Wisconsin welcoming key pieces back after bye week

MADISON - Wisconsin played eight consecutive games to start the 2022 season, and that wear and tear took its toll. On the status report for its contest against Purdue, 10 players were listed as out, a group that did not include captain Nick Herbig, who was only available in the case of an emergency.

Coming off the bye week and preparing to play Maryland, the Badgers are the healthiest they've been all season.

Headlining the group of returning players is safety Hunter Wohler. The sophomore had missed the last seven games due to a left leg injury he suffered in the season opener against Illinois State. Interim head coach Jim Leonhard said he'd be available this week.

"It is exciting," Leonhard said. "Going to have Hunter available this week. Last week was huge for him to be able to hit the field a couple times and not have to play on Saturday. He was able to get on the field, get some reps and work through some things physically just to find out where he's at - the confidence he has in his leg and then be able to step back for a couple days and rest."

In Wohler's absence, Kamo'i Latu has emerged as a key piece on the defense. Titus Toler and Preston Zachman had been thrust into larger roles as well.

"It is exciting when you add another piece that was a productive player in your defense and really had a huge fall camp and was excited about what he was going to do this season," Leonhard added.

"We've had some production out of Kamo'i and Torch, so it's finding the right balance with those guys. Down the stretch it'll help keep them fresh and be able to rotate through a little bit like I traditionally do. I'm excited for the prospect of getting all three of them on the field at times, whether that's together or rotating and keeping guys fresh throughout the game."

The bye week served as a welcome break for Herbig and Keeanu Benton as well. Benton had been laboring the past few games while playing through general soreness and bumps he's taken over the weeks. There have been multiple instances where the senior defensive tackle could be seen gingerly coming off the field.

"I feel good as new, almost," Benton said. "I feel great, so I think it helped me out a lot. Got to relax and recover my body."

Herbig had not practiced in the week leading up to the matchup with Purdue and did not see the field. He was available but only in a "break glass in case of emergency" situation, as he put it. He'll be able to practice this week.

"I'm working back. I'm going to practice this week, so we'll see on Saturday," Herbig said.

"It was huge. I kind of got to steal two weeks - the Purdue week and the bye week. It was huge for my body and just my knee - everything in general. Let my body relax and recuperate."

The Badgers may be welcoming some key pieces back on the other side of the ball as well. Tight ends Hayden Rucci and Cole Dakovich were out last week, leaving Jaylan Franklin and Jack Eschenbach as the only healthy tight ends. Offensive tackle Riley Mahlman returned in a limited capacity against Purdue and should be full-go this week. The aforementioned players, along with quarterback Chase Wolf, were not listed on the early status report.

"Very excited to see a number of faces that haven't been on the field in a while, Hayden (Rucci) being one," Leonhard said. "We have the possibly of getting a number of guys back this week in bigger roles than they've been able to manage going down the last two or three weeks. There are still going to be some game time decision or has the week progresses, figuring out how big a role some of these guys can have coming off of injury.

"Just the fact that we think a number of guys can be available that have not been in a big capacity in a while, that's exciting for the last stretch of the season."