The Wisconsin Badgers sought to overhaul their defensive front this offseason, hitting the transfer portal hard as they got bigger to fit their new scheme under coordinator Mike Tressel.
As a result, they landed Tulane transfer Parker Petersen, LSU transfer Jay’Viar Suggs, UT-Martin transfer Charles Perkins, Grambling transfer Micheal Garner, Louisville transfer Mason Reiger, Western Michigan transfer Corey Walker, and Kentucky transfer Tyreese Fearbry.
Six of the seven additions are on Wisconsin’s
Week 1 two-deep, representing the changes made up front as the Badgers hope to bounce back from an inconsistent defensive year in 2024.
A big issue was the lack of negative plays, as Wisconsin struggled to generate sacks and tackles for loss, which worsened their third-down defense.
Now, with a number of personnel changes, will the Badgers’ run defense actually improve in 2025? Head coach Luke Fickell believes so.
“I’m not one that’s gonna sit here and overpromise. I think we’ve hopefully realized that over the last couple years,” Fickell chuckled on Monday. “But, I do feel like we are in a better place. And I mean that even structurally. Everybody wants to say and is going to say they want their guys to be aggressive, and I think that has a lot to do with it. But, it’s also about the things that you do on a consistent basis and the expectations you have for guys. I just feel like no matter what, up front is where it starts. And we have a lot more size. We have some more length, and to be honest with you, we have some more experience.
“Who’s to say how talented are they and do they have the ability to get up the field? Do they have the ability to make [plays]? When you’ve got some more size and you’ve got some more length and you’ve got incredible experience, I think it gives you a better chance for us to have confidence to be able to be more aggressive with them as opposed to concerned about, ‘hey, well, the quarterback is a threat.’
“I mean, yes, it is, but there’s a balance to what you’re doing and how you do it. And I think for anything over the last 30-some practices, there’s been a confidence built in allowing those guys to be more aggressive, but now they’ve got to go out and do it.”
It will ultimately all come down to how the team performs on Saturdays, which was below expectations in 2024. But, Fickell believes the defensive line group is now the most competitive on the roster, and will likely determine how the season goes along.
“I do [feel pretty strongly about that group],” Fickell continued. “I don’t know that I would substitute or say, ‘hey, what would you like to have different in that group?’ I mean, that is the most competitive group, I think, on our team. Have they proven everything? No. I probably said this. I don’t know if I said it publicly, but I think that group in particular has a bigger indication on how we really do this year than just about any other group. Just because the dynamics of those guys and, can they create, can they make some things happen?”
If Wisconsin is to have success in 2024, it’ll need a strong defense, which starts with the run. Getting bigger will help in that department, but it’ll also need more success rushing the passer, which hasn’t come since Nick Herbig was still playing for the Badgers.
We’ll get the first look at those groups this week when Wisconsin takes on Miami (OH) in the season opener, hoping to start the year on a high note.
