Brycen Hopkins – Tight End
2019 stats: 45 rec, 561 yds (12.5 avg), 3 TD
A John Mackey Award semifinalist who is likely to hear his name called fairly early in this spring’s NFL draft, Hopkins is the best tight end Wisconsin has faced this season.
The fifth-year senior and team captain has served as a critical weapon for Purdue’s revolving door of quarterbacks this year, who have understandably looked his way quite often; Hopkins is No. 6 in the Big Ten in receptions, and his 561 receiving yards are tops among the conference’s tight ends. However, he hasn’t exactly been a red zone threat this season, as the last time he recorded a touchdown was all the way back in the Boilermakers’ second game against Vanderbilt.
George Karlaftis – Defensive End
2019 stats: 46 tackles (25 solo), 14.5 TFL, 6.0 sacks, 2 PD, 1 FR
Similarly to Bell, Karlaftis was one of the crown jewels of Purdue’s 2019 recruiting class and has made an immediate and pronounced impact as a true freshman.
The former 4-star defensive end out of West Lafayette has emerged as one of the Big Ten’s brightest young stars this season by wreaking havoc in opposing backfields all year long. Karlaftis leads his hometown Boilermakers and ranks No. 10 in the Big Ten in sacks and trails only Ohio State’s Chase Young in tackles for loss.
He isn’t likely to replicate the type of dominant showing that Young had against the Badgers, but containing Karlaftis should serve as yet another difficult challenge for this Wisconsin offensive line.
Ben Holt – Linebacker
2019 stats: 99 tackles (55 solo), 6.0 TFL, 1.0 sacks, 2 PD
A graduate transfer from Western Kentucky, Holt has certainly made the most of what will be his one and only season suiting up for the Boilermakers.
The son of Purdue linebackers coach Nick Holt has been a tackling machine for this defense, ranking second in the Big Ten in both total and solo tackles and third in assisted tackles. He’s had double-digit tackling performances in six of ten games this season.
One of those guys who just always seems to be around the ball, expect to hear Holt’s name called quite a bit on Saturday.