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.

As the Badgers defense began the season with its fair share of struggles, much of the discourse surround the notion that safety Hunter Wohler was the unit's only true star player. It might be time to mention Rico Hallman, the ball-hawking field cornerback, in the same breath.

Over the past three games, he's picked off four passes. That leads the Big Ten and is tied for most in the nation overall. Pro Football Focus also credits him with a couple of dropped interceptions, meaning it's quite possible Hallman could be sitting at six takeaways through five games.

It's not just the interceptions though, and as we know, those can be misleading. Hallman is allowing a reception percentage of 56 percent, the lowest amongst Badgers' corners that have been targeted at least 20 times in coverage. Translation? He's been Wisconsin's best cover cornerback as well as its most dynamic.

Hallman is one of the shortest players on Wisconsin's roster, standing at 5-foot-9. But he wins with his footwork, mechanics and eyes, playing much bigger than his size. Will Hallman keep his interception streak going against an ex-teammate in Iowa quarterback Deacon Hill this Saturday?

CJ Goetz has led the way for what's been an inconsistent Badgers' pass rush. He picked up his third sack of the season against Rutgers, which leads all Badgers edge rushers.

Towards the end of fall camp, players advised reporters that the outside linebacker's pass rush had taken a major leap. They weren't lying. Goetz has already topped his career high in sacks, but more importantly he's simply winning at the line of scrimmage much more frequently than he has in years past. That means that even when he doesn't finish the play with a quarterback takedown, he's generating pressure and speeding up the opposing offense's process.

If you're into that sort of thing, Darryl Peterson's raw, advanced pass-rushing metrics from Pro Football Focus look better on their own. But with it comes to the eye test, Goetz has easily been the Badgers' best pass-rusher. He'll need to keep it up as conference play heats up, as he's been one of the few consistent sources of pressure to speak of.

No Badgers receiver has put forth a mind-blowing performance to this point in the season. Against Rutgers, however, Will Pauling confirmed why he should be considered Wisconsin's most dangerous pass-catcher.

He hasn't logged any game-breaking chunk plays, but his contributions against Rutgers were perhaps more important than that. Pauling was nearly un-coverable out of the slot, and he finished with eight grabs for 68 yards. As Tanner Mordecai's security blanket, Pauling is one of the big reasons Wisconsin's offense was successful on third down and for the most part had no issues moving the chains.

Having an elite underneath separator is so crucial for an offense, especially one as methodical as the Badgers have been through nearly half a season. After the game, Pauling stayed level-headed while simultaneously exuding confidence:

“Honestly, I just have a good feel for beating defense and man coverage. I know how to get defenders to turn certain ways so I can get open."

Since Week 1, Luke Fickell has talked about the need to get a fourth outside corner ready to play meaningful snaps outside of Hallman, Alexander Smith and Nyzier Fourqurean. True freshman Jonas Duclona got his shot late in the game against Rutgers, and played very admirably.

Duclona held his own in coverage. He was targeted three times and allowed just one catch for 10 yards. He didn't look like a true freshman, and at this point, it's reasonable that he shouldn't — the corner enrolled early in the spring and has been getting reps with the second team since April.

"I think the experience that he got this weekend in a game that was still a game, guys were still taking shots, is gonna bode really well for him and for us in the future," Fickell said. "I feel like if we need him he's got some experience now, and we wouldn't hesitate to put him in the game."

At Monday's press conference, Fickell expressed confidence in his kickoff specialist's ability to get the job done. However, he also said that they have other specialists that can handle kickoffs, implying that Jack Van Dyke's leash is getting shorter.

He's now sent four kickoffs out of bounds for a penalty, which is inexcusable. With Wisconsin handling its business in every game but one so far this season, it may seem like a minor issue. Regardless, in a rivalry dogfight or a marquee matchup against, let's say, Ohio State, every single yard counts.

Van Dyke should retain his duties for at least another week. But if he sends another kickoff out of bounds against Iowa, making it three games in a row, it'll be time to start re-evaluating the kickoff specialist position.

If you told anyone that through nearly half the season, Hayden Rucci would have the Badgers' biggest reception, you'd get some skeptical glances. But it's true — Rucci's 45 yard catch-and-run against Georgia Southern is the longest Wisconsin passing play this season. The tight end struggled against Rutgers, however, and got outshined by a true freshman.

Rucci dropped a few very catchable passes against the Scarlet Knights. Meanwhile, his true freshman counterpart Tucker Ashcraft reeled in his first career touchdown. At this point, Ashcraft has more yards and Rucci hasn't scored a touchdown.

Rucci is a very solid in-line blocker, but he's been extremely streaky as a receiver. His blocking prowess will keep him on the field, but it's slowly becoming evident that Ashcraft is by far the more dangerous weapon in the passing game.

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