The Wisconsin Badgers have begun their 2024 season, but that doesn’t mean their recruiting efforts have taken a backseat, with a ton of focus going towards the 2026 class currently.

One of those top targets has been four-star linebacker Storm Miller, who has long been an interest of the coaching staff, with Wisconsin mainly recruiting him as an inside linebacker.

“They’ve been recruiting me more as an inside linebacker [with] Coach [Mike] Tressel, but coach Mitch (OLBs coach Matt Mitchell), he’s also been recruiting me on the outside, too, so they’ve been recruiting me like they like my versatility, so they think I can play either inside or outside,” Miller said of the Badgers.

The Ohio native’s relationship with the coaching staff dates back to Miller’s eighth grade season when defensive coordinator Mike Tressel, then at Cincinnati, went to watch him workout. Since then, the two have developed a close relationship, with the Badgers even extending Miller their first Power 4 offer.

“He’s known me since he came to a workout when I was in 8th grade and he was at Cincinnati, so I’ve known him since he was at Cincinnati, and obviously he stayed with me when he went to Wisconsin, so it means a lot,” Miller said of Tressel. “I’ve known him for almost four years now, so it’s crazy. And he definitely was, the first coach that really believed in me.”

“They (Wisconsin) were my first Power 4 offer, and he’s always been in touch with me even before I had any offers. So, I’ve been following Coach [Luke] Fickell, Coach Tressel since they were in Cincinnati. So, yeah, I’ve had that connection for a while, and when I found out they were moving to Wisconsin, you know, I thought maybe, you know, that would be it. But, I mean, it couldn’t have been more the opposite. He stayed with me and kept believing in me, and I appreciate it.”

One of the bigger changes, though, has been Fickell and Co. moving to Wisconsin and away from the in-state area for Miller. Has that changed anything in his recruitment, especially as an offer from Ohio State has come along?

“To me, it doesn’t matter,” Miller said. “Like, my brother, he’s at Clemson right now, so, you know, I feel like I’m gonna go to the place that’s best fit for me. And, you know, when it comes down, time to decide, I mean, there’s no doubt that Wisconsin, you know, is definitely gonna be up there.”

“So, to me, the whole traveling, being in Ohio, like, obviously I got the Ohio State offer this summer, but, you know, that doesn’t mean I’m not open to other things. Some kids from Ohio, you know, are strictly mindset on Ohio State, but Ohio State is a great school and, like, obviously I have good connections with coaches from them, not ruling them out, but I’m kind of similar to my brother in the way that, you know, kind of just going to go wherever fits me best, whether that’s in state or out of state.”

Early on, there are a number of standouts for Miller, with Wisconsin, Ohio State, Clemson, Stanford, West Virginia, Kentucky, Michigan State, and Missouri all pretty involved with his recruitment, but the Badgers are definitely a school recruiting him “really hard.”

With a number of schools interested in the four-star linebacker, Miller does plan to narrow down his list of schools in the near future, with the Badgers firmly in the mix.

During his junior season, the 6’3, 215-pound linebacker is looking to continue adding to his versatility, playing as a pass-rusher more, while also looking to become a better athlete.

“So this year, I’ve actually been playing more edge, but also linebacker, so, you know, really working on my pass rush and stuff, kind of just making myself more valuable, learning, and being better off the edge. [I] was already was good, but kind of just getting better in the box to kind of working against linemen.”

“And then big focus was working on my speed and quickness, which I feel like I have gotten better at, but, I mean, it’s something you can always keep getting better at. Like, I got my 40 from a 5.00 my sophomore year to like a 4.7. So really just working on my speed and quickness is definitely the big thing.”

It’ll surely be a busy junior season for the 2026 recruit with a number of schools after the Ohio native, and the linebacker will look to continue adding to his profile with another strong year playing for Strongsville High School.

To get a better sense of the Detroit Lions’ strategy against the Los Angeles Rams in their 26-20 overtime victory, let’s take a closer look at their personnel choices.

Here’s a detailed look at the team’s Week 1 snap counts for the 2024 season.

