for the cornerback, but he put together his best performance of the year in West Lafayette.

Smith frequently drew the toughest matchup Friday night, lined up against the Boilermakers' electrifying wide out Deion Burks. Burks was the fastest player on the field and had a second gear that no Badger defender could match. Still, Smith held his own in coverage.

The corner was targeted nine times and allowed four receptions, for a season-best reception percentage of 44.4 percent. He swatted four of those passes to finish the evening with four pass breakups after not logging any in the first three weeks. In several instances, he was stride for stride with Burks despite the latter's superior speed. Smith wins by being a highly technical cornerback, and his seasoned technique was on display time and time again Friday night. With Smith's performance, coupled with Rico Hallman's two interceptions, it looks like Wisconsin's cornerbacks are hitting their stride.

James Thompson continues to be Wisconsin's best defensive lineman in 2023. He had another good showing against Purdue, and is beginning to become a problem for opposing offenses.

The defensive end stuffed the stat sheet in West Lafayette. He finished second on the team in tackles with six. He logged a sack for the third straight week, bringing his total on the year to 3.5. He registered two tackles-for-loss, and was also credited with a pass breakup.

For a defensive front that hasn't had much success to speak of early in the season, Thompson has been a continual force in the trenches. It's exciting to watch him develop, and against a less mobile quarterback than Hudson Card, Thompson may have piled on more sacks and pressures Friday night.

Nathanial Vakos deserves some love here. The transfer kicker has been absolutely lethal for Wisconsin to start the season, and he continued that trend against Purdue. His play is starting to get noticed outside of Madison, as he was recognized as the Big Ten Special Teams Player of the Week.

Vakos is perfect so far this season. He's 14-of-14 on extra points and 7-of-7 on field goals. His range gives Wisconsin so much more leeway offensively when they're in the no man's land part of the field. He hit a 48-yarder in the fourth quarter, his second made kick from 40-plus yards out this season.

Vakos has been huge for the Badgers, and he's stabilized the kicker position after the Vito Calvaruso experiment failed miserably last season. He has yet to attempt a true high-pressure kick, but when he does, the staff should have the utmost confidence in him.

This could be nitpicking, but there weren't many negative individual performances against Purdue. The absence of star linebacker and team captain Maema Njongmeta, however, was a head-scratcher that Luke Fickell didn't give a concrete answer about when asked after the game.

"He was able to play...he was able to go. He wan't out, it wasn't like he wasn't on the depth chart, he was in there later in the game. We're rolling through some situations and some things, and he didn't play as much."

It's a puzzling situation that only gets more confusing when trying to analyze Fickell's answer. The two most likely situations appear to be a minor injury the program doesn't want to make public right away, or a personal situation the program is likewise trying to keep under wraps. Either way, it's an odd situation, but the team will have a bye week to sort it out.

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