Tag: Hunter Wohler

One-on-one interview with Wisconsin Badgers safety Hunter Wohler

One-on-one interview with Wisconsin Badgers safety Hunter Wohler

The Wisconsin Badgers football team returned to practice at Camp Randall Stadium on Tuesday after spending two weeks at an off-site camp at UW-Platteville. They’ll ramp up their game preparation over the next few weeks before beginning the season on Aug. 30 against Western Michigan.

Senior safety Hunter Wohler is coming off of a 2023 campaign in which he recorded 120 total tackles, including a sack, while also securing two interceptions and six pass deflections. His performance led to him being selected as a First Team All-Big Ten (AP) member.

Wohler was kind enough to field a few questions from us following practice Monday, explaining how an improved linebackers group impacts him and the rest of the secondary.

“It frees us up to play loose and go make plays. Third downs especially, it can put some pressure on the quarterback and make them make stupid decisions. We can take advantage of that,” Wohler detailed.

This offseason, the Badgers hired Alex Grinch to become their safeties coach and co-defensive coordinator, a decision that Wohler certainly endorses.

“Great dude. Great coach. He understands the position really well,” Wohler continued, “He challenges us heavily. Him being around has forced us to be better and take ownership of what we’re doing.”

Wohler had the opportunity to make the jump to the NFL following his junior season, but he decided to stick around and try and finish what he started at Wisconsin. He’ll look to build off of his monster year in 2023 when the Badgers officially kick off their season in 16 days.

Two Wisconsin defensive playmakers make 2024 Chuck Bednarik Award watch list

Two Wisconsin defensive playmakers make 2024 Chuck Bednarik Award watch list

Wisconsin star defensive backs Hunter Wohler and Ricardo Hallman cracked the 2024 Chuck Bednarik Award watch list on Monday.

The honor annually recognizes the most outstanding defensive player in college football. 2024 marks the 30th installation of the honor.

This marks Wohler’s fourth preseason award watch list nomination. He’s also been named to the watch list for the 2024 Wuerffel Trophy (community service), 2024 Jim Thorpe Award (best defensive back) and Bronko Nagurski Trophy (best defensive player).

Despite Hallman’s stellar AP Third Team All-American output in 2023, this marks only his first award watch list recognition of the 2024 preseason.

A total of nineteen Big Ten athletes cracked the final list, which was compiled by the Maxwell Football Club, Pro Football Focus (PFF) and Phil Steele Publications as the award’s selection committee partners.

Purdue safety Dillon Thieneman, Penn State safety Kevin Winston Jr., Oregon cornerback Jabbar Muhammad and Ohio State safety Caleb Downs are among the two Badgers’ conference rivals to make the final list at their respective positions.

Notable former winners include Alabama’s Will Anderson Jr. (2022), Georgia’s Jordan Davis (2021), Ohio State’s Chase Young (2019) and Alabama’s Minkah Fitzpatrick (2017).

Hallman and Wohler will serve as the two leaders of Wisconsin’s defensive backfield in 2024. Wohler recorded 120 tackles in 2023, and Hallman was one of two players in the country to record seven interceptions a season ago.

Both will look to build on their spectacular 2023 season outputs for the Badgers this fall with hopes of bolstering their stocks for the 2025 NFL draft.

Pick Six Previews: Wisconsin Badgers defense ‘trending up’ entering 2024

Pick Six Previews: Wisconsin Badgers defense ‘trending up’ entering 2024

The Wisconsin Badgers are ‘trending up’ on the defensive side of the football entering the 2024 season according to Pick Six Previews.

The popular preview magazine migrated its Big Ten defense preview to 247Sports.com, where it explained which direction each of the conference’s defensive units are trending entering the year.

Related:ย Big Ten power rankings in CBS Sportsโ€™ latest 1-134 ranking for 2024 season

Wisconsin is firmly in the ‘trending up’ category after 2023 saw a year of transition on that side of the football.

The Badgers still performed well overall, finishing No. 21 in the nation in points allowed per game (20.2) and No. 39 in total defense (344.0 yards allowed per game). But those marks both slipped from the Badgers’ sky-high standard under ace defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard.

Head coach Luke Fickell and new DC Mike Tressel were working to install a new system and turn over the roster, which predictably led to some playing out-of-position and a general lack of continuity.

Now the group returns almost all of its key starters, plus added several impact transfers both at defensive line and linebacker. That strong returning core and Fickell’s history on defense has the group in Pick Six Previews’ ‘trending up’ category:

Here’s the specific reasoning behind Wisconsin’s status:

“Nine of their previous ten defenses placed in the Top 25 of my opponent-adjusted metric, but the 2023 unit fell to 31stย of 70 Power 5. Shockingly only one defender landed on the All-Big Ten team which is usually well-stocked with Badgers.ย Hunter Wohler returns as the clear MVP, they have a Top 25 mark in returning production, and are No. 22 in the two-year transfer ranks. In Luke Fickell’s second season I expect a return to their usual spot in the defensive Top 25.”

