With Wisconsin's roster all but finalized and the season right around the corner, the Badgers have their sights set on fall camp. Once again, the team will travel to UW-Platteville for the first portion of practice up until Aug. 11.
As the dog days of summer heat up, so will position battles and the intense competition for snaps once the season rolls around. Up until fall camp, BadgerBlitz.com will preview each position on the roster. We'll continue with the inside linebackers, a unit brimming with talent.
The turnover at inside linebacker was significant for Wisconsin this season, but the Badgers appear to have come out on the other side with a much stronger, deeper group of inside backers.
Graduated are Maema Njongmeta and Tatum Grass. Transferred out are Jordan Turner, Ross Gengler and Aidan Vaughn. That's over 1,000 snaps the Badgers must replace at the position, but with their success in the transfer portal, they appear primed to not only replace but upgrade those snaps.
Wisconsin reeled in two of the top available inside linebackers in Jaheim Thomas (Arkansas) and Tackett Curtis (USC). It also secured a pledge from former four-star recruit Sebastian Cheeks (North Carolina). The latter may not see the field much this season, but Thomas and Curtis are both special talents who figure to play heavily this fall.
The Badgers also signed one freshman inside linebacker in Green Bay product Landon Gauthier. Overall, this is easily the most revamped position on the roster.
By bringing in two of the top available transfers at inside linebacker — both of whom are proven commodities — and pairing them with Chaney, Wisconsin suddenly has one of the more exciting ILB rooms in the country. This group looks more athletic in terms of sideline-to-sideline speed, more versatile with an ability to rush the passer, and a little more violent and nasty as tacklers.
“Truthfully, we’ve gotten a little bit longer. Hopefully, as we see it on the field, we’ve gotten a little more athletic," defensive coordinator and inside linebackers coach Mike Tressel said this spring.
Wisconsin has a wide range of skillsets in this room. The incumbent Chaney possesses that imperative lateral speed while maintaining his tackling ability and hit power. Thomas is a tackling machine who can also rush the passer off the edge or via the A and B gaps. Curtis is an incredibly physical heat-seeking missle and plays with "nasty intentions," as Tressel put it. Don't forget about sophomore Christian Alliegro, who may be the fastest player in the room.
With so much talent on tap for Tressel, how will reps be divided come fall? The coordinator maintains that while only two players can start, more will have the opportunity to rotate in on a formation-by-formation basis.
“The most, probably, I’ve ever played is four for two positions in your normal, base down packages. But then, there’s also been situations where you can get one or two more in situational packages," he said. "Whether it’s third down, or maybe against big personnel groupings or things like that. So four normally, but then you hope with the talent level going up, you can get more in packages.”
At this juncture, Chaney appears to be a lock to start. Thomas, with his experience and versatility, is right there with him. But Curtis and Alliegro figure to nip at their heels for the duration of fall camp and force Tressel to make some tough decisions by Week 1.
"We've got a great group of guys. All can run, all should be able to play come September," Thomas said this spring. "Really just being able to line guys up in different situations, line them up in different positions so the offense don't really know where we're coming on a blitz."
This should be the best inside linebacker group the Badgers have deployed since Leo Chenal and Jack Sanborn roamed the middle of the field in Madison. At least on paper, this room appears to have it all: talent, depth, and a chip on its shoulder.
"I know there’s a lot of guys in the room who believe they’re starter material," Tressel said. "And they are, but only two can start.”
Two things to watch going forward
1. Does fall bring clarity to the pecking order? It seems to be a foregone conclusion that Chaney will start, but after that, a lot can change over the course of fall camp. Again, Thomas is the most likely candidate to be his running mate. Nonetheless, the coaching staff has placed an emphasis on competition up and down the roster this offseason, and there's no reason to assume that won't be the case in fall camp. With the sheer talent in this room, it may ultimately be more about which player fits which situation as opposed to a true, traditional two-deep this fall.
2. Keep an eye on Gauthier. The staff is very high on the true freshman, as they love the in-state talent's skillset. Despite being buried on the depth chart at an immensely talented position, Gauthier managed to steal some reps this spring and begin to put some of his traits on tape. At the moment, Gauthier and Alliegro represent the future of the position in Madison.
Buzz on the backups
Cheeks was easily the quietest of the transfers this spring. The former Rivals150 prospect had a quiet two seasons in Chapel Hill as well. As for now, he appears to be no higher than No. 5 on the depth chart behind Chaney, Thomas, Curtis and Alliegro.
Tyler Jansey got some reps with the third team this spring. The redshirt freshman has a promising frame and athletic ability, but all signs point to him being at least a year away from contributing on Saturdays in Madison.
Garrison Solliday also managed to log some reps with the third team this spring. The junior is the top walk-on at the position.
Projected Depth Chart
| Position | 1st team | 2nd team |
|---|---|---|
|
ILB |
Jake Chaney (SR) |
Christian Alliegro (SO) |
|
ILB |
Jaheim Thomas (R-SR) |
Tackett Curtis (SO) |