Wisconsin Football: Five team weaknesses for 2018

Lack of defensive depth

Wisconsin will be able to field a competitive defense. I’m not concerned about that. Even with the open starting spots in all three levels of the defense, I’m confident the Badgers will be able to suffocate teams the way fans are used to.

The problems will arise when inevitable injuries or other adversities begin to surface. At cornerback, for example, the Badgers will be starting two underclassmen, likely Dontye Carriere-Williams and Madison Cone or Faion Hicks. The backups at corner will be backups for a reason. They may still be good football players, but not good enough to start. That’s not usually a red flag in Wisconsin’s system, but with how young the position group is, it could easily be one.

Simply put, I trust the staff to pick out quality starters, but the backups will mostly be made up of young and inexperienced players. If forced into significant playing time, they may have to learn on the fly. For a team that has hopes of winning a championship that spell trouble.

The defensive line is another major weak point. The nose tackle position solidly belongs to Olive Sagapolu, and redshirt freshman Kayden Lyles was just moved over to defense to play the position as well, but the rest of the line up front will be made up of guys seeing their first significant playing time with major snaps.

This could all be fine if the Badgers prove to be reloaded on defense yet again. Depth is a key in football though. Injuries happen and being able to trust the reserves to step in and play is what separates good teams from great teams. The Badgers have stars on defense to help keep things sharp so I’m not too worried about this one. Still, it’s something to keep an eye on.