Tag: Kayden Lyles

Where Wisconsin football transfers will call home this upcoming season

Here are where each of the Wisconsin football transfers will be playing next season:

College athletics have changed forever with the implementation of the transfer portal and their ability to change schools one time without having to sit out a season.

All schools have fallen victim to offseason transfer portal attrition, and the University of Wisconsin is no different. Players leave a program for a multitude of reasons, whether that be in search of more playing time or simply to get closer to home.

Thankfully for UW, they’ve largely been able to keep their core pieces intact, while using their available scholarships to pursue immediate impact players to plug holes on the roster.

However, Wisconsin saw several players enter the transfer portal in hopes of finding a new home they deemed to be a better fit.

Here, in no particular order, are where Wisconsin football transfers will call home this upcoming season:

Former Wisconsin OL Kayden Lyles commits to an ACC school

Former Wisconsin OL Kayden Lyles commits to an ACC school

Former Wisconsin starting offensive lineman Kayden Lyles committed to Florida State earlier this morning.

Lyles entered the transfer portal after playing in 29 games in a Badger uniform leading up to the 2021 season. Those 29 games included 15 starts, both along the offensive and defensive lines.

The former four-star recruit lost the starting center job to Joe Tippmann entering this season and entered the portal after only seeing occasional time on the field.

Related: Wisconsin football officially signs its class of 2022

Lyles joins a Florida State team that went 5-7 this season. It was also recently in the national news yesterday, as the nation’s No. 1 recruit flipped last minute from the Seminoles to Jackson State.

A Wisconsin Badger OL is entering the transfer portal

A Wisconsin Badger OL has entered the transfer portal

Earlier today on Twitter, Wisconsin offensive lineman Kayden Lyles announced he would be entering the transfer portal. Lyles has one year of eligibility left thanks to the bonus COVID-19 year given out, and will use that year at a different school.

Lyles has played in five of the seven Wisconsin games this season, but has not appeared since the Illinois win. The senior offensive lineman was expected to step in as the starting center for Wisconsin, but was surprisingly beaten out by sophomore Joe Tippman during camp.

Lyles is a Wisconsin native who was named a 2018 Academic All-Big Ten performer and was on the 2021 Rimington Trophy watch list. Here is his message to Badger fans after being at Wisconsin since his 2017 redshirt season:

Two more Wisconsin Badgers receive preseason watch list honors

Watch list season is up and running for the 2021 football season

We’ve entered watch list season for the 2021 college football season.

We’ve already seen Wisconsin’s Jalen Berger, Graham Mertz, Jack Sanborn and Paul Chryst receive various honors.

But earlier today, two more Wisconsin Badgers saw their names included in preseason watch lists for position awards.

First, it was Wisconsin star tight end Jake Ferguson on the John Mackey Award Watch List.

Ferguson starred for the Badgers in each of the last three years, totaling 99 catches, 1168 yards and 10 receiving touchdowns.

The future NFL tight end will look to be the first Wisconsin Badger to win the award.

Joining Ferguson on a national watch list was center Kayden Lyles, as he was named to the Rimington Trophy Watch List.

Lyles will look to be the second Badger to win the award after Tyler Biadasz did so in 2019.

Contact/Follow us @TheBadgersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Wisconsin news, notes, opinion and analysis.

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WATCH: Wisconsin Football offensive line hype video

On Tuesday evening, Wisconsin Football’s Twitter released a hype video that featured the rebuilt Wisconsin offensive line at practice. 

On Tuesday evening, Wisconsin Football’s Twitter released a hype video that featured the rebuilt Wisconsin offensive line at practice.

The video talked extensively about how the experience from this unit will help to fill in for the role of former Wisconsin center and current Dallas Cowboys’ starting center Tyler Biadasz. It also featured highlights from practice of the battle for Biadasz’s old position between Kayden Lyles and Cormac Sampson. Lyles’ experience from last season will likely win him the starting center position for this season. The video also featured clips from Jon Dietzen, Cole Van Lanen, Logan Bruss, and Tyler Beach.

Related: Projecting the Badgers’ depth chart for the 2020 football season

The offensive line will be losing a star in Tyler Biadasz for this year, but if this video is any indication, this unit could be even better than last season.

Wisconsin Spring Position Preview: Offensive Line

Taking a closer look at Wisconsin’s offensive line as they prepare to begin spring practice.

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 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 offensive line position for Wisconsin as it heads into spring practice.

