Tag: Danny Davis

A starting senior WR is returning to Wisconsin football

The Badgers get back a key senior WR

Wisconsin football received a massive lift on Monday night as they prepare for spring football.

With a recent announcement on Twitter by senior WR Kendric Pryor that he was returning to school, speculation began about his counterpart Danny Davis III also coming back for one last spin.

Tonight via Twitter, Davis announced he was returning for a final year at Wisconsin:

The Wisconsin WR only played in the first two 2020 Badger games before being sidelined for the remainder of the year.

In Davis, the Badgers return an experienced senior who can take the top off of a defense. He has already amassed more than 1,100 receiving yards throughout his Wisconsin career, and will look to make his final campaign his best come this fall.

 

Five starters are OUT for Wisconsin today against Wake Forest

The injury report is out for Wisconsin football’s Duke’s Mayo Bowl matchup against Wake Forest. For yet another week, the report brought…

The Wisconsin football program has released its pregame status report heading into their Duke’s Mayo Bowl matchup with the Wake Forest Demon Deacons.

Excluded from the injury list, meaning he will suit up and play, is running back Jalen Berger—a player who has missed the team’s last two games.

Related: BadgersWire staff predictions + how to bet Wisconsin vs. Wake Forest

Listed as out for the game, however, are wide receivers Kendric Pryor and Danny Davis, left tackle Cole Van Lanen, defensive end Isaiahh Loudermilk and right guard Logan Bruss.

Also out for today is backup running back Nakia Watson and backup cornerback Semar Melvin.

The absence of Pryor and Davis today will mean the two receivers combined to play only five games this season—that after the offense showed promise Week 1 against Illinois when the two players were both healthy.

Related: Five keys to a Wisconsin Badger victory in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl

Quarterback Graham Mertz and the Wisconsin offense will now need to see tight end Jake Ferguson and wide receivers Chimere Dike and Jack Dunn step up in the receiving game and replacements along the offensive line to play well if the unit wants to compliment their rushing attack and find success against a soft Wake Forest defense.

Five key starters for Wisconsin are OUT today against Minnesota

Wisconsin Badgers will be without running back Jalen Berger, wide receivers Kendric Pryor and Danny Davis and more today against Minnesota

The Wisconsin Badger offense has been anything but healthy this season, with starting quarterback Jack Coan going down with a foot injury before the season started, members of the team testing positive for COVID-19, wide receivers Kendric Pryor and Danny Davis missing several weeks and more.

That trend continued today as according to the team’s depth chart they will be without key starters RB Jalen Berger, RB Nakia Watson, WR Danny Davis, LT Cole Van Lanen and WR Kendric Pryor for the second straight week.

Quarterback Graham Mertz will now rely on Chimere Dike and Jack Dunn at wide receiver and Garrett Groshek at running back, a combination that hasn’t worked very well for the last few weeks.

Related: Wisconsin vs. Minnesota: 10 players to watch

One good sign for the Badger offense is this Minnesota defense is nothing close to that of Northwestern, Indiana or Iowa, or even to the unit they had last season.

The game will kick off at 3 p.m. CST and be available on the Big Ten Network and the FOX Sports app.

 

Minnesota preview:

Five things the Wisconsin Badgers must do to keep Paul Bunyan’s Axe

Minnesota team preview

What Minnesota HC P.J. Fleck is saying about Wisconsin before the game

HC Paul Chryst gives an update on the status of WRs Kendric Pryor and Danny Davis

Film room: The good, the bad and the questionable from Graham Mertz’s performance against Iowa

Wisconsin is a big favorite according to BetMGM

College Gameday picks for Wisconsin vs. Minnesota

5 players to watch: Wisconsin football at Northwestern

The No. 10 Wisconsin Badgers have been nothing short of excellent so far this season, outscoring Illinois and Michigan by a combined…

The No. 10 Wisconsin Badgers have been nothing short of excellent so far this season, outscoring Illinois and Michigan by a combined 76 points.

They’ve only played two games, though, after they had two contests canceled due to a COVID-19 outbreak within the program. We can look back at the Illinois and Michigan wins all we want, but it’s fair to say that neither has been a good football team this season, or at least not nearly as good as the Badgers’ upcoming opponent–the 4-0 and No. 19-ranked Northwestern Wildcats.

This week we’ve already previewed the 2020 Northwestern team and gave five keys to a Wisconsin victory.

