The 2023 college football season is almost on us and the Badgers are now 20 days from their season opener against Buffalo on Sept. 2 at home. With Luke Fickell taking over, many have wondered if Wisconsin’s identity will change and in turn, if their defense will remain as good following Jim Leonhard’s departure.
Wisconsin’s defense allowed 20.2 points per game last season, ranking 17th in the entire nation. That was with defensive coordinator and eventual interim head coach Jim Leonhard at the helm.
Now with Fickell and defensive coordinator Mike Tressel coming over from Cincinnati, they’ll have to maintain the team’s defensive reputation. The two men produced some very strong results with the Bearcats and in 2022, their defense allowed 20.6 points per game.
With players like Maema Njongmeta and Jordan Turner leading the defense in Madison, they should have no trouble continuing their success in 2023.
An aerial view of Camp Randall Stadium in Madison, Wis.
An aerial view of Camp Randall Stadium in Madison, Wis., home of the Wisconsin Badgers.
MADISON – A recent court ruling has opened the door for former junior college players to gain another year of NCAA eligibility.
It appears that Tawee Walker is going to take advantage of the opportunity.
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According to On3, Wisconsin’s senior running back will enter the transfer portal in search of a home for next season. The news came one day after the NCAA approved a blanket waiver granting one more year of eligibility to athletes who competed at a non-NCAA school for one or more years and would have otherwise exhausted their eligibility during the 2024-25 school year.
Walker fits the bill. He played the the 2021 season at Palomar College. a junior college in San Marcos, California, before competing for Oklahoma in 2022 and ’23 and Wisconsin this season. The NCAA counts his junior college season towards his four years of college eligibility.
The waiver stems from a case brought forward by Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia. A Tennessee court ruled that counting the two seasons he played at a junior college toward his NCAA eligibility violated the Sherman Antitrust Act.
Walker, a 5-foot-9, 218-pound Las Vegas native, led the Badgers with 864 yards in 190 carries, a 4.5-yard average, and scored 10 touchdowns.
He begin the season sharing the No. 1 tailback role with Chez Mellusi and blossomed after Mellusi took what proved to be a permanent leave Oct. 3.
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As Wisconsin’s primary ball carrier Walker ran for 718 yards in 152 carries, a 4.7-yard average, with nine touchdowns.
His best stretch was a three-game run against Purdue, Rutgers and Northwestern when he gained 418 yards in 66 carries, a 6.3-yard average, and scored six times.
More: Wisconsin football transfer portal tracker: Who’s leaving and who’s arriving? Latest: New linebacker from Kentucky
Wisconsin football saw its season end without bowl practices for the first time since 2001. The Badgers hit a new low this century in year two of the Luke Fickell era, and will face a critical get-right year in 2025.
Over the next two weeks, BadgerBlitz.com will examine the 2024 Badgers position by position. Today, we’ll wrap up the series with the safeties, a unit that helped anchor a strong defensive backfield in 2024.
2024 HIGH: Preston Zachman’s continued development
Redshirt senior Preston Zachman continued his development into a highly reliable safety in 2024, and even better news? He’s coming back next fall.
Zachman became somewhat of a surprise starter alongside Hunter Wohler last season, but he played well in the process, displaying his football IQ and a knack for being in the right place in the right time. He continued to take steps in a positive direction this season, posting a career-best stat-line of 58 total tackles, 2.5 tackles-for-loss, two interceptions and four pass breakups.
The safety has a penchant for making routine plays routinely. He missed just six tackles on 753 total snaps, per Pro Football Focus. He also surrendered just one touchdown across 366 coverage snaps. But Zachman can also make the big play. His most impressive rep of the season was likely his interception in Los Angeles, pictured above. In coverage against dynamic slot weapon Zachariah Branch, a matchup most would deem a mismatch, he blanketed the receiver, bodied him at the catch point, reeled in the interception and talked smack in the star pass-catcher’s face after the whistle.
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The ball skills he displayed were impressive, but it was also a clinic in technique and positioning. Zachman is one of the most fundamentally sound players on Mike Tressel‘s defense, and his return for 2025 is massive for a secondary that figures to be relatively inexperienced and also just lost its best player in Wohler.
2024 LOW: Hunter Wohler vs. USC
Interestingly enough, one of Zachman’s best games (USC) was also one of Wohler’s worst. He gave up two touchdowns in the second half alone, helping the Trojans complete the comeback victory.
