The Wisconsin Badgers only boast two players on Athlon Sports’ College Football Preview Magazine’s 2024 preseason All-America teams: right tackle Riley Mahlman (fourth-team offense) and safety Hunter Wohler (fourth-team defense).
Those inclusions, or lack thereof, come after the program saw five players included in Phil Steele’s preseason All-Big Ten teams. While there is certainly a large step from All-Big Ten to All-America, the team has more players who warrant consideration.
Related: Big Ten football offensive coordinator rankings for 2024 season
That aside, both Mahlman and Wohler are certainly deserving of the preseason All-America honor.
Mahlman returns to start at right tackle after starting all 13 of Wisconsin’s games at the position in 2023. Last year he boasted a 74.4 offensive grade (PFF), the fifth-highest among all Big Ten offensive linemen. He was a strong force on a Wisconsin offensive line that mostly struggled in year one under new offensive coordinator Phil Longo.
The veteran tackle projects to be Wisconsin’s best entering 2024 and should play his way into NFL draft consideration.
Wohler, meanwhile, enters 2024 again as the engine of Mike Tressel’s defense. The star safety finished the 2023 season with 120 tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss, 1.0 sacks, 2 interceptions and 6 pass deflections. The versatile safety should again line up all over the field for Tressel and Luke Fickell in 2024. He’s a near-lock to be selected in the 2025 NFL draft.
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Notable omissions from Athlon’s All-America Teams include cornerback Ricardo Hallman (7 interceptions in 2023) and wide receiver Will Pauling (team-high 74 catches, 837 yards and 6 touchdowns in 2023).
After that, it’s understandable why theBadgers aren’t getting buckets of national praise after their 7-6 2023 campaign.
There are breakout candidates who could play their way onto these teams, including left tackle Jack Nelson, center Jake Renfro, running back Chez Mellusi, wide receiver Bryson Green, quarterback Tyler Van Dyke and linebacker Jake Chaney. It isn’t a huge shock to see most of those players flying under the radar entering the season, but both Hallman and Pauling should have been included.
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