We're about halfway through the season (barring postseason), so I thought it could be useful to take stock and assess where the Badgers stand today, and in the future: position by position.
QB:
Have to be thrilled here. Hornibrook lacks ideal arm strength, but checks every other box imo. Poise, accuracy, touch, command of the offense. His pocket awareness could improve, but it's tough to ask for much more out of a red shirt freshmen. With Lyles and Coan in wait, the Badgers are set here for a few years.
RB:
With Shaw's emergence, I also think you have to be pretty bullish on the running back group moving forward as well. Clement and Dare will graduate after the year, and I don't think the Badgers will miss a beat with Chris James, Taiwan and Shaw. The main question is will this be a good group, or a great group, ala Ball, White and Melvin.
WR:
A major question mark still. Wheelwright and Peavy have size and speed, respectively, but they are both very inconsistent. I wouldn't consider either a true gamechanger. Same goes for Rushing, who I think may get passed over next season. Cephus looks promising, as does AJ Taylor. A lot of this offense's success moving forward will be based on how good those two (and Kendric Pryor) turn out to be. Cade Green looks promising as well, but it would be nice to see the Badgers add another outside threat to the 2017 class.
TE:
Steady and solid as ever. Fums will play on Sundays. Penniston should be able to take over in two years, and the bus will keep on rolling.
OL:
I think you have to be very concerned here if you're a Badger fan. Imagine this team right now without Ramczyk on it. He is a stud. It would not shock me if he leaves after this year and goes in the first. Complete player.
Dieter is solid as well, and will play on Sundays. Everyone else is a major question mark. Beau B and Maxwell were beaten like a drum tonight, hence Edwards getting reps, but he was even worse. Dietzen getting healthy will help, and the last two OL classes are good, but there's a lot of catching up to do here. Is Rudolph part of the problem or the solution? I think it's becoming fair to ask that question.
DL:
Most underrated player on this team might be Conor Sheehy. He's a beast inside, and should also make it to the pros. Olive and Rand are very solid inside, and Alec James has made a real jump this year, in his tandem with Chikwe. Tough to complain about this group. With most of the guys being able to stay healthy, it's tough to know what the second stringers have in store. Will be very interesting to see what happens to this unit after 2017. I could see Rand moving over to Sheehy's spot to get him on the field more, but there's still another hole to fill.
LB:
Is Wisconsin the new LB U? Borland, Schobert, Biegel, Watt, Cichy. Studs.
Watt may leave early, but I like what I've seen of Baun, plus they will have 11 (11!) guys who will be Fr or So next year. Another position like at TE where it feels plug and play and you will get strong production.
CB:
Tindal may be the biggest surprise of the year for me. I think he's the best DB on the roster. Length, ball skills, competitiveness. I think Nick Nelson should step in seamlessly for Shelton next year. And if not, Williams and Booker have gotten strong practice reviews. For the first time in a long time I feel confident about the CB group now and moving forward.
S:
Both Dixon and Musso have made some nice plays, but this group to me is similar to the WR corps. They are inconsistent, and could be improved upon down the line. Farrar, Johnson and Burrell are an interesting and athletic trio. Two will have to step up. Badgers could use another strong commit here for the 2017 class.
K/P: Lotti/Rosowski have been good not great, but they're both young and will improve. Gags should get a year back, so he should be around two more years with strong production.
Overall:
I think there's a lot to like about the makeup of this team. I think Hornibrook is a real player, and the defense looks to be pretty loaded moving forward as long as they can keep Wilcox around. For the first time in a long time, I think the biggest issue has to be at OL. It is now close to two years where the running game has been inconsistent, if not outright bad. If they can get that fixed, the other pieces are in place to have a serious run of dominance in the Big Ten West, and challenge Michigan and OSU for the Big Ten every year moving forward.
QB:
Have to be thrilled here. Hornibrook lacks ideal arm strength, but checks every other box imo. Poise, accuracy, touch, command of the offense. His pocket awareness could improve, but it's tough to ask for much more out of a red shirt freshmen. With Lyles and Coan in wait, the Badgers are set here for a few years.
RB:
With Shaw's emergence, I also think you have to be pretty bullish on the running back group moving forward as well. Clement and Dare will graduate after the year, and I don't think the Badgers will miss a beat with Chris James, Taiwan and Shaw. The main question is will this be a good group, or a great group, ala Ball, White and Melvin.
WR:
A major question mark still. Wheelwright and Peavy have size and speed, respectively, but they are both very inconsistent. I wouldn't consider either a true gamechanger. Same goes for Rushing, who I think may get passed over next season. Cephus looks promising, as does AJ Taylor. A lot of this offense's success moving forward will be based on how good those two (and Kendric Pryor) turn out to be. Cade Green looks promising as well, but it would be nice to see the Badgers add another outside threat to the 2017 class.
TE:
Steady and solid as ever. Fums will play on Sundays. Penniston should be able to take over in two years, and the bus will keep on rolling.
OL:
I think you have to be very concerned here if you're a Badger fan. Imagine this team right now without Ramczyk on it. He is a stud. It would not shock me if he leaves after this year and goes in the first. Complete player.
Dieter is solid as well, and will play on Sundays. Everyone else is a major question mark. Beau B and Maxwell were beaten like a drum tonight, hence Edwards getting reps, but he was even worse. Dietzen getting healthy will help, and the last two OL classes are good, but there's a lot of catching up to do here. Is Rudolph part of the problem or the solution? I think it's becoming fair to ask that question.
DL:
Most underrated player on this team might be Conor Sheehy. He's a beast inside, and should also make it to the pros. Olive and Rand are very solid inside, and Alec James has made a real jump this year, in his tandem with Chikwe. Tough to complain about this group. With most of the guys being able to stay healthy, it's tough to know what the second stringers have in store. Will be very interesting to see what happens to this unit after 2017. I could see Rand moving over to Sheehy's spot to get him on the field more, but there's still another hole to fill.
LB:
Is Wisconsin the new LB U? Borland, Schobert, Biegel, Watt, Cichy. Studs.
Watt may leave early, but I like what I've seen of Baun, plus they will have 11 (11!) guys who will be Fr or So next year. Another position like at TE where it feels plug and play and you will get strong production.
CB:
Tindal may be the biggest surprise of the year for me. I think he's the best DB on the roster. Length, ball skills, competitiveness. I think Nick Nelson should step in seamlessly for Shelton next year. And if not, Williams and Booker have gotten strong practice reviews. For the first time in a long time I feel confident about the CB group now and moving forward.
S:
Both Dixon and Musso have made some nice plays, but this group to me is similar to the WR corps. They are inconsistent, and could be improved upon down the line. Farrar, Johnson and Burrell are an interesting and athletic trio. Two will have to step up. Badgers could use another strong commit here for the 2017 class.
K/P: Lotti/Rosowski have been good not great, but they're both young and will improve. Gags should get a year back, so he should be around two more years with strong production.
Overall:
I think there's a lot to like about the makeup of this team. I think Hornibrook is a real player, and the defense looks to be pretty loaded moving forward as long as they can keep Wilcox around. For the first time in a long time, I think the biggest issue has to be at OL. It is now close to two years where the running game has been inconsistent, if not outright bad. If they can get that fixed, the other pieces are in place to have a serious run of dominance in the Big Ten West, and challenge Michigan and OSU for the Big Ten every year moving forward.