Here, now, are five players to watch when the two teams take the field on Saturday:

Related:

Graham Mertz puts on show in first half as starter

Graham Mertz made his first start tonight for the Wisconsin Badgers against the Illinois Fighting Illini and put on quite the show in the…

Graham Mertz made his first start tonight for the Wisconsin Badgers against the Illinois Fighting Illini and put on quite the show in the first half of the matchup.

Mertz has led the Badgers to a 28-7 lead in the first half with an eye-popping 190 yards and four touchdowns. Mertz also completed every single passing attempt he threw, going 14-14 in the first half. Some of the highlights of Mertz’s game so far include a 53-yard touchdown to Danny Davis and two touchdowns to Jake Ferguson. Mertz’s other passing touchdown was the first score of the game to fullback Mason Stokke.

Mertz has certainly lived up to the hype in his first half as a starter for the Badgers, and the future looks bright for Wisconsin fans.

WATCH: Graham Mertz connects on a beautiful deep ball in practice

Last week Wisconsin starting quarterback Jack Coan went down in practice with a foot injury and is now out indefinitely, giving way to…

Last week Wisconsin starting quarterback Jack Coan went down in practice with a foot injury and is now out indefinitely.

When the news came out, many expected the starter to then be redshirt freshman Graham Mertz, the highest-rated quarterback recruit in program history. Well, in a press conference yesterday Quarterback Coach Jon Budmayr confirmed that sentiment, saying “That’s the path we’re on right now.”

Related: Five takeaways from Coach Budmayr and Graham Mertz’s press conference

So, with Mertz on track to be the Week 1 starter there comes one big thing: practice highlights.

First of all, the pass to wide receiver Danny Davis goes at least 55 yards in the air. Second, it is the exact definition of “thrown on a rope.”

After hearing from the quarterback and his position coach at their press conference, it’s clear that both they and the team are confident in what Mertz will be able to do when he takes the field and in his ability to lead the team in Coan’s absence.

Related: Mertz and the rest of the quarterback room give high praise to a freshman wide receiver

Here are some more highlights from the practice, including an impressive one-on-one win by freshman wide receiver Chimere Dike.

 

There are now only two weeks until Mertz and the Wisconsin Badgers take the field against the Illinois Fighting Illini. Though there is a question mark surrounding how Mertz will perform in his first collegiate start, videos of 55-yard ropes sure help whatever doubts people may have.

Opinion: Who will be the third starting receiver for Wisconsin this season?

Last season, Wisconsin relied heavily on the talents of Quintez Cephus to stretch the field and make big plays. Many Wisconsin fans were hoping that former Badger Aron Cruickshank would be the third receiver this season that would take over the role as a deep threat, but he transferred to Rutgers shortly after last season to play under Greg Schiano. 

Last season, Wisconsin relied heavily on the talents of Quintez Cephus to stretch the field and make big plays. Many Wisconsin fans were hoping that former Badger Aron Cruickshank would be the third receiver this season that would take over the role as a deep threat, but he transferred to Rutgers shortly after last season to play under Greg Schiano. 

This left me, as well as many others wondering, who will be Wisconsin’s third starting wide receiver for this season? 

My prediction is that Jack Dunn will beat out Adam Krumholz for this position because of his experience last season. Dunn was a favorite to be used by Paul Chryst for trick plays or misdirections and finished the season with five receptions for 41 yards and a touchdown. The Madison, Wisc. native also contributed heavily last season as the punt returner for the Badgers, which leads me to believe that Dunn was being groomed to be the next starting receiver. 

Up to his redshirt senior season, Adam Krumholz has yet to have made an impact on this team, which leaves me to believe that this trend will continue into this season. Krumholz has neither the game experience nor the favor with Paul Chryst that Dunn has. It is going to take a heck of a camp for Krumholz to crack the starting lineup this season. 

Jack Dunn is not the deep play threat that Wisconsin is looking for, but his experience and play style lends him to be a solid slot receiver next to Kendric Pryor and Danny Davis. Pryor or Davis are going to have to develop a deep threat ability as a part of their game for this season because it definitely will not be Dunn, who has mid-range speed and stands at 5-foot-7.

Where Paul Chryst believes his team has the biggest question marks this season

In a press conference yesterday Wisconsin head coach Paul Chryst noted the two position groups where his team has the biggest question…

In a press conference yesterday Wisconsin head coach Paul Chryst noted the two position groups where his team has the biggest question marks this season: wide receiver and outside linebacker.

