Wisconsin Football: 3 things to watch vs. Utah State

3. Dealing with injuries

The Badgers got banged up a bit in training camp and are a little shorthanded entering the 2017 season already, and even more so for the first game.

First, star linebacker and captain Jack Cichy tore his ACL in practice a few weeks ago and now fellow linebacker Zack Baun has been ruled out for the season with an apparent foot injury.

Also out for Friday’s matchup is wide receiver George Rushing. The Badgers are already facing several question marks at the second wide receiver slot and beyond and despite having many talented and viable options, there is still a lot of inexperience floating around the group.

Rushing was expected to take a big step right away as a freshman last year but eventually saw his spot taken by other options, such as Quintet Cephus. Rushing has the talent and brought in big expectations with him last year and the last thing the Badgers need is him not on the field.

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Big contributions will be needed for the Badgers at the wide receiver and linebacker positions with it being thin entering week one. Cichy and Baun are out for the season, but fortunately for Wisconsin the linebacker position is their deepest and have many different guys that can be moved around. Look for Chris Orr and Ryan Connelly mainly to take on bigger roles and step in just fine for the injured Cichy and Baun.

The talent is there, but it will be interesting to see how the Badgers respond mentally to the loss of their captain and others.