MADISON, Wis. — After an offseason stuffed with as a lot pleasure as any in latest reminiscence, Wisconsin football is closing in on the first season of the Luke Fickell period. The subsequent step in that journey begins Wednesday, when the Badgers open preseason practices at UW-Platteville.

The Athletic can be there to chronicle all six practices in Platteville and every of the first 10 Badgers practices complete. Here are 10 questions the Badgers can reply throughout preseason camp.

1. How does the offensive line come collectively?

For as a lot as offseason dialogue has centered round quarterbacks and large receivers within the Air Raid, offensive success doubtless can be dictated by how nicely the O-line can adapt and mesh in a unique scheme. Center Jake Renfro, who transferred from Cincinnati, is a giant piece of that puzzle. Renfro suffered what Fickell stated was a stress fracture in his left foot within the fourth spring apply, which sidelined him the remainder of the way in which. That damage compelled Tanor Bortolini to maneuver from left guard to heart and Joe Huber right into a first-team position at left guard.

“Hopefully Jake will be good to go,” Fickell advised reporters at Big Ten Media Days. “It’s another one of those guys you’re just monitoring volume coming off of a little surgery.”

If Renfro is prepared, the Badgers nonetheless want to determine their taking part in rotation. Offensive line coach Jack Bicknell Jr. stated within the spring that he needed to have seven or eight gamers who might play in a sport due to the up-tempo system. The prime group figures to be Jack Nelson at left deal with, Bortolini at left guard, Renfro at heart, Michael Furtney at proper guard and Riley Mahlman at proper deal with. Huber and Trey Wedig look like subsequent in line. Can guard Joe Brunner or deal with Nolan Rucci make a transfer this preseason?

2. Where does Green slot in at WR?

Bryson Green is the kind of participant able to being a No. 1 wideout for Wisconsin in loads of earlier seasons. He caught 36 passes for 584 yards and 5 touchdowns for Oklahoma State final yr earlier than transferring to the Badgers. There is nice intrigue surrounding his potential at Wisconsin, notably contemplating he didn’t take part in stay drills within the spring due to an damage.

Even with Chimere Dike, Keontez Lewis, Skyler Bell, CJ Williams and Will Pauling establishing themselves throughout spring apply, Green figures to have a considerable position at large receiver when wholesome.

“I grew up throwing to him a little bit when I was working out with Kevin Murray in the young days,” Badgers quarterback Tanner Mordecai stated. “So I’ve known Bryson for a long time. Bryson is a very physical, strong receiver that can go get the ball and he’s a student of the game. He loves to study. He understands the game, and I think he’s going to have a very successful fall.”

3. What does the cornerback rotation seem like?

Wisconsin’s prime three corners through the spring have been clear minimize with Alexander Smith and Ricardo Hallman working outdoors and Boston College switch Jason Maitre within the slot. But the backups on the surface have been true freshman early enrollees Jonas Duclona and Jace Arnold, with walk-on Amaun Williams within the slot. Wisconsin attacked the switch portal to handle an space of want, including Nyzier Fourqurean, a Division II All-American at Grand Valley State.

Fourqurean, who flipped his dedication from Vanderbilt, performed for Wisconsin outdoors linebackers coach Matt Mitchell when Mitchell was the top coach at Grand Valley State. He completed his sophomore season with 37 tackles, 4 interceptions and 14 go breakups. Fourqurean stated he anticipated to be within the prime three on the surface “right away” and hoped to problem for a beginning spot.

Wisconsin is also optimistic it could possibly add Air Force switch cornerback Michael Mack II, who has two years of eligibility remaining however can’t play this season with out a waiver approval attributable to academy guidelines. That course of seems to be ongoing. He does have a redshirt yr out there, if needed. Wisconsin’s different scholarship cornerbacks are redshirt junior Max Lofy and true freshmen Amare Snowden and AJ Tisdell.

4. Will Mordecai showcase sufficient consistency?

If Wisconsin goes to rely extra on its passing assault on this offense, then success begins with its quarterback. Tanner Mordecai, a sixth-year senior who transferred from SMU, has impressed teammates together with his management, data and playmaking potential. He was usually wonderful through the spring but in addition threw 4 interceptions through the staff’s solely scrimmage that was open to the general public.

Mordecai was nice in SMU’s victories final season, throwing 23 touchdowns and one interception. He threw 10 touchdowns and 9 interceptions in video games he began that the Mustangs misplaced.

“I think just consistency in all aspects of the game at quarterback play,” Mordecai stated of what he needed to enhance. “Just being able to produce at a high level on a bigger stage.”

5. Has Bertrams solved the punter drawback?

Fickell acknowledged after Wisconsin’s final spring apply that he was “a little bit concerned” concerning the staff’s punting state of affairs after Jack Van Dyke and Gavin Meyers struggled throughout a particular teams-heavy day. The Badgers tried to handle that subject by including Atticus Bertrams, an Australian punter who initially signed a nationwide letter of intent with USC within the 2022 class however by no means enrolled due to a stress fracture in his decrease again.

