Tag: Isaiah Mullens

No significant changes on Wisconsin’s Iowa-week depth chart

No significant changes on Wisconsin’s Iowa-week depth chart

Wisconsin released its updated depth chart yesterday ahead of Saturday’s crucial showdown between the 4-1 Badgers and 5-1 Iowa Hawkeyes.

Wisconsin sits atop the Big Ten West at the moment with a 2-0 conference record. Iowa lurks nearby with a 2-1 mark in Big Ten play, while the rest of the division is down at 1-2 before Illinois brings up the rear at 0-3.

The Badgers need to win this weekend. It’s a simple proposition.

The team’s aforementioned depth chart entering the pivotal contest showed no significant changes. Despite the potential returns for C Jake Renfro and DL Isaiah Mullens, neither are listed on the two-deep. That doesn’t mean the two won’t play, but we likely now won’t get a status update until Saturday morning.

Wisconsin head coach Luke Fickell mentioned the offensive line rotation is his Monday press conference, though didn’t give much away about what the group will look like when fully healthy.

Wisconsin and Iowa kick off their contest at 3 p.m. central at Camp Randall Stadium.

Wisconsin HC Luke Fickell gives status update on two key starters ahead of matchup vs. Rutgers

An injury update on two starters:

Wisconsin head coach Luke Fickell met with the media today in advance of his team’s upcoming home matchup against Rutgers. During the session, he gave updates on the injury status of both starting center Jake Renfro and starting defensive lineman Isaiah Mullens.

Fickell first noted he is ‘cautiously optimistic’ about Renfro playing on Saturday. The Cincinnati transfer hasn’t played yet this season, and missed all of 2022 due to injury. Back in 2021, he started all 13 games for the Bearcats and earned First-Team All-AAC honors.

Related: Big Ten Power Rankings after Week 5: Wisconsin remains in the top five

Tanor Bortolini has started each of Wisconsin’s first four games at center. Renfro’s return would likely see a reshuffle with Bortolini moving out to guard.

Second, the Wisconsin head coach also said he doesn’t yet know if Mullens will play Saturday — though he sounded less optimistic. Mullens has also missed each of the first four games of the season. The Badgers have badly missed his presence along the defensive line.

Wisconsin welcomes in a sneaky-good 4-1 Rutgers team on Saturday. It needs a win to jumpstart its conquest to win the Big Ten West in the division’s final season.

Wisconsin will be without two starters today against Georgia Southern

Wisconsin released its status report for today’s game:

The 1-1 Wisconsin Badgers host the 2-0 Georgia Southern Eagles today.

The Badgers have already begun the season without the on-field services of starting offensive lineman Jake Renfro and starting defensive lineman Isaiah Mullens. They will be without the two again today, as Wisconsin’s availability report listed them among those out for today’s contest.

While last week’s loss to Washington State can be attributed to other factors including turnovers and general sloppiness, Mullens and Renfro are two important players at some of the most important positions on the field.

Wisconsin’s defensive line will continue to feature James Thomson Jr., Rodas Johnson and Gio Paez, while Tanor Bortolini will stick at center.

Mullens and Renfro are notable players to miss the contest from a list that includes Riley Nowakowski, Cam Large, Chris Brooks, Jack Pugh and Aaron Witt.

Head coach Luke Fickell did say this week that both Mullens and Renfro were close to returning, so hopefully next Friday at Purdue is their first game action of the season.

Wisconsin HC Luke Fickell gives update on two injured starters

A positive note from Fickell’s Monday availability:

Wisconsin head coach Luke Fickell met with the media Monday after his team’s 31-22 Week 2 loss at Washington State.

The tone around Madison, understandably so, is one of disappointment as Saturday made it clear the Badgers still have big improvements to make before the team can again be considered a favorite to win the Big Ten West.

One fix is cleaner and better play on both sides of the football. Another fix could be reinforcements along the lines of scrimmage, as the team has been playing without starting center Jake Renfro and starting defensive lineman Isaiah Mullens.

Related: Big Ten power rankings after Week 2: A bad week for Wisconsin

Fickell gave an update on the status of the two players entering Week 3 vs Georgia Southern. It’s a positive note:

The return of those two players could help two units which have been issues for the team thus far. Renfro would bring former All-Conference skill to the interior of the offensive line, while Mullens would bring valuable experience to a defensive line that has struggled to pressure opposing quarterbacks.

Even if Saturday isn’t the day for both players to return, Week 4 at Purdue is looking more and more possible.

