Wisconsin finished its fifth season under head coach Paul Chryst as Chryst improved his overall record to 52-16 and has a posted a 34-10 record in conference games. After not winning the Big Ten West Division title in 2018 the Badgers were back in Indianapolis for the Big Ten Championship game as the West representative for the fourth time in the last six years since the Big Ten went to its current format.
In this Badgers Wire feature we will examine the play of Wisconsin’s defensive line from the 2019 season and take a sneak into what the 2020 season may have in store for the position:
If the tight end position was hit hard by injuries in 2019 that award goes to the defensive line in 2018.
Wisconsin’s projected starting defensive line was Isaiahh Loudermilk and Garrett Rand at defensive ends and Olive Sagapolu at nose tackle in 2018. But Rand missed the entire season with an injury, Loudermilk missed four games due to an injury, and Sagapolu missed Wisconsin’s last five games after sustaining an injury against Northwestern.
One player who was forced to step up because of the injuries a season ago was Matt Henningsen. Although the coaching staff wasn’t expecting much from him in 2018 prior to the injuries the experience he did gain as a redshirt freshman was invaluable.
Henningsen was able to make a noticeable leap in his play as he started to become more of a playmaker along the Badgers defensive line in 2019. Henningsen finished the season with 24 tackles and his five tackles for loss tied for the team lead among defensive lineman with Loudermilk and his four sacks were the most amongst defensive lineman. Henningsen also registered two defensive touchdowns too.
Loudermilk and Rand were the starters at defensive end as Loudermilk played in all 14 games but Rand did miss one game. Between Rand and Loudermilk they combined for 51 tackles, eight tackles for loss, and four sacks.
They helped set the edge for Wisconsin’s defense and their ability to take on opposing offensive lineman allowed for Wisconsin’s linebackers to consistently make plays an area that was missing at times in 2018.
It also helped that the Badgers received improved play at the nose tackle position. Bryson Williams like Henningsen improved from his freshman season but his season was cut short as he only appeared in six games.
Williams loss would have hurt Wisconsin’s defensive line a lot but due to the play of true freshman Keeanu Benton, the play by Wisconsin’s defensive line didn’t miss a beat.
Benton consistently improved throughout his freshman season as he was able to utilize his wrestling background to help him gain better leverage in the trenches. Benton finished the season with 12 tackles and had four tackles for loss and two sacks.
2020 Wisconsin Defensive Line
With everybody returning along Wisconsin’s defensive line with the exception of David Pfaff the Badgers should once again be strong in the trenches. The starters at defensive end should continue to be Loudermilk and Rand and the Badgers will have two capable nose tackles in Williams and Benton. Benton certainly had an impact as a true freshman and with him going through spring football for the first time should allow for him to only grow as he heads into his sophomore season. It will also be an important spring for redshirt freshman Gio Paez and Rodas Johnson in their development, in addition to Isaiah Mullens too. Wisconsin’s ability to continue to build solid and reliable depth along the defensive line will be critical for not only 2020 but in the future too and that will begin in the spring.