Though the season is still five months away, it’s never too early to look ahead to how the Badgers will line up to start the season.
The biggest question mark year-to-year, understandably, is who will step in for the former players who either finished their four years of eligibility or declared early for the NFL Draft.
This year more than any in recent memory, it seems, coach Paul Chryst will need to replace the majority of both his offensive and defensive production from last season.
That production includes more than 2000 rushing yards, 21 rushing touchdowns, 1153 receiving yards and 12 receiving touchdowns combined between offensive stars Jonathan Taylor and Quintez Cephus in addition to 153 tackles, 33.5 tackles-for-loss, 24 sacks, four forced fumbles and one interception combined between defensive stars Chris Orr and Zack Baun.
Additionally, with a less-quantifiable position group, Chryst will need to replace three starters along his offensive line including projected 4th-round pick Tyler Biadasz and NFL hopeful Jason Erdmann.
There isn’t only bad news heading into the 2020 season, though, as the team welcomes back starting quarterback Jack Coan, productive wide receivers Kendric Pryor and Danny Davis, tight end Jake Ferguson, talented defensive linemen Keeanu Benton and Isaiahh Loudermilk, a tackling machine at linebacker in Jack Sanborn and the entire secondary from 2019.
The talent is there for another successful campaign, but the team will no doubt need players to fill the roles of those gone to the NFL.
Running Back
Filling Taylor’s collegiate production is an impossible task. What Chryst and the Badgers can hope to do, though, is find a consistent option to complement Garrett Groshek in the backfield and continue the string of success they’ve had at the position.
The two options to fill that role are redshirt sophomore Nakia Watson and top recruit Jalen Berger.
Watson carried the ball 74 times last season for 331 yards and two touchdowns in a backup role. The Texas native was a four-star recruit coming out of high school in 2018 and has the talent to succeed if given the starting role.
The other option, Berger, will be a true freshman this fall but is ranked as the No. 12 running back recruit in the nation and has the talent to become the next great Badger in the backfield.
If Berger redshirts this season expect the backfield to be led by Watson and a classic third-down back in Groshek. If Berger does not redshirt and sees the field Day 1, as Jonathan Taylor did during his freshman year, expect Berger to start the next era of success in the Badger backfield.
Wide Receiver
Though Cephus decided to leave school early and enter the NFL Draft and A.J. Taylor is finished with his four years of eligibility, the Badgers still return three solid receiving threats in Pryor, Davis and Jack Dunn.
Had Aron Cruikshank not transferred to Rutgers during the offseason, Chryst would actually be set to enter 2020 with one of the most experienced receiving cores in the Big Ten.
Pryor, Davis and Dunn all returning paired with an incoming three-star recruit in Chimere Dike points towards a productive year at wide receiver for the Badgers even without the services of Cephus, A.J. Taylor and Cruikshank.
Offensive Line
The offensive line seems to be the position that Chryst never has trouble rejuvenating and reloading from year to year.
The Badger coach now moves forward to 2020 without 2019 starters Biadasz, Erdmann and David Moorman but does return the likes of Cole Van Lanen, Logan Bruss, Tyler Beach, Josh Seltzner, Kayden Lyles and former five-star recruit Logan Brown and welcomes in a four-star recruit in Jack Nelson.
The starting five on the line should look something like Van Lanen and Bruss at the tackle positions, Lyles and Seltzner at the guard spots and either Blake Smithback or Joe Tippmann at center, though it is unclear at the moment who will take over at center for Biadasz.
Though Logan Brown is not in line to start yet in 2020 he is somebody worth keeping an eye on as he came to Wisconsin as the second-best prospect in program history and as an surefire future first round pick.
Linebacker
Orr and Baun, as I outlined earlier, combined for a remarkable season in 2019.
Defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard will now look to the junior Sanborn to take over for Orr as the leader of the defense at middle linebacker and to Noah Burks to take over Baun’s role at outside linebacker.
Both Burks and Sanborn had starting roles 2019 so there are still holes behind them in the depth chart going forward to 2020. The most likely players to fill these roles and start for Leonhard in 2020 are Leo Chenal at middle linebacker and Izayah Green-May at outside linebacker, though the outside linebacker position is still wide open as summer preparation is close to getting underway.
The key to success in college football is being able to develop players throughout their four years in college yet have a system in place that is able to move forward once those players graduate and fill their roles at a high level. Chryst has shown a clear ability to do this thus far during his tenure and 2020 should be no exception.