With time dwindling in the third quarter, USC faced a 3rd-and-7 from the Badgers eight yard-line. Wisconsin sent six pass-rushers after Trojans’ quarterback Miller Moss, leaving five one-on-ones in coverage against a five wide look. That included Wohler on the 6-foot-6 wideout Duce Robinson.
Robinson ran a skinny post and simply boxed Wohler out to reel in a touchdown, looking like a forward pulling down a rebound over a guard. It’s hard to blame Wohler for giving up four inches of height to the physical specimen of a wideout, but still, the safety was directly responsible for that touchdown.
Wohler gave up a touchdown on the very next drive as well. The Trojans marched down the field in nine plays but were faced with a 4th-and-1 on the Badgers’ seven yard line. Moss ran a read option, and kept the ball with outside linebacker Aaron Witt crashing off the strong side. Wohler read the play well, and came face-to-face with Moss in the open field. If he made the tackle, it would’ve been a turnover on downs. Instead, Moss hit him with a filthy spin move, breaking the safety’s ankles and scoring a touchdown. Another straight-up mano a mano that Wohler lost resulting in a touchdown, on consecutive drives no less.
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ONE STORYLINE TO FOLLOW BEFORE THE 2025 SEASON: Which transfer nabs a starting role?
With the return of Zachman and Austin Brown, Wisconsin is in a solid spot at safety. The Badgers have two experienced starters, in addition to a plethora of young players including four true freshmen. Zachman and Brown both figure to be starters given their experience and solid play in 2024. But if we’ve learned anything about Tressel’s defense over the course of two seasons, it’s that he deploys three safeties frequently. Especially given the fact that Wisconsin figures to be inexperienced at cornerback with just four corners currently on the roster, safeties can be expected to play plenty of snaps.
The Badgers have signed two transfers at safety at the time of writing: Matthew Traynor (FCS Richmond) and Matt Jung (D-III Bethel). Traynor is a versatile safety who can line up anywhere, while Jung absolutely stuffed the stat-sheet at the D-III level. Both figure to get plenty of run behind Zachman and Brown. But which player looks more dynamic? Who appears to be adjusting to Big Ten competition better? Where in the alignment does either player line up? These will be critical questions to answer this spring and into fall camp.
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Despite earning a 23-point win over Detroit Mercy, the Wisconsin men received fewer votes in both the AP and Coaches Poll Top 25s, which were released on Monday.
The Badgers (10-3, 0-2) stretched their win streak to two following three straight losses, which included two in Big Ten play. Wisconsin returns to league action on Friday, Jan. 3 when they welcome Iowa to Madison.
In the AP Poll, the Badgers picked up nine votes, as No. 25 Baylor received 125. In the Coaches Poll, Wisconsin got seven votes, with No. 25 Purdue receiving 73.
Oregon is the highest-ranked Big Ten team in both rankings, coming in at No. 9. Michigan State is 18th in both with Purdue No. 21 in the AP Poll followed by UCLA, with Illinois No. 24. In the Coaches Poll, UCLA is 21st, Illinois is 22nd and Purdue is 25th.
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Tennessee remained No. 1, receiving the majority of the first-place votes. SEC rival Auburn is second followed by Iowa State and Duke.
Here is the college basketball men’s AP Coaches Poll Top 25 for Week 8:
(Dec. 23)
1. Tennessee (41)
2. Auburn (21)
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3. Iowa State
4. Duke
5. Alabama
6. Florida
7. Kansas
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8. Marquette
9. Oregon
10. Kentucky
11. Connecticut
12. Oklahoma
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13. Texas A&M
14. Gonzaga
15. Houston
16. Mississippi
17. Cincinnati
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18. Michigan State
19. Mississippi State
20. San Diego State
21. Purdue
22. UCLA
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23. Arkansas
24. Illinois
25. Baylor
Others receiving votes: Maryland 119, Dayton 108, Drake 91, St. John’s 90, Memphis 65, Michigan 50, Georgia 45, Pittsburgh 27, West Virginia 26, Missouri 25, Ohio State 23, North Carolina 20, Clemson 18, Arizona State 13, Utah State 9, Wisconsin 9, Texas Tech 8, Indiana 8, St. Bonaventure 4, Penn State 3.