First-year head coach Bret Bielema watched from the sidelines last year as injuries took a toll on defensive unit he directed.
A year later, the trend has continued into spring practices, as a host of Badgers' have been sidelined with just two practices remaining before the annual spring game April 22.
After junior quarterback John Stocco, one of only three returning starters on offense, limped off the field earlier this week, the linebacker position has been the latest group hit by the injury bug. Freshman Deandre Levy and sophomore Ryan Flasch were injured during practice Friday evening and did not practice Saturday at Camp Randall. Levy, the No. 1 strong-side linebacker, was on crutches after what Bielema described as a groin injury.
Flasch, a transfer from the University of Las Vegas-Nevada, was in contention for the No. 2 spot at weak-side linebacker behind freshman Jonathan Casillas, suffered a right-knee injury. He was seen on crutches and had a immobilizer on his right leg.
Though the staff won't have a prognosis on the injury until Tuesday, the worst-case scenario could be a torn anterior cruciate ligament.
He is out for at least the rest of the spring,\ Bielema said. ""The thing about Ryan is that he is a guy who has battled back ... He had begun to make some plays. I think he can eventually be a player for us. He needs to keep developing for us, but we would use him on special teams.""
The Badgers' wide receiver core, who is already looking to replace the top three players on the depth chart form a year ago, is beginning to thin out as well. Junior Jeff Holzbauer and sophomore Luke Swan sat out practice because of unspecified injuries as did sophomore Marcus Randle El for the second half of practice Saturday.
Under Center
The center to quarterback exchange does not commonly draw attention, but it has developed into a major area of concern for UW this spring.
Sophomore center Marcus Coleman, who has been working with the No. 1 unit, has been inconsistent, and back-ups Luke Knauf and Danny Kaye, who began taking snaps at center last week, all have struggled getting the ball into the quarterback's hand.
""We were pretty fortunate last year,"" said offensive coordinator Paul Chryst. ""Now we're trying to find some other guys. That has been frustrating. You can't even get a play run. That's not very good.""
—The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel contributed to this report.\
