The Badgers Weakest Position Groups Heading Into Spring Practice
With spring practice just around the corner, BadgerNotes examines the weakest position groups on the Wisconsin football team heading into 2023
The Wisconsin football program had a lot of work to do this past offseason to get themselves back into contention for a Big Ten title in 2023.
Thankfully, Athletic Director Chris McIntosh made the splash hire of the offseason- Luke Fickell, setting off a domino effect that reinvigorated the entire Wisconsin Badgers fanbase.
Following a disappointing 7-6 season, the Badgers still have plenty of work to do when spring practice opens. The first order of business is installing new systems on both sides of the ball and establishing a pecking order (tentative depth chart) ahead of fall camp.
And while there is undoubtedly more talent on the roster heading into this season, there are still question marks at several key position groups -- let's explore which ones those are.
Cornerback
Wisconsin has traditionally gotten good, not great, play from its cornerbacks. Which is about what I'd expect the Badgers to get in 2023.
After hitting the portal hard last offseason, UW returns just one starting cornerback, Alexander Smith, who thankfully is their CB1 - which is a great starting point.
However, according to PFF, three of their top four coverage CBs are no longer with the program - leaving plenty of uncertainty heading into 2023.
Ricardo Hallman (who I like) and Avyonne Jones are the two young returning players that make the most sense to take over on the opposite side - at least on paper. UW also brought in Boston College transfer Jason Maitre to provide some depth and compete with Max Lofy for the nickel spot.
Given the lack of experience in the cornerback room and the new coaching staff coming in, I wouldn't be surprised to see someone like Jonas Duclona or Amare Snowden step into roles from the jump.
Tight End
Wisconsin has deployed multiple tight end sets for the past couple of decades, but those days are now a distant memory with the Badgers running Phil Longo's offense.
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