Wisconsin HC Luke Fickell highlights substantial improvement at a specific position group

Which of Wisconsin’s position groups saw the biggest upgrade over the offseason?

Wisconsin football returned to the practice field Tuesday for the second spring session open to the media.

The practice gave beat writers an initial look at Wisconsin’s depth charts and initial rotations on both offense and defense, and saw veteran outside linebacker Aaron Witt finally return to full-time practice.

Related: Wisconsin football’s starting offense and defense begin to take shape at spring practice

The spring period should be eye-opening as Luke Fickell enters his second year at the helm. 2023 was a disappointment, and more resources to improve year-to-year exist now than ever before.

Fickell and his staff did put in effort in that regard — welcoming in a 12-person transfer class that included QB Tyler Van Dyke, RB Tawee Walker and numerous outside and inside linebackers.

The Wisconsin head coach was asked after Tuesday’s practice about those inside linebacker additions. Fickell responded by saying if “there’s probably the biggest difference in one group, it might be there.”

The newcomers are former Arkansas and Cincinnati linebacker Jaheim Thomas, USC’s Tackett Curtis and UNC’s Sebastian Cheeks. The trio joins senior Jake Chaney and sophomore Christian Alliegro in a room that lost starters Maema Njongmeta and Jordan Turner after last season.

Thomas and Chaney are the most established of the bunch and project to be starters in Week 1. Curtis and Cheeks are a bit more unproven, though each have the talent to emerge.

According to Fickell, it appears the depth and talent in the room was already noticeable during the first few days of spring practice.

For more spring practice preview, we’ve analyzed the spring position battles, the biggest questions entering the period and Wisconsin’s possible breakout candidates — plus predicted Wisconsin’s depth chart on offense and on defense.

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