Wisconsin’s secondary was recently ranked No. 8 in the nation by ProFootballFocus.
The Badgers trailed only Ohio State, Iowa, Notre Dame, Michigan, Oregon, Texas and Georgia in PFF’s list. Reading into the list, the quality of Big Ten pass defense is expected to be top-notch in 2024 with five of the eight highest-ranked secondary groups.
Related: Wisconsin class of 2025 national ranking after addition of four-star LB Mason Posa
The No. 8 overall ranking makes sense for the Badgers. The team enters the 2024 season with a solid combination of established experience and exciting potential at the included positions.
Star safety Hunter Wohler leads both the group and the defense as a whole, while cornerback Ricardo Hallman enters as the only other NFL-level talent. The projected starting group also includes safety Kamo’i Latu, hybrid cornerback/safety Austin Brown and cornerbacks Nyzier Fourqurean and underrated transfer R.J. Delancy.
The secondary was one of the bigger focal points in Luke Fickell’s rebuild of the Badgers’ roster. His class of 2024 included four defensive backs (two safeties and two cornerbacks) and his class of 2025 already includes five (two safeties and three cornerbacks). Wohler, Latu and Hallman obviously remain from the Paul Chryst regime, but the rest of the group is a collection of transfer portal additions and top-end high school talent.
Top 10 Secondaries in College Footballđź”’
(Via: @MaxChadwickCFB) pic.twitter.com/Wvbkg5KLjr
— PFF College (@PFF_College) June 14, 2024
Here’s what PFF’s Max Chadwick wrote about the Badgers’ unit:
Wisconsin’s secondary features one of the nation’s 10 best safeties (Hunter Wohler) and a top-15 cornerback (Ricardo Hallman). Wohler earned the second-best coverage grade among FBS safeties in 2023 and was the second-most valuable safety in the nation, according to PFF’s wins above average metric. Hallman was a ball-magnet in 2023, tying for the national lead with seven interceptions. That helped him generate just a 37.4 passer rating allowed, which ranked ninth among FBS cornerbacks.
The Badgers also return four defensive backs who played at least 300 snaps last year and added one of the nation’s most underrated cornerbacks in Toledo’s RJ Delancy II from the transfer portal. He was among the nation’s 10 best cornerbacks last year in completion rate allowed, passer rating allowed, yards per coverage snap allowed and open-target rate allowed.
The secondary and linebacking core should be the strength of the 2024 Wisconsin defense. And it will need to be with the Badgers’ 2024 schedule including the top passing attacks of Alabama, Penn State, USC and Oregon.
If the secondary is ranked only No. 8 entering the 2024 season, it should rise in the coming years while top recruits including Amare Snowden and Braedyn Moore only gain comfort and experience.
Contact/Follow @TheBadgersWire on X (formerly Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Wisconsin Badgers news, notes, and opinion.
[lawrence-related id=78934,78169,77940,76307]