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Wisconsin star safety Hunter Wohler named to third preseason watch list

Wisconsin star safety Hunter Wohler named to third preseason watch list

Wisconsin safety Hunter Wohler was named to the preseason watch list for the 2024 Wuerffel Trophy on Thursday.

The trophy is ‘college football’s premier award for community service.’ It is Wohler’s third significant preseason watch list, along with the Jim Thorpe Award (best defensive back) and Bronko Nagurski Trophy (best defensive player).

Related: Top storylines as the Wisconsin Badgers begin fall camp

The nomination period for the 2024 Wuerffel Trophy ran from May 22 to June 14 with nominations coming exclusively from FBS programs’ media relations staff. The trophy is then given to the athlete who shows ‘Sustained, measurable and documented community service to others in need’ on a ‘local, statewide, national or international’ scale.

Wohler is among the list of notable players nominated including Arizona QB Noah Fifita, Florida QB Graham Mertz, Georgia DB Malachi Starks, Iowa LB Jay Higgins, LSU OT Will Campbell, Ohio State C Seth McLaughlin and Oklahoma State QB Alan Bowman.

Wohler enters 2024 as Wisconsin’s unquestioned defensive leader after a breakout 2023 campaign. His 120-tackle, 5.5 tackle-for-loss, 1.0-sack, 2-interception, 6 pass-deflection 2023 season cemented his place as one of the best defenders in the sport. That profile should only grow in 2024.

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Wisconsin star safety named to 2024 Jim Thorpe Award watch list

Wisconsin star safety named to 2024 Jim Thorpe Award watch list

Wisconsin star safety Hunter Wohler was named to his second watch list on Wednesday, this for the 2024 Jim Thorpe Award.

Wohler is now on the watch list for this award, given to the nation’s best defensive back, and for the Bronko Nagurski Trophy given to the nation’s best overall defensive player.

Related:ย Everything to know about the Wisconsin Badgers quarterback room entering 2024 fall camp

Other notable nominees for the Jim Thorpe Award include Ohio State‘s Denzel Burke and Caleb Downs, Iowa‘s Sebastian Castro, Arizona’s Tacario Davis, Kentucky‘s Maxwell Hairston, Michigan‘s Will Johnson, Alabama‘s Malachi Moore, Notre Dame‘s Benjamin Morrison and Xavier Watts, Oregon‘s Jabbar Muhammad, Georgia‘s Malaki Starks and Purdue’s Dillon Thieneman. It’s a star-studded group of some of the nation’s top defenders.

Wohler enters 2024 after a breakout 120-tackle, 5.5 tackle-for-loss, 1.0-sack, 2-interception, 6 pass-deflection 2023 season that squarely put him on the map as one of the nation’s best defensive players, let alone just in the Big Ten.

He is expected to replicate that production this season as Wisconsin looks to make a significant jump in year two under head coach Luke Fickell.

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Wisconsin safety listed for 2024 Bronko Nagurski Trophy Watch List

Wisconsin safety listed for 2024 Bronko Nagurski Trophy Watch List

Wisconsin safety Hunter Wohler was included on the 2024 Bronko Nagurski Trophy watch list on Tuesday.

Wohler joins long snapper Cayson Pfieffer as current Badgers to earn preseason watch list recognition. Since 1993, the Nagurski Trophy has recognized the best defensive player in college football.

Notable recent winners include Notre Dameโ€™s Xavier Watts (2023), Alabamaโ€™s Will Anderson Jr. (2021-22), Ohio State’s Chase Young (2019), Kentucky’s Josh Allen (2018) and NC Stateโ€™s Bradley Chubb (2017).

The 2024 batch of contenders includes 75 defensive players spread across 56 schools in nine Division I FBS conferences. Nine Big Ten schools are represented by the 16 Big Ten defenders to make the list. Ohio State, Iowa, Michigan and Oregon own 11 of those 16 spots.

Wohler enters his fourth season in Madison after registering his most dominant statistical season in 2023. The Muskego, Wisconsin native led all Big Ten defensive backs with 120 total tackles and 74 solo tackles.

That production led to First team All-Big Ten (AP) nods and a Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week award after recording 10 tackles and two interceptions against Georgia Southern on Sept. 18.

Wohler will undoubtedly serve as one of Wisconsin’s most crucial players this fall. In an expanded 18-team conference littered with offensive talent, the Badgers’ safety will have his hands full.

Opportunities on the national stage can catapult Wohler up these types of lists and into earlier rounds in the 2025 NFL draft.

UW will begin its season on Aug, 30 against Western Michigan.

WATCH: Wisconsin star safety throws out first pitch at Brewers game

WATCH: Wisconsin star safety throws out first pitch at Brewers game

Wisconsin football star safety Hunter Wohler threw out the first pitch at the Milwaukee Brewers game on Friday night.

The short clip shows Wohler’s trot out to the mound while Brewers public address announcer Mark Richards introduces the Badger safety to the crowd at American Family Field.

