Editor’s Note: In advance of Wisconsin kicking off its 2016 spring practice schedule Saturday at Camp Randall Stadium, The Daily Cardinal’s football preview package takes a look at the Badgers' positional battles and players to watch. The defense overview can be found here, and the special teams overview here.
Joel Stave is gone. Throughout this season, there will be conflicting views and heated discussions about whether the quarterback’s departure is a bad thing or good thing for the Badger football program. However, Stave is not the only player leaving, and the Wisconsin offense will have quite a different look in the upcoming spring season.
It’s almost impossible to start anywhere beside breaking down the QB position. UW loses its all-time winningest quarterback, and somebody will need to fill that gap. The early favorite has to be senior Bart Houston, who was the only quarterback who played last year, beside Stave. He was serviceable in his backup duties, completing 57 percent of his passes and throwing three touchdowns and two interceptions.
Houston may have the most experience, but the Badgers have another option who may have more raw talent. After redshirting last season, Alex Hornibrook will likely be competing with Houston for the starting job. From the little we’ve seen from the left-handed freshman, he seems to have a great deal of raw talent, but he needed a year of polish before he takes the field. Freshman and early enrollee Kare' Lyles may also be in competition for the job.
The passing game will suffer a setback not only by losing their quarterback, but also by losing his favorite target, Alex Erickson. Erickson had more than double the yards and receptions of the second-leading receiver, and was a reliable target to look to when the offense was stalling. Luckily, the Badgers will return their next five leading pass catchers, and senior Rob Wheelwright and junior Jazz Peavy will likely get large boosts in targets.
In the trenches, Wisconsin loses its unquestioned leader in Tyler Marz, but the line ought to be better next year than it was last year. At one point, the Badgers started four freshmen on the line, an unheard-of occurrence for a school with as rich of an offensive line history as Wisconsin. The young players struggled last year, but with experience to look back on, they should be better in these spring practices. It’s tough to say who will be starting because of the revolving door approach they used last year, but after the first few spring practices it should become more clear. When you consider the fact that senior Dan Voltz is returning from injury as well, this is a young line that has nowhere to go but up.
Lastly, the backfield should be loaded with every running back returning from last season, minus fullback Derek Watt. Losing Watt will hurt, but the fact that seniors Corey Clement and Dare Ogunbowale will return lessens the blow a great deal. When you add sophomore Taiwan Deal and freshman Bradrick Shaw into the equation, the running game should be in position to pick up the slack from an unproven passer taking over.
While losing familiar faces will be hard for the Badger faithful, it seems like there is a great deal of young talent that had time to mature while the stars got the glory last year. Once the team takes the field this spring, it will be perfectly clear just how much the youngsters learned.