Offense

Quarterbacks

Jared Goff: 70 (100%)
Hendon Hooker: DNP

Goff stayed healthy, allowing Hendon Hooker to spend the game logging mental reps and enjoying the crazy Ford Field environment.

Running backs

Jahmyr Gibbs: 31 (51%)
David Montgomery: 30 (49%)
Sione Vaki: 2 (3%) — 18 special teams snaps (69%)
Craig Reynolds: 0 (0%) — 18 (69%)

Given how good Montgomery was, it may be a bit surprising to see Gibbs outsnap him in this game, even if it was only by one. However, expect this to be the norm going forward. Detroit loves both backs because they both offer something completely different.

Also interesting to see Vaki get a couple of offensive snaps. On both occasions, he motioned to fullback. The first, he was initially the second back next to Goff in shotgun. The other snap, he motioned into the backfield after lining up out wide.

Tight ends

Sam LaPorta: 48 (79%)
Brock Wright: 30 (49%) — 4 (15%)
Parker Hesse: 9 (15%) — 14 (54%)

I expect this to be a pretty normal split from the Lions’ three tight ends. Nothing too out of the ordinary, as Parker Hesse remains the team’s primary fullback. Seven of his nine snaps were at that position.

Wide receivers

Amon-Ra St. Brown: 60 (98%)
Jameson Williams: 52 (85%)
Kalif Raymond: 37 (61%) — 9 (35%)
Tom Kennedy: 4 (7%) — 6 (23%)

Unsurprisingly, Williams received the most playing time in his young career, now that he’s clearly WR2. It’s also wasn’t surprising to see that Raymond was their preferred WR3, although it’s a bit shocking to see that he didn’t garner a single target in the passing game. His lone contribution with the ball in his hands on offense was an 11-yard run to kick off overtime.

Tom Kennedy’s elevation from the practice squad was mostly for insurance. He doesn’t play much on special teams and he only contributed four offensive snaps. It will be interesting to see if one of the other three practice squad receivers gets called up for Week 2.

Offensive line

Taylor Decker: 61 (100%)
Penei Sewell: 61 (100%) — 4 (15%)
Frank Ragnow: 61 (100%)
Kevin Zeitler: 61 (100%) — 4 (15%)
Graham Glasgow: 61 (100%) — 4 (15%)
Dan Skipper: 2 (3%) — 4 (15%)
Kayode Awosika: 0 (0%) — 4 (15%)
Michael Niese: 0 (0%) — 4 (15%)
Colby Sorsdal: INACTIVE
Giovanni Manu: INACTIVE

Always love to see the Lions’ starting five in there for 100% of the snaps. Only two jumbo formations with Dan Skipper this week, and everyone else was relegated to special teams duties.

It was certainly interesting to see Niese active over Sorsdal, particularly given Sorsdal’s versatility to back up both guard and tackle. However, Sorsdal did struggle in training camp and the preseason with his move back to tackle, so it’s clear the Lions believe he needs more development.

Defense

EDGE:

Aidan Hutchinson: 70 (90%)
Marcus Davenport: 49 (63%)
Josh Paschal: 22 (28%)
James Houston: INACTIVE

If there was anyone out there who believed the Lions may try to scale Hutchinson back from his high usage last year to keep him fresh, it doesn’t appear that’s in the plans. The third year defensive end continues to have a high motor and doesn’t seem to slow down throughout the entire game, seeing as his final play was a sack. In fact, 70 snaps is actually a career high for Hutchinson.

Speaking of highs, Davenport’s 49 snaps was the sixth-highest in his career, with only two games in the past four years reaching that mark. He’s clearly going to be a big part of this defense, and he proved his worth with four quarterback hits on Matthew Stafford and a half-sack.

Paschal had just a small rotational role, while Houston appeared to be a healthy scratch—indicating how low he is on the totem pole right now.

DT:

Alim McNeill: 68 (87%) — 4 (15%)
Levi Onwuzurike: 50 (64%) — 4 (15%)
Kyle Peko: 37 (47%)
Chris Smith: 8 (10%)
Mekhi Wingo: 6 (8%) — 4 (15%)
DJ Reader: INACTIVE

More career highs here, as McNeill’s ridiculous 68 snaps is 10 more than his previous high. And what an accomplishment for Onwuzurike! Not only was this his first career start, but his 50 snaps was two more than his previous high and well above his typical average of about 20 snaps per game.