If you think about it, this comment makes a lot of sense with the team saying goodbye to A.J. Taylor, Quintez Cephus and Aron Cruikshank at wide receiver and Zack Baun at outside linebacker.

The “next-ups” at the two positions respectively are set to be Jack Dunn and Adam Krumholz–with both Danny Davis and Kendric Pryor already established as contributors on the outside–and Noah Burks.

To me the wide receiver position the bigger question mark of the two as Badger fans know very well that Chryst and Jim Leonhard never have trouble developing “next-ups” at outside linebacker.

The Badgers are currently scheduled to start their season September 4 when they host the Indiana Hoosiers.

Post-draft outlook: who will fill the roles of the departed Badgers?

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…

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.

 

 

 

 

Wisconsin Spring Position Preview: Wide Receivers

Taking a closer look at the wide receiver position group as Wisconsin enters spring football

Spring football allows for head coach Paul Chryst to not have to worry about preparing for a game. Instead, it allows him to teach the game of football and continue to develop the players on Wisconsin’s roster as they prepare for the 2020 season. Chryst will have 15 practices beginning March 22 to help his team improve and build on what they accomplished during the 2019 season.

In this Badgers Wire feature, we will break down the wide receiver position for Wisconsin as it heads into spring practice.

Spring Wide Receiver Roster

A.J. Abbott (redshirt sophomore), Stephan Bracey (redshirt freshman), Danny Davis (senior), Jordan DiBenedetto (redshirt freshman), Chimere Dike (freshman), Jack Dunn (redshirt senior), Cade Green (redshirt junior), Mike Gregoire (redshirt sophomore), Adam Krumholz (redshirt senior), Taj Mustapha (redshirt sophomore), Cooper Nelson (redshirt freshman), Cam Phillips (redshirt freshman), Emmet Perry (redshirt junior), Kendric Pryor (redshirt senior)

What we know going into spring practice

It will be an important spring for both Danny Davis and Kendric Pryor as their roles will change as they head into their final seasons. Considering Pryor who has mostly played on the outside at the wide receiver position will likely now be relied on to play in the slot, which was played by A.J. Taylor a season ago.

Outside of those two consistently working on their games it will be an important spring for the Badgers to build quality depth behind Davis and Pryor. That responsibility will fall on first-year wide receiver coach Alvis Whitted who served as the Green Bay Packers wide receivers coach a season ago.

The likely top two wide receivers behind Davis and Pryor are a pair of redshirt seniors in Jack Dunn and Adam Krumholz. Dunn is slated to miss all of spring football due to a left leg injury. Krumholz has demonstrated to be a solid blocker for Wisconsin but he only has caught three passes in 31 career games.

Whitted will also need to continue with the development of A.J. Abbott and Taj Mustapha. Mustapha played in four games as a true freshman while maintaining his freshman eligibility but only appeared in one game a season ago. Abbott appeared in eight games a season ago as his action mostly came on special teams.

Chimere Dike who signed with Wisconsin as a part of the 2020 recruiting class elected to enroll early. Dike will get a head start in getting acclimated to college life and being able to create a new routine for himself. The biggest challenge for Dike is getting used to the speed of the college game and being able to learn from the mistakes he does make over the course of spring football.

What we hope to find out following spring practice

The progress of Abbott and Mustapha will be examined closely as the development of those two players could be the key to the success on whether or not the Badgers are able to consistently utilize four wide receivers this year.

Two other players who could have productive springs are a pair of redshirt freshmen in Stephan Bracey and Cam Phillips.

Bracey didn’t appear in a game a season ago but he did travel with the team for road games toward the end of the season. With the departure of Aron Cruickshank who transferred to Rutgers could Bracey take on a similar role that Cruickshank had in Wisconsin’s offense if he earns the trust of the coaches?

Phillips a walk-on held multiple scholarship offers including one from Wisconsin but he suffered a knee injury his senior year, which caused him to miss his entire season. The injury suffered by Phillips changed the course of his recruitment as the Badgers were able to land him as a walk-on.

Phillips was an early enrollee last year but because of his injury, he couldn’t compete during spring football. Phillips now healthy will look to show that his injury is behind him as he tries to earn playing time.

Wisconsin was able to utilize and rely on four wide receivers a season ago and if that’s the case again this coming season the Badgers will need Krumholz, Abbott, Mustapha or someone else to take the next step in their development. As the wide receivers will get plenty of reps during spring football as it will be up to them to take advantage and get better with each practice.