The optimism surrounding Wisconsin football team right now is palpable. With the news that former North Carolina State quarterback Russell Wilson has decided to play this fall for head coach Bret Bielema's Badgers, fans have set their expectations for the 2011 season high.
It is not very often that ""Wisconsin"" and ""national title contender"" are thrown around in the same sentence, especially during the preseason, but that is exactly what is happening in college football circles in the wake of Wilson's commitment to UW.
It is easy to see why the addition of a former second team All-ACC player would spark such optimism for the Badgers' upcoming season. Wilson threw for 3,563 yards and tossed 28 touchdown passes last season for the Wolfpack to go along with 435 yards and nine touchdowns on the ground. He is a dynamic playmaker in the pocket, the likes of which Wisconsin has never had under center.
Throughout the years UW quarterbacks have been expected to be game managers, the type of signal caller who doesn't have to win the game, but can't lose it and plays a backseat role in the offense to the running game. There is nothing wrong with that, Scott Tolzien was that type of quarterback and he led Wisconsin to the Rose Bowl last season.
But, with Wilson in the fold he has the potential to take the Badgers to the next level. He has the ability to make things happen in the pocket and add yet another potent offensive weapon to give opposing defensive coordinators headaches. Next season, teams won't be able to key in on running backs James White and Montee Ball all the time, because if they do Wilson has the ability to make them pay with both his arms and his legs.
It is hard not to consider the Badgers favorites in a wide-open Big Ten conference next season, especially with all that has gone on around Ohio State. With the Buckeyes scandal claiming both head coach Jim Tressel and quarterback Terrelle Pryor, plus a five-game suspension to start the season for many of their star players, it is hard to picture Ohio State competing for the title this season. In wake of the Buckeyes' problems, a Wilson-led Wisconsin team, especially with all of the returning players on offense, should have no problem rising to the top of the Leaders division for a berth in the first ever Big Ten title game in Indianapolis.
Wilson was the missing piece to the Badgers' 2011 puzzle. Now, everything else seemed to be in place: Two potential 1,000-yard rushers are returning in White and Ball, senior wide receiver Nick Toon is healthy again and looks primed for bounce back season and the defense is expected to be solid. The only real question UW had was under center, where unheralded and unknown commodities Jon Budmayr and Joe Brennan were competing for the starting nod. Both struggled in spring practice and many had questions about whether Wisconsin's quarterback situation would slow down a talented team that looks primed to compete on the national stage.
With Wilson's arrival all of those fears can now rest, as the Badgers will now have a proven playmaker leading their offense. Wilson should have no problem easily sliding in to offensive coordinator Paul Chryt's system, as it is similar to the pro-style system Wilson ran at N.C. State.
While he is certainly at a disadvantage, coming in just two weeks before the start of summer camp, the Badgers' start to the 2011 season should be conducive to helping Wilson adjust as well. He will play what is almost four home games to start the year—in Madison against UNLV, Oregon State and South Dakota, and a game at Soldier Field in Chicago against Northern Illinois. Those are four games Wisconsin should be able to win, and will help Wilson adjust to the Badgers' offensive system. They will also prepare him for the rigors of the Big Ten conference schedule, which begins with a huge game under the lights of Camp Randall Stadium Oct. 1 against Nebraska.
The 2011 Big Ten race is anyone's for the taking and by wooing Russell Wilson to Madison the Badgers may have just taken a big step in putting their mark on that race. Wilson is a special player who has the ability to make the 2011 season a memorable one for Wisconsin fans. He has the ability to put the Badgers in the drivers seat to Indianapolis and, who knows, he just might be able to take them further than that.
How do you see the Badgers' 2011 season going with Russell Wilson under center? E-mail Ryan at rmevans2@dailycardinal.com.
