Wisconsin’s safeties love to hit hard: ‘It’s in our nature’

Madison — There’s plenty of questions facing Wisconsin’s defense in 2023. What formations will they favor? Which pass-rushers will step up? What will rotations along the front seven look like?

But one thing is abundantly clear: the Badgers’ safeties want nothing more than to light up ball carriers.

It became apparent in spring camp, when for the first time ever Wisconsin could deploy Hunter Wohler, Kamo’i Latu and Travian Blaylock simultaneously as part of Mike Tressel’s “dollar,” or 2-3-6, package.

Blaylock missed the entire 2022 season due to injury, but he’d already established himself as a physical presence on the back end for the Badgers. Latu developed a reputation last season for playing like a heat-seeking missile, always looking to deliver a devastating blow. Wohler, on the other hand, had missed plenty of time and was more known for his versatility defensively. Now, it’s safe to say all three have a reputation as vicious hitters.

Blaylock summed it up quite succinctly: “Any opportunity we get to hit somebody, we’re gonna take it.”

A couple of particularly brutal hits come to mind when thinking about the Badgers’ safeties this offseason. During a spring practice, Wohler found himself face to face with Braelon Allen in the open field. The safety went high — a generally inadvisable decision when trying to bring down the powerful back — and essentially suplexed Allen into the turf. Not a lot of players in the country want to tackle Allen, but Wohler delighted in the opportunity and made an outstanding play.

“We’re trying to simulate games as much as possible. That’s one of the things that Coach Fick has really pushed on us is that, when we get on the field, we’re going to go full-go,” Wohler said. “There’s no other way to get game reps than to practice like that.”

This fall, it’s been more of the same from the entire safety room. Blaylock is a force coming downhill, and Latu rarely ever breaks up a pass without also leveling the intended receiver.

“It’s a part of our brand as a defense, tough and nasty,” safeties coach Colin Hitschler said. “We have to be smart about how we practice, but the physicality is important. If we’re training for winning over the course of a long season, we’ve gotta train physically now so that we can be ready to go.”

The very nature of the safety position dictates that they’ll get some wide open hits on potentially unsuspecting ball-carriers. Still, they understand the magnitude of their decisions in practice and the need to protect their teammates.

“When you get a good break on an in-breaking route, it’s like, you know that’s your brother right there. I feel like it’s easier to show that you made the play but not just light the dude up,” Blaylock said.

“It’s important to protect your guys, but at the same time we’re out here playing a physical game,” said Wohler, who clearly has less reservations about popping a teammate in practice.

Both Wohler and Blaylock attribute much of the physicality they bring to practice to their strength coach, Brady Collins.

“The way that we train, man. Shoutout coach Brady. It’s intense every day. So it’s nothing new when we get on the field. It’s all intensity, all high-motor stuff. When we get a chance to hit, it’s in our nature at that point,” Blaylock said.

“Coach Brady’s got a lot of juice. He’s one of those guys where you see him every single day and he’s always way up there,” Wohler said. “His energy is at such a high level and it forces you to bring your energy to that level.”

It was a less-than-ideal year for the Badgers’ safeties in 2022. Blaylock was lost for the season before the summer. Wohler was lost for much of the season on opening day. Now, they’ll be looking to dish out a little punishment. Wohler sounds like he can’t wait:

“People are gonna get hit, things are gonna happen and we’re gonna get up and play the next play.”

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