Tag: Tanor Bortolini

Wisconsin offensive lineman declares for NFL Draft

Badgers OL moves on to NFL

Just one day after accepting an invitation to the Senior Bowl in February, Badgers offensive lineman Tanor Bortolini has declared for the 2024 NFL Draft. It was a likely move after his decision to play in the Senior Bowl, but nonetheless, his decision became final Wednesday.

Bortolini spent four seasons with Wisconsin, playing both offensive guard and center in his time with the Badgers, even playing a little tight end occasionally.

His 6-foot-4 frame lends well to his chances to be successful in the NFL, plus Wisconsin has a track record of great pros coming through their program.

Bortolini joins running back Braelon Allen in deciding to declare of the upcoming NFL Draft.

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Badgers offensive lineman accepts Senior Bowl invitation

Badgers OL heading to Senior Bowl

The Badgers football team is gearing up to take on LSU in the Reliaquest Bowl on Jan. 1, but offensive lineman Tanor Bortolini will also be heading to the Senior Bowl.

Bortolini is more of a traditional offensive guard, but he started at center for Wisconsin in 2023 out of necessity. It’s unclear if he intends on playing in the team’s matchup with the Tigers, but the Senior Bowl will take place just one month later on Saturday, Feb. 3.

Part of him playing in the contest is the fact that he will now (likely) leave the Badgers in an attempt to go pro and be selected in the 2024 NFL Draft.

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Three Badgers crack Offensive All-Big Ten team

Three offensive players receiver All-Big Ten honors

The 2023 college football regular season has come to an end and the Badgers had three offensive athletes be selected to the All-Big Ten Team. Running back Braelon Allen, wide receiver Will Pauling and center Tanor Bortolini were those players.

Starting with Allen, he selected for All-Conference 2nd Team, finishing his third and final season in Madison with 984 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns on 181 carries while also reeling in a career-high 28 catches for 132 yards.

Pauling had an impressive first season with Wisconsin after transferring from Cincinnati ahead of the year, securing 66 receptions for 694 yards and four touchdowns. He was selected to the conferences offensive 3rd Team.

Joining Pauling on the 3rd Team was Tanor Bortolini, who operated as the team’s starting center in each of their contests this year. He made the transition from offensive guard to center in 2023 following Joe Tippmann’s departure.

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A Wisconsin OL could be a big sleeper entering the 2024 NFL Draft

Look out for this Wisconsin OL as NFL Draft pundits start crafting their big boards:

The title “Offensive Line-U” is often thrown around loosely whenever a program sees a few linemen get drafted. Whether Wisconsin is fifth in that list or first, the program has undeniably been one of the nation’s best at producing stellar players at the position.

The latest is center Joe Tippmann, a second-round pick of the New York Jets in the 2023 NFL Draft and the team’s projected starter this season.

Although many things changed about Wisconsin football this offseason, line play and development should continue into the future.

Sitting here in June, consensus boards are already eyeing left tackle Jack Nelson for next year’s draft process. The senior started 12 games for the team last year, finished with a PFF pass-blocking grade of 83.1 and was named among the Big Ten honorable mention recipients at the end of the year. With a strong final season in Wisconsin’s new high-flying offense, Nelson should be one of the first tackles taken off the board in April.

The name NFL Draft pundits may not yet be familiar with is projected starting left guard Tanor Bortolini.

The Senior Bowl’s Jim Nagy had a terrific analysis of his current situation and why he may rise when the season arrives:

“Bortolini, who started games at both OG spots, OC, and TE last year, is one of most versatile prospects in this class and we doubt he’ll stay a sleeper for long.”

All attention will be on the Badgers if the Phil Longo offense is as advertised. The offensive line would be at the heart of that success, especially if Braelon Allen has the year we all expect him to. With Bortolini’s versatility and ascending play, he should be a name we hear called at the NFL Draft next April.