Bertrams, who labored with the famend Prokick Australia, arrives at a vital time with the Badgers in search of a substitute for Andy Vujnovich, one of the crucial achieved punters in program historical past. Bertrams stated he despatched Wisconsin’s coaches movies that confirmed him hitting distances of 45 to 50 yards, with a dangle time starting from 4.2 seconds to 4.7 seconds. Fickell had success whereas head coach at Cincinnati with a pair of punters from Prokick, and the Badgers hope they’ve discovered the following standout in Bertrams.

6. Are the tight ends prepared to provide?

Four tight ends earned first-team reps through the spring: Riley Nowakowski, Jack Pugh, Hayden Rucci and Jack Eschenbach. Clay Cundiff was restricted to particular person work within the spring after he fractured his left leg final season. But, when wholesome, Cundiff has the potential to be the staff’s prime tight finish. He caught 9 passes for 142 yards and two touchdowns in 4 video games final season.

Eschenbach and Rucci have probably the most expertise on the place. Eschenbach has 19 catches for 179 yards, whereas Rucci has six catches for 75 yards and a landing. Nowakowski, a former fullback, has versatility and Pugh possesses large athleticism. Offensive coordinator Phil Longo likes to make use of a number of tight ends, and the pecking order remains to be to be decided.

7. Can Varner give the D-line extra juice?

Wisconsin secured Temple switch Darian Varner out of the portal to be an impression participant up entrance. But Varner missed the complete spring whereas recovering from a left foot damage, which compelled him to take a seat out the Owls’ ultimate two video games final season. Fickell stated Varner may give the group a unique look by offering extra explosiveness — one thing Varner demonstrated final season when he earned first-team All-American Athletic Conference honors after recording 12.5 tackles for loss and seven.5 sacks.

Wisconsin has a strong prime group of defensive linemen that features Isaiah Mullens, Rodas Johnson, James Thompson Jr. and Gio Paez. But the Badgers have to shore up their depth, and Varner might be a essential lacking piece. Other gamers who might flash are Curt Neal, Ben Barten and Cade McDonald, every of whom earned important reps with the reserves within the spring.

8. Who is the No. 3 operating again?

Braelon Allen and Chez Mellusi are going to hold the ball a lot, and they’re viable pass-catching threats as nicely. Those two gamers have mixed for 3,798 yards speeding and 30 touchdowns throughout their careers at Wisconsin. However, the Badgers didn’t have a solution but for their third operating again spot popping out of spring practices.

Jackson Acker is a number one candidate to occupy that position after transitioning from fullback final season. Acker missed a number of practices within the spring due to an damage and wore a yellow non-contact jersey for a portion of spring. Cade Yacamelli demonstrated flashes of his energy and velocity. The solely different scholarship operating again can be true freshman Nate White. Walk-ons Grover Bortolotti and Zach Gloudeman could be different potential choices. Wisconsin might not want a lot out of a 3rd operating again this season, however Allen and Mellusi even have battled accidents throughout their careers, which is one thing to observe.

9. Is Wisconsin able to thrive within the Air Raid offense?

Perhaps nothing has introduced extra pleasure to Wisconsin this offseason than the implementation of Longo’s Air Raid, which made the offense a extra engaging vacation spot for switch quarterbacks and large receivers. Spring practices supplied 15 alternatives for the group to study the system, however preseason camp is when issues will actually ratchet up a notch because the first sport looms. Mordecai and Longo have expressed confidence they will succeed instantly.

“Who it will be strange for are the people who have been watching Wisconsin football all their lives,” stated former Wisconsin and present Illinois coach Bret Bielema. “If it goes well, it goes well. But if it doesn’t go well, that’s potential landmines.”

10. How good can the protection be?

Defensive coordinator Mike Tressel put in a number of new wrinkles throughout his first spring at Wisconsin, most notably a greenback protection that options six defensive backs and creates a number of challenges for offenses. The objective is to make use of linebackers and defensive backs to remove home windows from opponents that may be open towards different groups, thereby inflicting fixed confusion. The Badgers return their three main tacklers with inside linebackers Maema Njongmeta and Jordan Turner and out of doors linebacker C.J. Goetz. Several different key contributors return on the line of defense and within the secondary.

“When we first got into this defense, I was like, ‘Coach, I feel like we’re leaving them too much space to run the ball,’” Njongmeta stated. “The fantastic thing about the protection is the offense truly doesn’t know. If you run it proper, the offense doesn’t know who’s coming and who’s not and you may simply mess up their depend. And most of the time, if you happen to do it proper, somebody’s going to be left unblocked as a result of the depend is off.

“That’s actually the beauty of it. It confuses the offensive line. It’s confusing for them, and confusion causes them to play slow, and that’s where you make big plays. So I think there’s a lot of big-play opportunities, BPOs in this defense. I’m excited about that.”

(Top photograph: Jeffrey Brown / Icon Sportswire through Getty Images)