Spring Offensive Line Roster

Dylan Barrett (freshman), Tyler Beach (redshirt junior), Logan Brown (redshirt freshman), Logan Bruss (redshirt junior), Michael Furtney (redshirt sophomore), Kayden Lyles (redshirt junior), Andrew Lyons (redshirt sophomore), Jack Nelson (freshman), Logan O’Brien (redshirt freshman), Cormac Sampson (redshirt sophomore), Josh Seltzner (redshirt junior), Blake Smithback (redshirt junior), Joe Tippmann (redshirt freshman), Cole Van Lanen (redshirt senior), and Aaron Vopal (redshirt junior)

What we know going into spring practice

This will be an important spring for Wisconsin’s offensive line as they will need to replace three starters as Jason Erdmann and David Moorman both have exhausted their eligibility and Rimington Award winner, Tyler Biadasz declared early for the NFL draft.

Wisconsin has options to replace Erdmann and Moorman at guard as the big one will be who replaces Biadasz at center?

One player who is expected to compete for the starting center position is Kayden Lyles but he will miss all of spring football because of an injury to his left and right leg.

No one was going to win the starting center position coming out of spring football but it does put Lyles behind. Lyles started four games at left guard a season ago and although the Badgers do a good job of cross-training their offensive lineman Lyles hasn’t played center in a game for Wisconsin.

With Lyles out for spring football it will allow for someone else to demonstrate their capabilities. That player could be Cormac Sampson who played tight end a season ago out of necessity or Michael Furtney.

Sampson came to Wisconsin as an athlete as he was projected to play either on the offensive line or defensive line for the Badgers. Sampson entering last season was listed as an offensive lineman but when injuries struck the tight end position they moved him over there as he played it in high school and he became an integral part of the Badgers offense as a blocking tight end.

Furtney appeared in all 14 games a season ago but his action mostly came on special teams. Furtney is also capable of play guard and he could ultimately win one of the guard positions but he could also receive a look at center to see what he’s capable of doing there.

What we hope to find out following spring practice

Spring practice will serve as offensive coordinator/offensive line coach Joe Rudolph’s first chance of trying different combinations along the offensive line to see who his best starting five are.

Wisconsin returns Cole Van Lanen and Logan Bruss who started at left and right tackle respectively a season ago and both will be starters again. Bruss has the flexibility to play guard as well too, which could open the door for a player like Tyler Beach or Logan Brown.

Brown a highly touted offensive lineman dealt with injuries a season ago but the former All-American is healthy now and it will be interesting to see how quickly he can shake off the rust. If he shows he’s capable and with Bruss’s flexibility those two could man the right side of the offensive line.

Josh Seltzner could ultimately win one of the guard positions as he started four games at right guard a season ago as the coaches are high on the former walk-on.

Wisconsin also had two of their offensive lineman from the 2020 recruiting class enroll early in Dylan Barrett and Jack Nelson. Barrett will compete for one of the guard positions and Nelson who participated in the All-American Bowl in San Antonio will compete with the tackles.

Although Rudolph will be missing Lyles over spring practice he’ll still get a good start to see who his best five offensive linemen are. He has two good starting pieces in Van Lanen and Bruss and thanks to Bruss’s versatility gives him options, which will allow him to narrow down the possible combinations once Wisconsin enters fall camp.

Wisconsin to Push Back Start Date of Spring Football

Paul Chryst on Monday announced that he was going to push back the start date of spring football.

Wisconsin spring football was officially supposed to start on March 10th but it was announced on Monday that Paul Chryst has elected to push back the start of spring football.

Wisconsin will be on spring break next week and with winter conditioning recently wrapped up Chryst wanted to give his team two weeks to recover in order to maximize the 15 spring practices. The new tentative start date for spring football is March 22nd.

It was also learned on Monday that the Badgers will be without eight players for the entire spring due to injuries. They are nose tackle Keeanu Benton (core), long snapper Josh Bernhagen (left leg), safety Eric Burrell (left arm), wide receiver Jack Dunn (left leg), offensive lineman Kayden Lyles (right and left leg), safety Scott Nelson (left leg), running back Brady Schipper (right and left arm), and nose tackle Bryson Williams (left leg).

It shouldn’t be surprising that Nelson and Williams aren’t available this spring considering both were lost at some point during last season because of an injury. Nelson only played in one game last year and Williams appeared in six games.

Not having Lyles available during spring football will hurt as he was expected to fight for a starting spot on the interior of the offensive line. Offensive coordinator/offensive line coach Joe Rudolph wasn’t going to name a starting five by the end of spring football but Lyles needed the reps in order to set himself up to have a productive fall camp and to allow Rudolph his first chance of trying out different offensive line combinations.

