Badger of Honor chooses and MVP for the Badger football secondary for the 2017 regular season.
The Badger football secondary was one of the more experienced units on the entire team this season. You had senior CB Derrick Tindal, senior S Joe Ferguson, S safety Natrell Jamerson, junior D’Cota Dixon, and junior Nick Nelson.
The only true freshman to see significant action was Dontye Carriere-Williams. So we had plenty of good veteran candidates to choose from for our Wisconsin secondary MVP.
I was tempted to go with Natrell Jamerson given his versatility as both a boundary CB and a S. But there really was only one obvious name to pick.
Related Story: Wisconsin Football Breakout Candidate Nick Nelson
Hawaii transfer Nick Nelson is the clear MVP to my eyes. He added physicality to the CB position given his bigger height and weight metrics. He is listed at 208 pounds, while first year player Carriere-Williams is next heaviest at 192 pounds.
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But what separated Nelson is his ball skills. For the season, Nelson recorded 20 of Wisconsin’s 68 pass breakups. The next highest total on the team belonged to Jamerson with 10.
He didn’t record an interception which I attribute to a few factors. Nelson broke up lots of passes but dropped a few interceptions.
In addition, he was such a strong cover corner opposing QBs weren’t testing him as often. Although they still threw his way too often.
Instead, opposing QBs found limited but still more success targeting Carriere-Williams and Tindal.
We still don’t know if Nelson is returning. There were mixed reports this week. But the latest from Nelson himself is no decision has been made.
I have not made any decisions on my future. I am currently focused on this upcoming Orange Bowl. Please stop trying to write my story for me ❗️ 💯 #OnWisconsin
— Nick Nelson (@Nickcityy) December 5, 2017
But given the other losses at the position, getting him back in Madison for a second and final season is critical to keeping the Wisconsin defense elite. Having even just one shutdown type CB allows so much flexibility to your defensive coordinator. You can lock up one side of the field freeing extra guys for coverage or pass rushing.