Wisconsin
Alabama Football: Breaking down the Wisconsin Defense
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Alabama Football faces its first road test of the 2024 season on Saturday afternoon in Madison against the Wiscosin Badgers. On Wednesday, we previewed the Wisconsin offense. Today, we take a look at a Badgers defense that has the talent, playmakers, and scheme to give Alabama’s offense trouble.
The unit is coordinated by Mike Tressel, the nephew of former Ohio State head coach Jim Tressel. Tressel spent 12-years at Michigan State before becoming the defensive coordinator at Cincinnati in 2021 and then following Fickell to Madison last year.
Tressel runs a 3-3-5 defensive scheme and likes to send disguised blitzes and run exotic coverages that have historically caused issues for Alabama QB Jalen Milroe, who frequently bails from the pocket early if he feels pressure or drops back so deep that it makes the tackles jobs extrememly difficult.
I’m not much of an X’s and O’s guy, particularly when it comes to defenses, so if you want a deep dive on the Badgers’ defensive scheme, you can read an excellent one here. Tressel mixes and matches his coverages, with about a 50-50 split between man and zone coverage.
I would expect more zone coverage on Saturday afternoon as I’m not sure if the Badgers have the corners to hold up on an island for long against the Tide’s receivers, particularly if they struggle to get pressure without bringing blitzes.
The Badgers ranked 56th in yards-per-play defense a year ago, and they currently sit at 56th through two games in 2024 despite the inferior competition it has faced.
The strength of Wisconsin’s defense is in the secondary. Safety Hunter Wohler is one of the very best at his position in the entire country. He led Wisconsin with 120 tackles last year and was a 1st team All Big Ten performer.
At one corner, redshirt junior Ricardo Hallman was a 3rd team All American a year ago and picked off 7-passes. He’s a guy who has to be accounted for. He’s the best corner Alabama has seen so far this season, and Wohler the best safety, and it will be a good challenge for an unproven group of Tide receivers led by 17-year-old phenom Ryan Williams.
Both Wohler and Hallman are projected mid-round NFL draft picks in next April’s draft.
At linebacker, Arkansas transfer Jaheim Thomas and Jake Chaney form a good tandem inside and both are projected as 7th round/UDFA’s in the draft. Unfortunately for Wisconsin, much like Alabama’s Justin Jefferson, Chaney was the victim of a questionable targeting foul in the second of last week’s win over South Dakota and will sit the first 30-minutes on Saturday.
Wisconsin will start USC transfer Tackett Curtis for the first half in place of Chaney. Curtis started 8 games as a freshman with the Trojans in 2023.
Where Alabama has the biggest advantage should be up front. The Badgers’ defensive line is a real concern for Wisconsin fans. Depth and experiene on the defensive line was a concern before a season-ending injury in the preseason to James Thomas, who had 18 career starts in two seasons in Madison.
Now, Wisconsin starts a career reserve in senior Ben Barten and redshirt sophomore Curt Neal, who had made one career start prior to this season. Alabama likely getting Kadyn Proctor back for his 2024 debut would go a long way in the Crimson Tide being able to control the game and not put Milroe in unfavorable down and distances where he might feel he needs to force a throw to make something happen for a stagnant offense.
Proctor’s return gives Alabama a distinct advantage inside with Tyler Booker moving back to left guard and joining center Parker Brailsford and right guard Jaedan Roberts. South Dakota found success running up the middle against the Badgers, rushing for 147 yards on a 5.8 yards-per-carry clip if you exclude the yardage lost on three sacks.
Alabama’s gameplan should be real simple: run the football. Utilize the two-headed monster at RB in Jam Miller and Justice Haynes, mixed with more than a few designed runs for Milroe and wear down a Wisconsin front-seven that doesn’t have a ton of depth, particularly in the first half while Chaney sits.
You can bet that Wisconsin is going to bring pressure as the book on Milroe has been him panicking a bit in the pocket when he feels pressured. I’d look for more quick, decisive reads on passes with Milroe getting the ball out to playmakers in space. Wisconsin doesn’t have the team speed to stick with the Tide receivers for four quarters.
Offensive coordinator Nick Sheridan just has to avoid getting impatient and trying too hard for the homerun shots. The deep balls will come as Wisconsin struggles to stop the run and the quick passing attack. It will force tighter man-coverage and safeties creeping into the box, which should allow for a knockout punch or two down the field in the second half that allows the Crimson Tide to pull away for a comfortable victory.
More Alabama-Wisconsin preview content:
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Wisconsin
Bob Nielson proud of his team’s effort in loss at Wisconsin
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SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (Dakota News Now) -The Coyotes of USD gave Wisconsin scare Saturday before the Badges took over the game in the 4th quarter and went on to win 27-13. Bob Nielson’s team is not into moral victories, but he told me on Calling All Sports Monday that he was pleased with his team’s effort against a Big Ten team in a very hostile environment.
USD Football Coach Bob Nielson says, “Obviously I’m proud of our guys for the effort against the Badgers on Saturday. But at the same time I’m disappointed that we didn’t find a way to come away with a win there and that’s what our team’s mentality was after the game.”
The 6th-ranked Coyotes will take another road trip this week when they fly to the west coast to play at Portland State.
And they start the rugged Missouri Valley schedule the following weekend where they won all of their close games last fall.
Copyright 2024 Dakota News Now. All rights reserved.
Wisconsin
Wisconsin childcare summit at the Resch Expo
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GREEN BAY, Wis. (WBAY) – The Wisconsin Childcare Summit at the Resch Expo wrapped up Wednesday.
It served as a chance for business leaders to learn about the childcare crisis in America and understand its effects on employees, retaining them, and even attracting new ones.
Discussions about future economic strategies also took place, to help make the workplace a better place for everyone.
“They’re getting educated on what’s happening, why this is an issue, and it’s pretty irrefutable and people are getting excited about the next conversation. We have the data, now what?” SAID Christine Gunderson, Director of Talent Retention, Greater Chamber of Green Bay.
Joseph Fuller served as the keynote speaker. He’s a professor of management practice at Harvard Business School and the co-director of the school’s Managing the Future Of Work Project.
American Family Insurance, the Greater Green Bay Chamber, and several other groups helped put the Wednesday summit together. They hope to have more soon.
Copyright 2024 WBAY. All rights reserved.
Wisconsin
Kohler Interns Volunteer Across Kohler, Wisconsin
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Published 44 minutes ago
Submitted by Kohler
To celebrate National Intern Day, our rockstar interns and co-ops traded in their laptops for work gloves!
More than 70 volunteers from Kohler, WI, rolled up their sleeves to help local organizations including Terry Andrae State Park, RCS Empowers, Inc., Project Angel Hugs, Nourish Farms, Inc., and the Sheboygan Historical Museum.
They also celebrated the day with a putting challenge at Blackwolf Run golf course, networking lunch, and a panel discussion with Kohler associates who started as interns and co-ops.
Here’s to our next generation of leaders and community champions!
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Kohler
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