Wisconsin will officially open the season against Indiana on Friday, September 4th at Camp Randall Stadium.

 

Who are Five Offensive Players for Wisconsin that Need to have Productive Spring Practices?

Who are five offensive players for Wisconsin that need to put together productive spring practices?

Wisconsin is set to begin spring football on March 10th as they start to prepare for the 2020 season. Spring football serves as a great opportunity for players on Wisconsin’s football team to improve upon their performances from the 2019 season as they try to carve out new roles for the upcoming season.

In this Badgers Wire feature, we will look at five players on the offensive side of the football that need to put together a productive spring camp.

1. Nakia Watson RB Redshirt Sophomore

With Jonathan Taylor off to the NFL Nakia Watson can expect a larger role in Wisconsin’s offense as a sophomore. That role will start to be defined over the 15 spring practices. If Watson is consistent and is able to build off of each practice he’ll have a chance of becoming Wisconsin’s lead ball carrier. Watson finished his redshirt freshman season with 74 carries, which was second on the team but he didn’t register a carry over Wisconsin’s last two games. Watson needs to continue to work on his vision and patience in order to identify the right hole. He showed improvement in this area over the course of the season but one part that made Taylor so good was he consistently picked up positive yardage. Watson’s ability to become more consistent in this area over spring will help set him up for success when fall camp opens.   

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Projecting Wisconsin’s Spring Offensive Depth Chart

Who is projected to start on offense when the Badgers open spring camp.

Wisconsin’s offense in 2020 will certainly have a different feel to it considering the Badgers lost three key players on the offensive side of the football in running back Jonathan Taylor, wide receiver Quintez Cephus, and center Tyler Biadasz as all three declared early for the NFL Draft. Despite the departures from those three players, the Badgers do return six offensive starters from 2019.

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

Projected Spring Depth Chart Quarterback: 1. Jack Coan, 2. Graham Mertz, 3. Chase Wolf, 4. Danny Vanden Boom

Jack Coan will open spring football as the projected starter for Wisconsin and until he gives Paul Chryst a reason why he shouldn’t be starting for Wisconsin he’ll remain atop the depth chart throughout spring and when fall camp opens. Graham Mertz is certainly talented enough to challenge Coan for the starting position but the key for Mertz is building off of his first year at Wisconsin and consistently stringing together successful practices. This will be Mertz’s second spring football. Chase Wolf will be competing to be the top backup. Mertz and Wolf were listed as co-backups to Coan last season but if Coan would have had to leave the game due to an injury it would have been Mertz to fill in the place of Coan. Making it an important spring for Wolf to continue to improve upon his quarterback mechanics. Danny Vanden Boom played in three games as a redshirt freshman in 2018 but didn’t appear in a game last season.

Projected Spring Depth Chart Running Back: 1. Garrett Groshek, 2. Nakia Watson, 3. Isaac Guerendo, 4. Brady Schipper, 5. Julius Davis

Highly touted and consensus four-star running back Jalen Berger won’t arrive until this summer. In the meantime, it will be up to Garrett Groshek and Nakia Watson to show they’re capable of filling the giant shoes that are being left behind in two-time Doak Walker Award winner Jonathan Taylor. Watson (74-331-2) finished the season with more carries and more rushing yards than Groshek (42-194-2). But Watson over Wisconsin’s last two games didn’t register a carry as he’ll need to show he can take on a larger role in the offense during spring practice. Groshek is trusted by the coaches as he’s the most experienced running back returning as he has shown his capability as a receiver but also holding up in pass blocking too. How Guerendo, Schipper, and Davis figure into the running back picture in 2020 will still be determined but how they play over spring football will go a long way in terms of how many reps they receive once fall camp begins.

Projected Spring Depth Chart Fullback: 1. Mason Stokke, 2. John Chenal, 3. Quan Easterling

Mason Stokke and John Chenal split reps at fullback in 2019 and that should continue unless Stokke or Chenal take complete command over the role as starting fullback. Both had their moments in 2019 where they succeeded but Stokke’s best statistical game came against Minnesota when he registered 14 yards rushing on two carries and had three catches for 30 yards. Quan Easterling redshirted in 2019 but did appear in one game against Illinois due to Stokke missing the game because of an injury.

