Wisconsin Football: Injury Report vs. Michigan Wolverines

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MADISON, WI – SEPTEMBER 08: Delane Hart-Johnson #2 of the New Mexico Lobos catches a pass for a touchdown in front of Faion Hicks #20 and T.J. Edwards #53 of the Wisconsin Badgers during the first half at Camp Randall Stadium on September 8, 2018 in Madison, Wisconsin. (Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images) /

CB Caesar Williams

Williams makes his second consecutive appearance on the injury report this season. It appears that Williams is still dealing with a leg injury that forced him to miss the entirety of the Nebraska game. He did not even suit up last week, causing me to worry that it is a good chance we may not see him this weekend as well.

I expect Madison Cone to take over some of Williams’ responsibilities if he is unable to play. Cone may need to play on the outside despite being played primarily in the slot this season. Cone has struggled at times so far this season. He was beaten on a play in the fourth quarter that eventually led to a touchdown against Nebraska. Cone has the physical tools to be an effective corner, he just needs to settle down and trust his ability.

CB Travian Blaylock

Blaylock makes another appearance on the injury report this week and will be out against Michigan. Blaylock has played primarily on special teams so far this season and is being looked at as both a safety and a corner by the coaching staff. He has good size at almost six feet tall, giving him potential at both positions. It will be up to Jim Leonhard to decide if he is a player that can stick with wide receivers on a consistent basis.

The extent of Blaylock’s injury has still not been reported. Blaylock is a candidate for a redshirt this season, so even if he is healthy we could have seen the last of Blaylock for the season.

CB Deron Harrell

Harrell finds himself on the injury report this week after suffering an “upper body” injury against Nebraska. He was forced to leave the game and was seen walking back to the locker room in the second quarter. Many are assuming that Harrell is dealing with some type of concussion, but the degree of the presumed concussion has not been reported. Harrell is currently listed as questionable, meaning that the training staff will take their time in evaluating Harrell’ status. It buys them a couple of days to see how Harrell is feeling and allows them to make a game-time decision rather than forcing one now.

The decision on whether or not Harrell plays will have a tremendous impact. Harrell is technically a co-starter at the cornerback position and has shown improvement over the course of the season. As we saw, the depth issues at the position had an impact last week against Nebraska.

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The availability of Harrell and/or Williams will be critical to the ability for Wisconsin to come out of Ann Arbor with a victory. Quality secondary play could give Wisconsin’s defense a chance to make some plays and keep Michigan off of the scoreboard. If Harrell is unable to go, expect true freshman Rachad Wildgoose Jr. to receive significant snaps at cornerback.