Badgers PFF grades: Top 5 offensive players from the win over Maryland

Here’s a look at the top 5 highest graded offensive players from Wisconsin’s victory over Maryland, according to Pro Football Focus:

Madison, Wis. –  It took until early November, but the Wisconsin Badgers finally did it; they won back-to-back games for the first time this season.

In less than ideal playing conditions, interim head coach Jim Leonhard and the Wisconsin Badgers (5-4, 3-3 Big Ten) jumped out to an early lead over Maryland and never looked back, winning 23-10 at Camp Randall Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

Wisconsin out-gained Maryland in total yardage, dominated in the running game, and took care of the football en route to a beatdown of the visiting Terrapins. 

Coming out of the bye week, Bobby Engram’s offense had to get one-dimensional, registering 355 total yards (77 passing, 278 rushing) on 5.5 yards per play.

The one-two punch of Bralon Allen and Isaac Guerendo, each topped 100-plus yards rushing and found paydirt against Maryland – hard to ask for more than that on a rainy day at Camp Randall.

Following Saturday’s win, the Badgers are now 4-0 all-time against the Terrapins, including 3-0 at Camp Randall Stadium.

Here’s a look at the five highest-graded offensive players from Wisconsin’s victory over Maryland, according to Pro Football Focus.

Breaking down every position along Badgers’ offensive line entering fall camp

Here’s a full breakdown with analysis of every position along the Badgers offensive line:

At a school like Wisconsin, the offensive line is the heart and soul of the entire program. Football games are won and lost in the trenches, dating back to the Barry Alvarez era – a strategy that hasn’t been deviated from since.

Things could look slightly different along the offensive line next season as the Badgers gear up for fall camp. After several years working with the inside linebackers, Bob Bostad has returned to his rightful place as the Badgers’ offensive line coach.

According to PFF, Wisconsin’s O-line ranked No. 3 in the country as a run-blocking unit (88.6). However, their pass-blocking ranked No. 98 (55.5) out of 130 division one programs in 2021.

Coach Bostad is a no-nonsense coach that expects perfection. The program desperately needs the offensive line play to return to the Wisconsin standard, and he’s precisely what the Badgers need to iron things out.

Wisconsin saw two significant departures this offseason in starting RT Logan Bruss and LG Josh Seltzner, both of whom are now in the NFL. Thankfully for Paul Chryst and company, they’re talent-rich along the offensive line. At the moment, Wisconsin has eight scholarship offensive linemen rated as four or five-star prospects coming out of high school.

Coach Bostad differs in philosophy from former offensive line coach Joe Rudolph. Instead of cross-training, he likes to find a specific position for his players to specialize in where they can work to master their craft.

Here’s a full breakdown with an analysis of every position along the offensive line as Coach Chryst and Bostad work to find the best starting five for week one:

WATCH: Wisconsin OL Tyler Beach gives look inside Saturday’s spring practice

Wisconsin offensive lineman Tyler Beach gives inside look into Saturday’s spring practice:

In the weekend installment of the Badgers’ inside practice series posted on Twitter, Wisconsin offensive lineman Tyler Beach gave fans an inside look at practice from the perspective of the offensive line.

In the video, Beach asked several of the linemen about their favorite individual drills including Tanor Bortolini and Sean Timmis, and later states that he loves to do them all. The video also gets some shots of them blocking and finishes with the offensive line talking about how they feel after practice.

It was another exciting look inside the Badgers’ spring practices, and hopefully, fans will be able to see more than just these small clips of the team soon.

Tanor Bortolini’s versatility proved invaluable for the Badgers

Red-shirt freshman Tanor Bortolini showed impressive versatility along the offensive line this past season. Should be well positioned to push for a starting spot in 2022.

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Tanor Bortolini out of Kewaunee (Wisc.) wasn’t the most highly regarded offensive lineman recruit in the 2019 recruiting class. In fact, he was Wisconsin’s lowest rated offensive lineman that year per 247. But that didn’t stop the 954th ranked player in the nation from getting to work and proving people wrong.

