As the 2019 season fully recedes into the pages of history, Badgers Wire is exploring what Wisconsin will look like — and can achieve — in 2020. We have been taking a look at the Badger offense, but now it’s time to switch sides and take a look at what the Badgers are bringing back on defense for the 2020 season. In order to make it easier to digest and disseminate, Badgers Wire will be breaking it up by position group. Next up for the Badgers is a look at the defensive backs.
Despite being relatively unheralded and unmentioned, the Badgers did an outstanding job in the defensive backfield. They were central to the creation of the nation’s No. 13 passing efficiency defense, intercepting the ball 12 times. Wisconsin’s secondary allowed an average of only 187 passing yards per game to the opposition. That was good enough for Wisconsin to come in ranked as the No. 12 team in the nation for passing yards allowed. Only Ohio State (No. 1), Michigan (No. 10), and Minnesota (No. 9) were ranked higher in the Big Ten. All of this contributed to the fact that the nation’s No. 10-ranked scoring defense resided in Madison. Only Penn State (No. 8), Iowa (No. 5), and Ohio State (No. 4) were ranked higher in the Big Ten.
The boon here for the Badgers is that they don’t have any key departures on defense from the defensive backfield. Caesar Williams and Faion Hicks return, and Rachad Wildgoose also comes back as the slot corner. Reggie Pearson, Scott Nelson, Collin Wilder, Madison Cone, and John Torchio all return at safety and defensive coordinator Jim Leohnard will have a host of options to choose from in his backfield. A former safety himself, Leohnard is going to know exactly how often and when some of these guys will play. This is easily one of Wisconsin’s deepest groupings.
The pressure-point player here, in one person’s opinion, is Rachad Wildgoose. Badger fans know that in various games last year, from Northwestern to the Rose Bowl, Wildgoose was… well… a little too wild. He committed a few key penalties and, on other occasions, got caught well out of position. On balance, he did a lot of good things for the Badgers in 2019, but when he was bad, he was awful. His worst moments were crippling moments. If his worst moments in 2020 can be less disastrous — which is another way of saying that he needs to raise his floor more than his ceiling — UW’s back line of defense will give up fewer big plays and give the team an extra margin for error.
The Badgers look very promising on defense for the 2020 season. With the talent and production they have returning at the front-seven and in the backfield, their defense will be one of the more competitive in the Big Ten. The biggest worry for the Wisconsin defense is the offense lacking standout playmakers following the departure of most of their skill position players to the NFL Draft, chiefly Jonathan Taylor and Quintez Cephus. If the Badgers are out on the field playing defense for half a game, it’s going to have an effect on their defense. If they can find a way to keep the offense going, this defense is good enough to win a few 50-50 games which will make the difference between first and second place in the Big Ten West.