Upon reaching the mound, Wohler squares up and delivers a perfect strike to right-handed pitcher Josh Knoth.

“Probably could’ve put some more heat on it but baby was right down the middle,” Wohler said of the pitch on X.

On the gridiron, Wohler enters his senior season after being named First Team All-Big Ten by the Associated Press and leading all Big Ten defensive backs with 120 total tackles in 2023.

He ranked first among all qualified DBs in the nation with 74 solo tackles last season and became the first Big Ten defensive back to record over 110 tackles, a sack and multiple INTs in the same season since 2010.

If he replicates that output, Wohler will certainly boost his stock ahead of the 2025 NFL draft.

The Badgers will kick-start training camp at UW-Platteville in the coming days.

14 Wisconsin Badgers crack Shrine Bowl preseason watch list

14 Wisconsin Badgers crack Shrine Bowl preseason watch list

14 Wisconsin Badgers cracked the Shrine Bowl preseason watch list entering the 2024 football season.

With roughly one month remaining until Wisconsin begins its 2024 campaign, college football outlets have begun to craft preseason rankings and hierarchies for the fall slate.

One of those projections, the East-West Shrine Bowl watch list, includes hundreds of the most promising players across the nation.

The college all-star game allows the next generation of professional athletes to display their skill sets before all 32 NFL teamsโ€™ coaches, scouts and executives.

The 14 Wisconsin Badgers who cracked the watch list were: RB Jackson Acker, CB Ricardo Hallman, OL Joe Huber, OL Riley Mailman, RB Chez Mellusi, OL Jack Nelson, WR Will Pauling, OLB Darryl Peterson, OLB John Pius, OL Jake Renfro, LB Jaheim Thomas, DL James Thompson Jr., QB Tyler Van Dyke and S Hunter Wohler.

Since 1925, the East-West Shrine Bowl has helped support Shrinerโ€™s Childrenโ€™s Hospital in its efforts to care for children with orthopedic conditions, burns, spinal cord injuries, and cleft lip and palate.

Staged in Dallas, Texas, January’s Shrine Bowl game will be the 100th installment of the event.

Wisconsin football stars list Badgers potential breakout players for 2024 season

Wisconsin football stars list players Badger fans should monitor this season

Wisconsin football stars Jake Chaney, Jack Nelson and Hunter Wohler praised a handful of promising teammates during their Big Ten media day appearance on Tuesday.

During their select panel interview with Big Ten Network, the Wisconsin trio was asked about which incoming players UW fans would know by the end of the 2024 slate.

Right off the bat, Chaney listed former Arkansas linebacker Jaheim Thomas, USC transfer linebacker Tackett Curtis and former North Carolina linebacker Sebastian Cheeks as players who may break out this season. He later named sophomore Christian Alliegro, referring to him as “an athletic freak.”

Chaney also shared a truly genuine sentiment about his position group before explaining why each athlete works so well with UW.

“I could write a book about how much I love those guys and how good they are,” Chaney said.

Next, Nelson listed redshirt sophomore Joe Brunner as someone to monitor next season.

After playing 11 games in 2023 for Wisconsin’s special teams unit, Brunner is set to start at left guard.

Nelson on Brunner:

“He’s just somebody that’s awesome to play next to… He’s got a little bit of nastiness to him. I can appreciate that playing next to him, and I’m really excited to this season.”

Wohler cited young wide receiver Trech Kekahuna, who appeared in Wisconsin’s final five games as a true freshman in 2023. He caught four balls for 64 yards, his entire season output, against No. 13 LSU in the ReliaQuest Bowl.

“I think he’s going to be a standout this year, and I think he’s going to put the world on notice that he’s here. He’s going to make a lot of plays for us,” Wohler said.

Wisconsin begins its 2024 campaign on Aug. 30 vs. Western Michigan at Camp Randall.

PHOTOS: Wisconsin Badgers at 2024 Big Ten media days

PHOTOS: Wisconsin Badgers at 2024 Big Ten media days

Wisconsin Badgers head coach Luke Fickell and select player representatives spoke to the assembled media at 2024 Big Ten media days on Tuesday.

Fickell was one of the first at the main podium. He conducted more of a press release than a press conference, as his opening statement took up 13 minutes of the available 15-minute time slot.

Related:ย Where Wisconsin lands in USA TODAY Sports 2024 Big Ten football preseason poll

He continued with a smaller, non-televised press conference before player representatives safety Hunter Wohler, left tackle Jack Nelson and linebacker Jake Chaney all took to the podium.

The media days event included news, including Wisconsin making player personnel director Max Stienecker the youngest general manager in the Power 4. It also included a large inflatable Oregon Duck mascot floating down the White River, plus more useful insight into what to expect when the Badgers take the field on Aug. 30 to kick off their 2024 season.

The event marks the beginning of true preseason preparation with the season now a little more than a month away.

Before the Badgers travel to UW-Platteville to conduct training camp, here is a look at Fickell and the team’s leaders representing the program at the new-look Big Ten media days: