Published Mar 8, 2019
Wisconsin Spring Preview: Offensive Line
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John Veldhuis  •  BadgerBlitz
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Wisconsin's spring camp is set to kick off on March 26, so BadgerBlitz.com will run through each position group to break down what we know about the 2019 Badgers and what we still need to find out before they start their season on Aug. 30 against South Florida.

Miss a preview? Catch up here:

QUARTERBACKS | RUNNING BACKS | WIDE RECEIVERS | TIGHT ENDS |

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What We Know Right Now

There's a youth movement under way along Wisconsin's offensive line. We knew this was coming - the question was more about how many new starters the Badgers would have to find before their 2019 season kicks off.

Well, we have our answer. The Badgers need to find four new starters on the line during the offseason, with junior center Tyler Biadasz set to return to the team as the only holdover from that 2018 group that made the cover of Sports Illustrated.

The good news for the Badgers is that Biadasz is a damn good starting point to work from. In declining to declare for the NFL Draft and return for his junior season Biadasz will bring some stability to an offensive line filled with fresh faces in 2019.

Biadasz's experience at center likely means the Badgers will keep him in the middle of the line in 2019, but he could also bump out to either guard spot if that would give the Badgers the option to put their best five offensive linemen on the field at the same time.

One Big Question To Answer: Who fills out the rest of the first team? 

The Badgers have a few obvious options to fill in their open spots along the offensive line - but a lot of the final details depend on where the Badgers place sophomore Kayden Lyles now that he's back on the offensive line following his one-year "internship" on the defensive line.

It's a good problem to have, because Lyles could play in a couple different spots for UW along the interior. He's taken reps at center and guard since enrolling early at Wisconsin in the spring of 2017, so the Badgers truly could plug him in wherever they need him the most - even if that meant shifting Biadasz to guard so that Lyles could play center.

There will be technically "open" competitions at both left and right tackle after David Edwards elected to turn pro and Jon Dietzen decided to retire, but the Badgers have obvious candidates to take over for them at both spots. Cole Van Lanen will be the heavy favorite to take over at left tackle after he wound up playing on the strong side of the left tackle platoon last year anyway, and wound up receiving a higher grade from Pro Football Focus last year than Dietzen did.

Logan Bruss also seems primed to start at right tackle for the Badgers this year after he took over for Edwards towards the end of the year while Edwards was dealing with a shoulder injury. Given a full spring to work with the first team, Bruss will have every chance to establish himself as Wisconsin's right tackle for the next few seasons.

Spring Dark Horse

The right guard spot is also up for grabs after Beau Benzschawel's graduation, but keep an eye on redshirt sophomore Josh Seltzner as the Badgers hash out their new depth chart. You could see seniors like Jason Erdmann get the first crack at winning the open spot, but don't be surprised if Seltzner is in the mix for a while - the coaching staff has liked the work he put in since joining the program as a walk-on. Now on scholarship, Seltzner will have a chance to show how he's grown as a player since he joined the program.

Projected Spring Depth Chart

LEFT TACKLE

1. COLE VAN LANEN

2. TYLER BEACH

LEFT GUARD

1. KAYDEN LYLES

2. DAVID MOORMAN

CENTER

1. TYLER BIADASZ

2. BLAKE SMITHBACK

RIGHT GUARD

1. JASON ERDMANN

-OR-

JOSH SELTZNER

2. ALEX FENTON

RIGHT TACKLE

1. LOGAN BRUSS

2. ANDREW LYONS

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John Veldhuis covers Wisconsin football, basketball and recruiting for BadgerBlitz.com on the Rivals.com network. Follow him on Twitter at @JohnVeldhuis.