Wisconsin HC Luke Fickell gives update on injured starting defensive lineman

Some injury news from Luke Fickell’s press conference

Wisconsin head coach Luke Fickell met with the media yesterday in advance of the team’s Week 1 contest against the Buffalo Bulls.

The availability included a game-week depth chart, some words of excitement and a plea for the students to show up to the game on time.

The availability also included an injury update for Wisconsin starting defensive lineman Isaiah Mullens. Fickell said his timetable is currently unknown after the veteran had a knee scope a few weeks ago.

Mullens is an important piece of Wisconsin’s defense this season, enough so that I named him one of my most important Badgers for the 2023 season. His injury means the starting unit of Rodas Johnson, Gio Paez and James Thompson Jr. will still be formidable, but there is nearly zero depth at the position.

Mullens has played in 23 games in his four-year college career to this point. He’s recorded 40 total tackles, 4.5 tackles-for-loss and two sacks. Wisconsin’s defensive line may prove to be the Achilles heel of the unit if the veteran isn’t able to work back to full strength by the beginning of Big Ten play.

Wisconsin Football congratulates six college graduates

Six outstanding football student athletes earned their degree this weekend.

The Wisconsin Football team is gearing up for a much-anticipated 2023 campaign with new head coach Luke Fickell taking over for his first full season at the helm. That being said, some of the returning athletes and some that have gone on to the next level earned one of life’s highest honors this weekend, they became graduates of the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

In what was a tumultuous 2022 season for the Badgers, the team finished 7-6 and won the Guaranteed Rate Bowl in December over Oklahoma State. Operating under both Paul Chryst and Jim Leonhard at head coach, the team had to be level-headed in the tough year.

Balancing both athletics and academics is certainly no easy feat, here’s each of the athletes that were honored for their degrees on the Badgers’ official Twitter:

Badgers PFF grades: Top 5 defensive players from week 2 loss to Washington State

Here’s a look at the top 5 highest graded defensive players from Wisconsin’s 17-14 loss to Washington State, according to Pro Football Focus:

Weather, as they say, is the great equalizer in football. That held true on Saturday when the No. 19 Wisconsin Badgers (1-1) suffered a sloppy, unacceptable home loss against the Washington State Cougars (2-0) at Camp Randall Stadium.

Jim Leonhard’s defense was good on Saturday but not as great as we’ve grown to expect.

Wisconsin, still without No. 1 cornerback Alexander Smith and top nickel corner Justin Clark chose to combat the Washington State air raid offense by playing significantly more dime package, deploying six defensive backs throughout most of the game.

Although the Badgers’ defense only allowed 17 points, 253 yards of offense, and forced three turnovers, Wisconsin’s offense couldn’t help get them any additional breathing room.

And when the game mattered most, UW’s defense failed to make a big play to allow the offense one last crack at winning the game. Washington State held the ball for the final 5:14 of regulation.

Overall, Wisconsin needs its defense to be elite for the Badgers to win games consistently, so while they performed well on Saturday, it wasn’t good enough.

I do not doubt that coach Leonhard and the Badgers’ defense will learn from this game and improve as the season progresses.

Here’s a look at the top 5 highest graded defensive players from Wisconsin’s 17-14 loss to Washington State, according to Pro Football Focus.

5 Wisconsin Badgers named to the Reese’s Senior Bowl Watchlist

Keeanu Benton and Chez Mellusi headline a list of five Badgers selected to the Reese’s Senior Bowl Watchlist:

The 10th Annual Reese’s Senior Bowl Watch List for the upcoming season was announced on Wednesday.

Their scouting department’s first publication of said list includes 484 position players, all of which are 2018 high school graduates or true fourth-year seniors at their respective programs.

Last season, seven Badgers were named to the Senior Bowl Watchlist; however, tight end Jake Ferguson, now a member of the Dallas Cowboys, was Wisconsin’s lone representative in the aforementioned Senior Bowl.

This year, the University of Wisconsin had five players named to the Reese’s Senior Bowl Watch List for the upcoming season; let’s take a look at who they are:

Four Wisconsin Badgers Make Bruce Feldman’s 2022 CFB Freaks List

Wisconsin running back Braelon Allen is one of four #Badgers that appeared on The Athletics CFB freaks list for the 2022 season:

The University of Wisconsin football team is known for finding strong, corn-fed, gritty, under-the-radar players and bringing them into their program to develop them physically, get them on the field and give them a shot at playing on Sundays.

