It may seem like the Badgers season ended just a few weeks ago, but the time to focus on 2014 is upon us. Come March 5, Gary Andersen will get to lead the 2014 version of the Badgers in drills for the first time.
After a 9-4 season and sending off a senior class with 39 wins, the 2014 version of the Badger football team will look a lot different. Sure, 1,600-yard rusher Melvin Gordon is back, so too is near 2-year starter at quarterback in Joel Stave.
However, as with every year, there are topics and questions entering spring ball. The 2014 version of the Badgers have some major questions, especially since 26 seniors are off to new endeavors and there are many players looking for new homes on the roster as well.
Spring football is about figuring out what you have and what you need to work on, and the 2014 Badgers are no different.
Let's take a look at the key questions facing the Badgers and head coach Gary Andersen. Here are the 5 burning questions that need to be answered this spring if the Badgers want to call it a success.
5. Offensive Line Depth
Four starters return to the Badgers offensive line, and even Ryan Groy, who was a versatile member of the UW O-Line, is easily replaceable thanks to the starting experience of one Dallas Lewallen. He's started seven games so far in his career, all coming last season.
However, behind the starters last season there wasn't much in the way of depth. This spring one of the biggest focuses will be on developing some quality depth. Lewallen and center Dan Voltz will be out this spring and for early entrant Michael Deiter it means massive minutes right out of the gate.
Also being thrown to the fire will be fellow early entrant, Jaden Gault. Overall, the Badgers need to figure out a solid two deep this spring. There are some intriguing options, like Walker Williams at tackle and a host of younger players that will be in the mix, but establishing two sets of "starters" if you will, will be a big component of spring ball for the Badgers in 2014.
4. Doing the Safety Dance
Wisconsin fans loved to hate on Dez Southward last season, and at times it was warranted. However, life after Southward may not be as fun as some believe it to be. As the Badgers enter spring ball, there will be 2 new starters at safety and that makes that position one of the biggest question marks as well.
Not only is Southward gone, but former safety Michael Caputo is transitioning to a linebacker role to play closer to the line of scrimmage, which he did most of last year anyway. That leaves redshirt sophomore Nate Hammon as the only option with experience coming back in this system.
He finished 2013 with 24 tackles, 1 tackle for loss and 1 sack, while also recording 1 pass break up and defensed. Next to him is the biggest question mark though, as there is no one with starting experience or much in the way of playing time at all.
Michael Trotter enters his senior season having started 3 games in his career, but last season he barely saw the field. Trotter played in four games and recorded just 1 tackle. Leo Musso, a sophomore, could be one option to watch as he played in 13 games, recorded 15 tackles, 1 tackle for loss and 1 interception.
One of the options that could be intriguing is 3-star early entrant Austin Hudson, but he won't be the only new face that will eventually get a look at the position. The options with the most promise won't be in the fold until this fall, including JUCO transfer Serge Trezy and freshmen D'Cota Dixon and Lubern Figaro.
What needs to happen with this group this spring is to solidify a few options to also challenge the incoming players this fall. The talent level of this group will get a huge upgrade at that point, so getting there with some options already on the roster would mean some good depth is finally around at safety.
3. Revamped Front Seven
There may not be another set of positions that feature so much change and so much promise at the same time. Wisconsin replaces 6 of 7 starters up front entering this season and that means spring ball is going to be huge for this group.
Not only will it be huge because so many starting positions are up for grabs, but also because the coaching staff appears to be ready to put a roster together that will more resemble what they want to do out of the 3-4 defense. Last season the Badgers never really unleashed the full version of the 3-4 defense under defensive coordinator Dave Aranda. There were no exotic blitz packages or stunts up front, yet the Badgers defense was still the second best in the Big Ten and one of the best in the country.
After seeing the roster for an entire season the Badgers are making a number of changes to the roles of players in an effort to make this group the more aggressive version the coaches want to be. Michael Caputo moves to FOLB from safety, Joe Schobert moves from outside to inside linebacker, outside linebacker Alec James moves to defensive end, Keelon Brookins to linebacker from safety and Leon Jacobs to the BOLB.
Now that you're confused as ever, the point is the Badger coaching staff clearly has a gameplan and it starts with the right players in the right spots to execute that gameplan. What will be the biggest key is finding the right three guys up front.
One player will be a lock, and that is nose tackle Warren Herring. The senior was a monster in the middle behind starter Beau Allen, recording 6 tackles and tying for the team lead with 4 sacks. Next in line on the D-line is likely end Konrad Zagzebski, who enters his senior season
The key up front will be to establish some depth, because there is a lot of inexperience behind Herring and Zagzebski.
Linebacker is equally fun to predict, but the one thing we all should know is that Derek Landisch will enter spring as the most experienced option and near lock in the position group. He will be one of the two starting inside linebackers this season, but the rest of the group has a lot of sorting out to do, especially with all the movement that is happening.
What happens to Vince Biegel with the move of Michael Caputo to that position? Can Joe Schobert earn the starting job at inside linebacker? What about Leon Jacobs' move as well?
Spring ball will go a long way towards sorting out all of those linebacker questions, but we aren't likely to have the defensive line questions answered until the fall when a group of highly-touted freshmen enter the fold.
2. Who Catches the Ball
Wisconsin faces life without wide receiver Jared Abbrederis and tight end Jacob Pedersen, and they do so without any really proven answers coming to the surface during those players' senior seasons. The duo combined for 117 receptions, 1,632 yards and 10 touchdowns.
Clearly that's a lot of production to replace, but it gets worse when you realize that the options at wide receiver never showed up last season.
It will be on a guy like sophomore Rob Wheelwright to take the reins and show he is consistent enough with his hands and in his route running to be an option. He saw limited action in his freshman season, despite a clear need of anything from anyone opposite Abbrederis.
Fellow freshman Alex Erickson showed glimpses of being good, but again he only showed up in spots.
The one name to really watch this spring will be sophomore Reggie Love. At 6'3" and 210-pounds, Love has the size to be a massive option for the Badgers. Unfortunately he hasn't seen the field much early in his career, sitting out last season due to a deep bone bruise and a lack of overall experience (just one year of high school ball to his name).
In preparation for the bowl game it appeared Love was ready to get going and be a major factor on this team. There's no better time than the present to turn that talk in to action on the field.
Wisconsin signed five wide receivers in this 2014 recruiting class, so clearly the coaching staff isn't all that happy with what is on the roster already. If anyone steps up as an impressive option out of spring it may be the biggest surprise of the 2014 spring season.
1. Separation at Quarterback
Talking to coaches and listening to what they've said in interviews about the quarterback position over the past six or seven months, one gets the impression that Joel Stave wasn't the answer they were looking for. Instead, he may have been the one they were stuck with.
Last fall it appeared that there wasn't much separation between Stave, sixth-year senior Curt Phillips and even Tanner McEvoy. However, McEvoy's broken hand took him out of the race and Phillips' inability to be accurate down the field ultimately led to Stave taking the job.
Stave proved the decision correct, throwing for 2,494 yards and 22 touchdowns to 13 interceptions. The 22 touchdowns were the second most by any Big Ten quarterback, only behind Ohio State's Braxton Miller and his 24 TDs. However, the 13 interceptions were
That dichotomy is why the Badgers enter this spring looking for more at the quarterback position. Stave starts spring as the starter, and must prove he has improved in order to keep that job. He'll be challenged by three quarterbacks that more fit the mold of what Andersen wants out of his quarterback—a run option. Stave must hold off the challenges of redshirt sophomore Bart Houston, junior Tanner McEvoy and early entrant D.J. Gillins.
To that end, this spring will be really difficult on the coaches to get the reps correct to make it a true QB battle. Four quarterbacks needing equal reps could get dicey, and that means the Badgers need to find a way to trim this battle down. Wisconsin needs a more dynamic option at quarterback and whoever proves they can do it consistently will win this job.
Don't expect a true winner to come this spring, but do expect the battle to be narrowed down to two or three QBs at most. If that doesn't happen, it means either all four are amazing QBs or no one was able to show anything good.
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