Wisconsin Football: Tale of the tape vs. South Florida
Defense
Wisconsin
Last year, the Wisconsin football defense was injured and inexperienced. Now, their defensive line is back to full strength and the secondary has a year of playing time under their belt. For the first time in a while, the linebackers are the most inexperienced position on the defense, but that doesn’t mean they will be down.
Chris Orr will take one of the starting spots, and he is far from inexperienced. He had the potential to be a starter in the past but an injury and a lot of talent at the position buried him. Zack Baun will be the lone returning “starter,” but Orr could be seen as a returning starter as well. Taking the other inside linebacker spot in Jack Sanborn, who saw some action on the field last year. The linebacker spot opposite Baun will be Izayah Green-May, who really impressed coaches during camp.
The secondary on this Wisconsin football team is still young, having three sophomores and a redshirt freshman back there. They will be led by safety Scott Nelson, who looked the part when he played last season.
South Florida
The Bulls’ defense will be looking to rebound from last season. They finished near the bottom in all of Division I in rushing defense. After losing some seniors like leading tackler Khalid McGee, the Bulls will be looking at players like Greg Reeves to step up and make some plays.
The secondary is the strength of this defense with veteran players like Mike Hampton. They also have cornerback K.J. Sails becoming eligible. He recently transferred from North Carolina. Sails was once a top Wisconsin football recruit before he committed to North Carolina. But if they can’t stop the run, their secondary won’t be much of a factor in games.