Over the years, Wisconsin has produced several athletic physical freaks of nature, such as J.J. Watt, T.J. Watt, Jonathan Taylor, Melvin Gordon, Leo Chenal, and many others.

So, it should be no surprise that four Badgers off this year’s team appeared in Bruce Feldman of The Athletics’ annual college football freaks list for 2022, which celebrates the 100 most impressive athletes in all of college football from a physical/measurable standpoint.

See which Badgers made Bruce Felman’s top 100 freak’s list for 2022:

Projecting Wisconsin’s 2020 Spring Defensive Depth Chart

Who will open up on Wisconsin’s spring depth chart on the defensive side of the football?

Wisconsin’s defense in 2020 will be missing not only two key players but also two key leaders to not only the defense but the entire team. Those two players being 2019 team captains outside linebacker Zack Baun and inside linebacker Chris Orr. Despite Wisconsin losing Baun and Orr to graduation the Badgers still return an impressive nine starters from last year’s defense.

In this Badgers Wire feature, we project what the spring depth chart on defense will look like when the Badgers open up spring practice.

Projected Spring Depth Chart Defensive Line: DE 1. Isaiahh Loudermilk and Garrett Rand, 2. Matt Henningsen and Isaiah Mullens NT 1. Keeanu Benton 2. Gio Paez

Loudermilk and Rand were able to stay healthy over the course of their redshirt junior seasons and as long as they stay healthy they have established themselves as starters at the defensive end positions. Henningsen used last year’s spring practice to put him in a position to have a terrific redshirt sophomore season. If Henningsen can put together a productive spring like he did in 2019 should allow him to take another step in his development. Mullens appeared in 13 games mostly on special teams as he registered one tackle. With backup defensive end David Pfaff graduating he’ll have a chance in spring football to show why he deserves to be apart of the defensive line rotation. At nose tackle, Keeanu Benton will be going through his first spring practice and will receive plenty of valuable practice reps as Bryson Williams could miss all of spring football as he continues to recover from his left leg injury that he suffered this past season. If Williams can’t go that will mean more reps for redshirt freshman Gio Paez as it will be critical that he takes advantage of his reps.

Projected Spring Depth Chart Linebackers: OLB 1. Noah Burks and Izayah Green-May, 2. Spencer Lytle and Jaylan Franklin ILB 1. Jack Sanborn and Leo Chenal 2. Mike Maskalunas and Maema Njongmeta

Christian Bell would’ve had a chance at competing for one of the starting outside linebacker positions opposite of Noah Burks but instead elected to transfer. That leave’s Green-May as the likely starter opposite of Burks when Wisconsin opens spring football. Green-May initially started the 2019 season as a starter but suffered a right arm injury early in the season, which caused him to miss time. Green-May was able to put together a productive fall camp and the practice habits he developed last year will need to continue if he wants to establish himself as the starter once again. Outside linebackers coach Bobby April will also give Franklin and Lytle a look as a starter opposite of Burks. Making it an important spring for both of them as the Badgers look for a starter who can complement Burks. Wisconsin may lose Chris Orr at middle linebacker but the transition between Orr and Leo Chenal should be a smooth one. Chenal gained valuable experience last year as he played as a true freshman. Chenal will receive plenty of reps over spring football and he should be able to take a nice step in his development. Maskalunas will be Chenal’s top competitor for the other starting inside linebacker position as he’s been serviceable during his time at Wisconsin. Njongmeta redshirted last season and will be going through his first spring practice.

Projected Spring Depth Chart Cornerbacks: 1. Faion Hicks and Rachad Wildgoose 2. Caesar Williams and Semar Melvin

Hicks has been a regular starter at cornerback for Wisconsin the past two seasons and that shouldn’t change heading into spring practices. Wildgoose and Williams started eight and seven games respectively a season ago. The trio has been Wisconsin’s most consistent group of cornerbacks. Semar Melvin is coming off a redshirt season but he was able to take advantage of the redshirt rule by playing in four games without burning a year of eligibility. Melvin was up and down, which is understandable but the reps he does receive during spring practice will be invaluable as he looks to build off of his freshman season. Jim Leonhard will also likely rotate in Donte Burton and Deron Harrell too as the starters at cornerback or with the second string cornerbacks too.

Projected Spring Depth Chart Safety: FS 1. Eric Burrell, 2. John Torchio SS 1. Reggie Pearson, 2. Collin Wilder