The cornerback room is full of talent and athleticism; the problem is that half the room is freshmen. Which means that at some point, they will be playing this season, there's really no way around it. Luke Fickell spoke about this exact reality recently with a sobering reminder that they are true freshmen and they are being thrown in the fire.
Cornerbacks coach Paul Haynes also addressed this fact in his conversation with the media. He loves what the true freshmen are bringing to the table and also admits that there will be mistakes made. Yet, it's what happens after those mistakes that will matter. Do they have the ability to learn from them, to grow, to have the mental fortitude not to let it beat them down?
4 of the 8 cornerbacks on the roster are freshmen
If Nyzier Fourqurean is unable to play this season (he's currently battling the NCAA on eligibility), that leaves seven listed cornerbacks on the roster, four of them are freshmen, three of those four are true freshmen. There's really no way around not playing them, especially now that Coach Haynes has told us a little about what the depth chart will look like for the Badgers.
Haynes said that Ricardo Hallman will be the primary corner, and Geimere Latimer will play the slot. The boundary corner will be a split between D'Yoni Hill and Omillio Agard (who's had a fantastic camp). Those are basically the top four corners. However, there will need to be times when either a fifth corner comes in, or a sub needs to be made for rest or even injury.
This means that the depth chart behind those four players will be Jahmare Washington (true freshman), Cairo Skanes (true freshman), and Jai'mier Scott (true freshman). So, they will be playing at times, and they will need to be ready.
"Those young corners have had a lot of fire under them, they have played a lot of ball, they have been there against the ones, they've been challenged a lot. They have been beat but they haven't batted an eye. It would make you nervous if you thought you were going in there to play with one of those true freshmen guys but they are getting battled tested. They are going to play this year..."Luke Fickell
Fickell goes on to say that in his mind, they won't be freshmen by the time week three or four rolls around because of how many reps and how battle-tested they will be. By that point, they will be practically sophomores.
Haynes said he's working to get the freshmen more reps than the older guys. He said he knows what he's getting, Ricardo Hallman and other veterans, so he needs to make the young guys work. He knows they will need to play. Ultimately, he's not worried about it because the ability and the physical traits are there; he is prepared to develop them into impressive corners.
"You like those young guys. They are all tall. They are all long. They are all rangy. "Paul Haynes
The sobering reality is that these true freshmen corners will play and the Badger coaching staff is doing their best to develop them quickly.