Projected Spring Depth Chart Wide Receiver: 1. Kendric Pryor, 2. Danny Davis, 3. Jack Dunn, 4. Adam Krumholz, 5. A.J. Abbott, 6. Stephan Bracey

Wisconsin’s depth chart at the wide receiver position figured it would have Cephus and Aron Cruickshank but with Cephus entering the draft and Cruickshank transferring to Rutgers the depth at wide receiver took a hit. But the Badgers still have enough depth to absorb those losses. It helps that Wisconsin returns Kendric Pryor and Danny Davis. Between the two Davis finished with more receptions than Pryor (30-to-23) but Pryor finished with 278 receiving yards to Davis’ 250. Both of their roles should expand entering the 2020 season and with more opportunities, the duo should be able to respond. Behind Davis and Pryor will be Jack Dunn and Adam Krumholz. Two of Wisconsin’s better run blockers at the wide receiver position. Abbott appeared in seven games a year ago mostly on special teams or in mop-up duty while Bracey redshirted but he did travel with the team for road games at times.

Projected Spring Depth Chart Tight End: 1. Jake Ferguson, 2. Cormac Sampson, 3. Jack Eschenbach 

Ferguson will return as the Badgers top tight end as he has improved over the past two years and that should continue for Ferguson as his 33 receptions for 407 yards ranked second in both categories. Sampson took on a larger role than previously expected for Wisconsin in 2019 as he served as Wisconsin’s blocking tight end and had success as he’ll be projected to fill that role again in 2020. Eschenbach a walk-on is a player the coaches are high on but he’ll need to continue to put it all together. A pair of redshirt freshman Hayden Rucci and Clay Cundiff will compete for a spot on the depth chart as the duo have important springs ahead of them as they continue to grow into the tight end position.

Projected Spring Depth Chart Offensive Line: LT Cole Van Lanen, LG Josh Seltzner, C Kayden Lyles, RG Logan Bruss, RT Tyler Beach

Wisconsin lost three starters from its 2019 offensive line all coming on the interior in guards David Moorman and Jason Erdman and center Tyler Biadasz. Who ultimately starts along the offensive line when the Badgers open up the season against Indiana won’t be determined until fall camp. As spring will serve as an opportunity for offensive coordinator/offensive line coach Joe Rudolph to use a variety of different combinations along the offensive line. But what is listed above seems to make the most sense with what Rudolph will roll out to start with and go from there when he tries out different line combinations. Lyles and Seltzner both started four games a season ago at left and right guard respectively. Lyles is capable of sliding over to center and with Bruss being capable of sliding over to guard will allow for Tyler Beach to start at right tackle.

Wisconsin Football Season Review: Offensive Line

Reviewing the play of Wisconsin’s offensive line over the 2019 season.

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 offensive line from the 2019 season and take a sneak into what the 2020 season may have in store for the position:

Wisconsin entering the 2019 season had to replace four starters along their offensive line as the only starter to return was center Tyler Biadasz.

Wisconsin ended up starting seven different offensive line combinations over the course of the season, which includes six different starting combinations over their first eight games.

The Badgers officially settled on an offensive line combination starting with the Illinois game that included from left to right Cole Van Lanen, David Moorman, Tyler Biadasz, Jason Erdmann, and Logan Bruss.

That combination started five games for the Badgers over the season. Despite the constant shuffling to begin the year the Badgers offensive line still was able to exert their dominance as they helped clear the way for Wisconsin to average 233.1 yards on the ground and for Wisconsin’s offense to average 433.2 yards of total offense.

The one player for Wisconsin to start every single game this season was Biadasz at center. Biadasz has started 41 career games for the Badgers and over his time at Wisconsin emerged as one of the top centers in college football.

Biadasz was able to accomplish a first for an offensive lineman at Wisconsin, which was winning the Rimington Award, which is given each year to the nation’s top center.

Although Wisconsin’s offensive line was consistent for the most part this season the Badgers worst performance came against Ohio State in the regular season. Against the Buckeyes, they allowed a season high five sacks as Ohio State was also able to hold the Badgers to a season low 191 yards of total offense.

But in the rematch with Ohio State, they only allowed two sacks and registered 432 yards of total offense on 71 plays.

2020 Wisconsin Offensive Line

Wisconsin for a second consecutive year saw one of their offensive linemen declare early for the NFL Draft as Biadasz decided to forego his senior year. Biadasz will be difficult to replace due to his consistency at the center position making spring football an important first step in finding his replacement for the 2020 season. The Badgers also lose Erdmann and Moorman at the guard positions as the two started 12 and eight games respectively last season. Josh Seltzner and Kayden Lyles who both started four games last year will likely get the first crack at starting at the guard position. Lyles will also likely get a look at center too. Spring football will also allow for offensive coordinator and offensive line coach Joe Rudolph to play with a variety of different offensive line combinations. Based on those combinations will give Badger fans a better idea of who might be starting on the interior once fall camp does open up.