After losing their star player and head coach from last season’s Outback Bowl champion squad, the Badgers will trot out a different looking team to open the 2015 season when they take on Alabama Sept. 5. But before that, there figures to be plenty of intrigue entering Paul Chryst’s first spring game as Wisconsin’s head coach.
While the majority of the team’s starters appear to be set more than four months before their first game, there remain some positions to keep an eye on during Saturday’s game.
Running Back
With star running back Melvin Gordon set to go to the NFL, it appears to be junior Corey Clement’s time to be the main threat in the backfield. The Badgers have traditionally relied on secondary rushing options, featuring at least two backs with 125 or more carries each of the previous five seasons.
Redshirt junior Dare Ogunbowale, playing running back in the offseason for the first time since before high school, showed promise last year after switching from defensive back. He finished last season with 193 yards on the ground and 5.7 yards per carry. Ogunbowale’s emergence forced the Badgers to redshirt freshman Taiwan Deal, another highly rated recruit who figures to factor into the discussion this season. Lastly, Jordan Stevenson won’t arrive in Madison in time for the spring game, but the incoming freshman could stand to gain some carries should the other options fail to impress Saturday.
Safety
UW’s secondary was among the best in the nation last year, allowing just the fifth-fewest average yards per game of FBS schools, but the departure of redshirt senior Peniel Jean leaves a hole at safety alongside redshirt senior Michael Caputo. Sophomore Lubern Figaro has the most starting experience among the candidates to slot in. Figaro started five games as a freshman and finished with a forced fumble and interception before giving way to Jean in the second half of the season.
His main competition will come from redshirt senior Tanner McEvoy, who has bounced around all over the field for the Badgers. McEvoy recorded 27 tackles with an interception as a safety in his first season with Wisconsin in 2013. He is now a defensive option again after a year at quarterback last season.
Wide Receiver
Redshirt senior Alex Erickson broke out as the team’s top receiver in 2014, as his 772 yards easily led the team. The next two leading receivers, Sam Arneson and Kenzel Doe, graduated, leaving open the opportunity for someone to emerge as the team’s No. 2 receiver.
Rising junior Robert Wheelwright has just three catches in his collegiate career, including a touchdown on his only reception in 2014, but entered college as a highly touted recruit and has had a strong showing in spring practices, per 247Sports’ Evan Flood. Madison native Jordan Frederick has the most experience of the group, having started 11 games in the previous three seasons. Though only one of those starts came last season, the redshirt senior logged 64 yards on five catches in a win against Purdue, both single-game career highs.
In what should be a fairly open competition, Jazz Peavy, who has yet to see the field in his Badger career, could also work his way into the starting conversation. Having entered spring practices coming off a hamstring injury suffered before the start of last season, receivers coach Ted Gilmore has had high praise for the redshirt sophomore.
