After an offseason punctuated by coaching changes, a scramble to repair a recruiting class in peril and the departure of perhaps the best running back in program history, the Badgers can now focus on what’s important: playing football.
The refreshing shift from staffing adjustments and verbal commitments to conditioning drills and jet sweeps kicked off last week as Wisconsin began its month of spring practices in advance of its inter-squad spring game April 25.
Here’s a look at some of the key storylines to keep an eye on as the Paul Chryst era gets underway.
Corey’s Calling
It’s Corey Clement’s show now. After biding his time behind current New England Patriot James White in 2013 and future NFL draft pick Melvin Gordon last season, the junior running back will now be the centerpiece of Wisconsin’s offense.
Given Clement’s 6.46 yards-per-carry average and nine touchdowns last season, the 5-foot-11, 217-pound bruiser’s transition into the starting role is a comforting, albeit drastic, change. While Clement’s power and solid pass-catching ability are irrefutable, his endurance will be a factor to monitor over the course of the spring and into the start of the season.
If he’s used in a similar capacity as Gordon was last season, Clement will need to be ready to carry the ball nearly 200 more times than he did in 2014, a considerable workload increase to say the least.
A new front
Defensive coordinator Dave Aranda has the opportunity to show why he was the only member of Gary Andersen’s staff to stay on board with UW. After guiding the defense to the fourth-best yards-per-game average in the country, Aranda is charged with weathering the loss of five starters, four of whom anchored the interior of the defense.
The graduation of defensive end/nose guard Warren Herring, nose guard Konrad Zagzebski and inside linebackers Derek Landisch and Marcus Trotter cripples a front seven that was dominant in 2014. Aranda’s proven acumen will be tested by the challenge of finding the right mix of junior linebacker Leon Jacobs, senior linebacker Jesse Hayes and redshirt freshman nose guard Jeremy Patterson to fill in the vacancies.
While this may seem daunting, Aranda replaced eight starters before last season including the entire front seven. The Badgers’ defensive dominance last year shows that Aranda has dealt with replacements before, and has the ability to do it again.
Quarterback question
Joel Stave has the third-best winning percentage, the fifth-most touchdowns and the fourth-best completion percentage and pass efficiency rating in Wisconsin history. On paper, it appears that the Badgers are set at quarterback. That could not be further from the case.
Although Stave’s career statistical resume would point to the contrary, his inconsistency in hitting deep balls, taking advantage of play-action calls and converting on third down has marred his tenure at quarterback and limited Wisconsin’s vertical passing game. On third downs with at least four yards to go in 2014, Stave passed for 21 first downs on 64 attempts. He also completed just 11 passes for 25 yards or more, good for 13th in the Big Ten.
The alternatives aren’t all that promising.
Senior Tanner McEvoy, who is a talented athlete but lacks the arm strength and decision-making ability to play quarterback, is likely headed for a position change back to safety, where he started in 2013.
After being replaced by Stave as the starting quarterback following last year’s Oct. 4 game at Northwestern, McEvoy was primarily used in running situations, allowing him to run the read-option with Gordon and Clement.
He lined up at wide receiver sparingly as a decoy, but never touched the ball in those situations. Finally, McEvoy was moved to other side of the ball for the Outback Bowl against Auburn, where he returned to safety and registered five solo tackles against the Tigers. Although he’s currently listed as a quarterback on Wisconsin’s roster, McEvoy will likely have to earn playing time either at safety, or back at the wide receiver position where he opened the 2013 season before injuring his wrist and switching to defense.
That leaves Chryst the task of testing the waters with junior Bart Houston, redshirt freshman D.J. Gillins and early enrollees Alex Hornibrook and Austin Kafentzis leading the offense throughout the spring.
