The Wisconsin Badgers comfortably beat the Western Illinois Leathernecks on Saturday, but the score didn’t capture the full picture, as it was an up-and-down game for the home team at Camp Randall Stadium.
There were a lot of questions about the defense for Wisconsin, as they struggled to contain the run at times against a team that lost 41-10 to Illinois State the week before.
Here are the snap counts and PFF grades for every player on defense for the Badgers against Western Illinois.
Defensive Line
Hammond Russell
IV – Snap Count: [23], Grade: 64.1
Michael Garner – Snap Count: [23], Grade: 62.8
DeNigel Cooper – Snap Count: [22], Grade: 78.9
Junior Poyser – Snap Count: [21], Grade: 69.1
Charles Perkins – Snap Count: [17], Grade: 73.9
Nolan Vils – Snap Count: [15], Grade: 64.9
Dillan Johnson – Snap Count: [14], Grade: 87.8
Jacob Anderson – Snap Count: [14], Grade: 68.0
The Badgers wanted to rotate a ton of defensive linemen and outside linebackers, and they did in this game. On the interior, it was fairly even with Hammond Russell, Junior Poyser, and Charles Perkins at the top, while Nolan Vils, Dillan Johnson, and Jacob Anderson all got a number of snaps.
I thought Johnson improved a lot from Week 1, and he could see a bump in snaps next week. This unit was up-and-down though overall, as Western Illinois’s offensive line bested them at times.
Outside Linebackers
Sebastian Cheeks – Snap Count: [49], Grade: 78.0
Tyreese Fearbry – Snap Count: [39], Grade: 72.7
Nicolas Clayton – Snap Count: [13], Grade: 72.6
Justus Boone – Snap Count: [10], Grade: 67.5
Aaron Witt – Snap Count: [7], Grade: 63.3
You could loop Micheal Garner and DeNigel Cooper into this group, but it was a lot of Sebastian Cheeks and Tyreese Fearbry on the edge this game.
Cheeks remains a top player on this defense, and he saw some extra attention. He seemed to be the lone difference-maker at times for the Badgers defensive front. I thought Fearbry looked better on the edge as well in comparison to other options, but he also needs to keep improving with more snaps.
Nicolas Clayton has been relegated to a specialist role through two games, while Justus Boone hasn’t seen his snaps jump into the rotation as much either.
Linebackers
Cooper Catalano – Snap Count: [57], Grade: 82.2
Mason Posa – Snap Count: [33], Grade: 80.6
Thomas Heiberger – Snap Count: [24], Grade: 82.3
Taylor Schaefer – Snap Count: [7], Grade: 77.7
Jon Jon Kamara – Snap Count: [6], Grade: 63.1
Cooper Catalano played nearly a full game, but Mason Posa only saw 33 snaps after getting hurt. Wisconsin didn’t need him afterwards, but it was much more of Thomas Heiberger, who saw 24 snaps in the game.
All three of Wisconsin’s top linebackers graded out quite well on PFF’s scale. Taylor Schaefer and Jon Jon Kamara also got some snaps in this one.
Cornerbacks
Bryce West – Snap Count: [56], Grade: 72.4
Javan Robinson – Snap Count: [54], Grade: 69.1
Jai’mier Scott – Snap Count: [42], Grade: 61.0
Eric Fletcher Jr. – Snap Count: [26], Grade: 37.3
Cai Bates – Snap Count: [6], Grade: 65.0
Bryce West was the clear nickel corner, and saw the field more as Wisconsin played more man coverage. That did show up, though, on the defensive line, as the Badgers were beaten 1-on-1 there much more in this game. Javan Robinson saw a healthy amount of snaps as well, while Jai’mier Scott continued to edge out Eric Fletcher in the field corner snaps, although the latter did see more reps than in Week 1.
Safeties
Matthew Jung – Snap Count: [57], Grade: 66.2
Marvin Burks Jr. – Snap Count: [40], Grade: 71.3
Cairo Skanes – Snap Count: [22], Grade: 72.7
Carson Van Dinter – Snap Count: [7], Grade: 63.3
It was a similar split to Week 1 here, as Matt Jung was a clear full-time starter, while Cairo Skanes came in a bit for Marvin Burks. Carson Van Dinter, who had a big special teams play, also got some reps at the end of the game.
