Wisconsin football has always produced a strong running game, in fact, they even have an argument to own claim to the nickname “Running Back U.”
With a new head coach at the helm in Luke Fickell, this upcoming season looks no different at the running back position with Braelon Allen. The one thing, however, Wisconsin has struggled with is at the quarterback position. Last year’s starter, Graham Mertz, threw for only 2,136 yards and completed 57 percent of his passes.
While the running game and the defense were bright spots last year, what can Badger fans expect this year?
Here are the most important summer storylines to follow.
3. Quarterback battle
Last year’s starter, Graham Mertz, decided to jump ship and transfer to Florida. So Wisconsin, like so many teams, went transfer portal fishing and managed to catch a big fish in Tanner Mordecai.
The former SMU quarterback threw for 3,524 yards and completed 65 percent of his passes while throwing for 33 touchdowns. Jump around, Badgers fans.
No team in the country had a bigger transfer commitment than Wisconsin. It’s almost comparable to USC getting Caleb Williams. Mordecai has a chance to be the best quarterback the program has had since Russell Wilson, and if he plays anything remotely close to how he played at SMU, Wisconsin will be fighting for a Big Ten title.
2. How explosive will the offense be with Phil Longo?
New head coach Luke Fickell is bringing more than his winning pedigree to the Badgers program. He’s hired offensive coordinator Phil Longo, who is a master of the air raid offense, to join him at Camp Randall.
For those of you who are unfamiliar with Phil Longo, he was the offensive coordinator at Ole Miss, where the offense ranked second in the SEC.
For the past three seasons, he was at North Carolina, and his offense ranked first in the ACC. He’s the reason Drake Maye will be one of the top quarterbacks off the board in next year’s draft.
With a new quarterback capable of leading an offense and one of, if not the best, running backs in the country in Braelon Allen. Look for the offense under Longo to be the most potent Wisconsin has had in years.
1. Can the defense recover?
The Badgers’ defense has been one of the best in the country the past six seasons, ranking in the top five in total defense three of those years, but that was under former defensive coordinator Jim Leonard. Income’s new coordinator Mike Tressel, who was also at Cincinnati with coach Luke Fickell last season.
Under Tressel, the Cincinnati defense helped the program get back-to-back 11-win seasons, and in 2021, Cincinnati was the only undefeated regular-season team in college football. Tressel’s defense ranked first in sacks, scoring defense, quarterback passer rating, passing yards, and total defense in the ACC that year.
The Badgers did lose two key contributors on defense to the NFL draft in Nick Herbig and Keanu Benton, both drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers. However, the defense does bring back its leading tackler, Maema Njongmeta. Look for Tressel to bring his 3-3-5 defense to the Big Ten.
The only consistent thing Wisconsin continues to do is have an impactful running back and a consistent defense. Case in point, Wisconsin’s 2019 team played in the Big Ten championship game against Ohio State. The defense ranked fifth, the running game with Johnathan Taylor ranked first, meanwhile the passing game was ranked near the bottom.
Let’s just hope Fickell can put together a more well-rounded team this season.