Despite the lack of fanfare, the 6-foot-4 306lb red-shirt freshman quickly rose up the program’s depth chart, and found his way onto the field in year two.

Due to injury, Bortolini started three games for the Badgers this season at right tackle, and also started one game at left guard against Rutgers.

The former Kewaunee high school star has proven to be one of Wisconsin’s most important reserves on the offensive line this season due to his impressive versatility.

During the season, Bortolini appeared in nine games, playing 329 total snaps. The Wisconsin native saw time at left guard (58 snaps), right guard (16 snaps), and right tackle (229 snaps). He even provided 26 snaps as the sixth lineman/inline tight end in games against Iowa, Nebraska, and Minnesota.

Per PFF, the red-shirt freshman finished the season as the Badgers top graded offensive lineman (87.0). Bortolini would also finish the season with the highest run blocking grade (89.5) in 240 snaps as a run blocker. The young Badgers lineman allowed just 5 pressures and one sack this season.

Borolini’s versatility was on full display this season, filling in wherever he was needed and playing at an extremely high level. The experience gained from cross-training at multiple positions should have Bortolini well positioned to push for a starting spot next season.

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It looks like Wisconsin will have a new starter at left guard today at Rutgers

It looks like Wisconsin will have a new starter at left guard today at Rutgers

Wisconsin started Josh Seltzner at left guard for the first seven games of the season. Then Michael Furtney slotted in for the team’s win last week against Iowa.

Today at Rutgers, it looks like there will be a third starter at left guard in as many weeks. Multiple reports from the game are saying redshirt freshman Tanor Bortolini is taking the first-team reps at left guard during warmups.

Related: There is a scenario where four teams tie at the top of the Big Ten West

Bortolini played in two games during his redshirt season last year including one start at center against Iowa.

He and the rest of the Wisconsin offensive line will look to continue the team’s momentum in the run game against a Rutgers defense that has proven to be solid against the rush.

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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Breaking Down Wisconsin’s 2020 Signing Class

Taking a closer look at how Wisconsin’s 2020 recruiting class breaks down by position and by state.

MADISON, Wis. – After signing 19 scholarship players and two walk-ons during the early signing period in December the Badgers saw their scholarship class officially grow to 20 players while adding four more preferred walk-ons to the program during national signing day on Wednesday. The Badgers class ranks 25th by 247 Sports, 26th by ESPN, and 27th nationally by Rivals.

Here’s an overview of the class. Click the player’s name for a more in-depth breakdowns on that specific player.

Scholarship Commits by State

Arizona (1): Malik Reed

Colorado (1): Max Lofy

Hawaii (1): Nick Herbig

Illinois (1): Dylan Barrett

Massachusetts (1): Cam Large

Michigan (1): Jordan Turner

Minnesota (2): Kaden Johnson, Aaron Witt

New Jersey (1): Jalen Berger

North Carolina (1): Devin Chandler

Ohio (1): James Thompson

Pennsylvania (1): Preston Zachman

Tennessee (1): Isaac Smith

Wisconsin (7): Ben Barten, Tanor Bortolini, Cole Dakovich, Chimere Dike, Cade McDonald, Jack Nelson, Trey Wedig

Commits By Projected Position

QB: None

RB: Jalen Berger

WR: Devin Chandler, Chimere Dike, Isaac Smith

TE: Cole Dakovich, Cam Large

OL: Dylan Barrett, Ben Barten, Tanor Bortolini, Jack Nelson, Trey Wedig

DL: Cade McDonald, James Thompson Jr.

ILB: Malik Reed, Jordan Turner, Preston Zachman

OLB: Nick Herbig, Kaden Johnson, Aaron Witt

DB: Max Lofy

Specialists: None

UW walk-ons: Inside Linebacker Ross Gengler, Offensive Lineman Kerry Kodanko, Long Snapper Duncan McKinley, Outside Linebacker Riley Nowakowski, Offensive Lineman Sean Timmis, Kicker Jack Van Dyke