Badgers snap counts vs. South Dakota in Week 2: Defense

Head coach Luke Fickell and the Wisconsin Badgers advanced to 2-0 on the season after grinding out a 27-13 win over Bob Nielson and the South Dakota Coyotes at Camp Randall Stadium on Saturday.

“Games aren’t ever going to be perfect,” Fickell told reporters. “But the way that this team has responded when things aren’t going our way, that gives me a lot of confidence going forward.”

Here are the defensive snap counts from Pro Football Focus from the Week 2 win over South Dakota.

Defensive Line:

Curt Neal – Snap Count: [34]

Ben Barten – Snap Count: [32]

Elijah Hills – Snap Count: [30]

Dillan Johnson – Snap Count: [6]

Cade McDonald – Snap Count: [5]

Brandon Lane – Snap Count: [4]

Inside Linebackers:

Jaheim Thomas – Snap Count: [49]

Jake Chaney – Snap Count: [33]

Tackett Curtis – Snap Count: [17]

Christian Alliegro – Snap Count: [5]

Outside Linebackers:

Leon Lowery – Snap Count: [34]

Darryl Peterson – Snap Count: [31]

Aaron Witt – Snap Count: [22]

John Pius – Snap Count: [17]

Cornerbacks:

Ricardo Hallman – Snap Count: [52]

Nyzier Fourqurean – Snap Count: [30]

Xavier Lucas – Snap Count: [26]

Max Lofy – Snap Count: [25]

RJ Delancy – Snap Count: [4]

Safeties:

Hunter Wohler – Snap Count: [52]

Preston Zachman – Snap Count: [52]

Austin Brown – Snap Count: [12]

What changed for the Badgers since Week 1?

There were a few notable changes on the defensive side of the ball for the Wisconsin Badgers in Week 2. Jake Chaney getting ejected due to a targeting call forced Tackett Curtis into a major role against South Dakota, playing 17 defensive snaps after not playing at all in Week 1.

On the defensive line, it’s clear that Elijah Hills’ stock is on the way up, and Cade McDonald’s is on the way down. There are a lot of issues on the defensive line, but there is a pretty clear tier break between the top three options and the second-team players they’re mixing in behind them.

Given the lack of pressure fans and media have seen from the Badgers quartet of outside linebackers through two weeks, you have to wonder if we’ll eventually see more Jaheim Thomas snaps on the outside to make way for additional opportunities for Christian Alliegro at inside backer? Alliegro is one of the better athletes on the defense and is too dynamic, in my opinion, not to have a more defined role for Mike Tressel.

Lastly, it didn’t take long for Xavier Lucas to put himself in a position to play a meaningful role in Wisconsin’s secondary. Still, the jump from seven snaps last week to 26 is substantial, especially when he’s eating into the snap counts of veterans that the Badgers’ coaching staff trusts. Lucas will face a lot of tough competition throughout the season, but the Florida native has a chance to be the CB1 this time next year; he’s that talented.