Linebackers

Alex Anzalone: 78 (100%)
Derrick Barnes: 64 (82%) — 12 (46%)
Jack Campbell: 44 (56%) — 9 (35%)
Malcolm Rodriguez: 14 (18%) — 22 (85%)
Jalen Reeves-Maybin: 3 (4%) — 22 (85%)
Ben Niemann: 0 (0%) — 18 (69%)
Trevor Nowaske: INACTIVE

This is pretty interesting and a bit unexpected. Anzalone playing every snap is not a surprise, but seeing Jack Campbell—in his first year taking over the MIKE linebacker position full-time—limited to just 56 percent of snaps was surprising. Both Malcolm Rodriguez and Derrick Barnes often took his spot in the defense in subpackages.

That said, maybe we shouldn’t have been all that surprised when it comes to Barnes’ eye-popping 64 snaps. The coaching staff has been talking him up all offseason (again), and while he was seemingly focused on the SAM linebacker position, we know he can thrive at MIKE, as well.

Cornerbacks

Carlton Davis: 77 (99%)
Terrion Arnold: 76 (97%)
Amik Robertson: 36 (46%)
Ennis Rakestraw: 3 (4%) — 11 (42%)
Khalil Dorsey: 0 (0%) — 16 (62%)
Kindle Vildor: 0 (0%) — 15 (58%)

Last time the Lions played the Rams, Brian Branch—who was playing nickel—played 98 percent of the snaps. This time around, the Lions were in nickel less than half the time, as evidenced by Amik Robertson’s 36 snaps. That’s a drastic change in strategy, and it speaks to their confidence in their front seven to roll with just four defensive backs for most of the game. Detroit managed to keep the offense in front of them, so the strategy arguably worked.

Rookie Ennis Rakestraw only saw the field a few times, serving as an injury replacement in short spurts.

Safety

Brian Branch: 78 (100%) — 9 (35%)
Kerby Joseph: 75 (96%) — 9 (35%)
Brandon Joseph: 0 (0%) — 9 (35%)
Ifeatu Melifonwu: INACTIVE
Loren Strickland: INACTIVE

No surprises here, other than maybe Branch and Joseph logging special teams snaps. However, once Melifonwu and/or Strickland come back, I would imagine those extra duties will be taken off Branch’s and Joseph’s plates.

Special teams

Jake Bates: 9 (35%)
Jack Fox: 8 (31%)
Hogan Hatten: 8 (31%)

Special teams happened, too.

The first Presidential debate between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump is Tuesday night.

TMJ4’s Symone Woolridge talked to a few people in Milwaukee about it ahead of time. Most told her that they don’t plan to watch the debate. A couple said the reason is they’ve already decided who they’re voting for.

Watch: Many voters not interested in watching Presidential debate.

Milwaukee voters share what they want to hear during Presidential debate

But, Symone still wanted to know what issues matter most to those voters.

“My concern is people’s well being right now,” said Terry Johnson. “All that other stuff, there’s people everyday out here that just need somebody to talk to. Talk is talk, it’s more about action.”

“What’s going on in the Middle East is important, and Israel and so on and so forth, is on issue,” said Jan Eder. “Another important issue, of course, is the economic situation in our country, and prices where i’m going to grocery shop right now.”

“I’ve followed politics my whole life. I’ve been involved one way or another and I just think everybody should watch [the debate]. It should be mandatory viewing,” said Marsha Hueberger. “I don’t like the restrictions that are in place. I think [the candidates] should be able to discuss their ideas without the questions being slanted one way or another, without time being cut off. I think they should be able to have a decent, grown up, intelligent conversation about what they did, what they’re doing and what they want to do.”

But, Marsha admits, she doesn’t believe that quite what will happen on the debate stage.

The candidates will face off in Philadelphia. Coverage starts at 7:00 p.m. right here on TMJ4. The debate begins at 8:00 p.m.

It’s about time to watch on your time. Stream local news and weather 24/7 by searching for “TMJ4” on your device.

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