The Wisconsin Badgers have fully wrapped up media access to fall camp, and they move into practices behind closed doors. As they prepare to take on Notre Dame in Week 1, this is a necessary step and a normal one that is happening around college football. Luke Fickell met with the media and opened up about all sorts of things related to the team and camp. One group continued to come up for him, and he's most impressed with the defensive line unit.
He admitted that the interior defensive line unit was a group that he had questions about coming into spring, but throughout spring and now into fall, the unit has emerged as a strength for Wisconsin football. Fickell is impressed, "I think that's the group that, you know, defensively in particular has, you know, for me has stood out in a lot of different ways."
It helps that it's probably one of the oldest position groups on the roster. The unit consists of only two true freshmen (Arthur Scott III and Djidjou Bah) and one sophomore (Xavier Ukponu). It's also probably the heaviest group, with only two players listed as less than 300 pounds (Djidjou Bah and DeNigel Cooper).
Wisconsin has a very experienced defensive line and they are all big and strong too
Related: Final Wisconsin football depth chart projection ahead of Week 1 versus Notre Dame
It's a big boy room with a ton of veterans, and the group leading the way is mostly seniors or even fifth-years. Hammond Russell IV, Charles Perkins, and Junior Poyser are the projected starters on the depth chart, and they are listed as two fifth-years and a senior. The guys behind them in the depth chart aren't young either.
Even Nolan Vils, a senior who hasn't seen a ton of action, made a highlight-reel play in the scrimmage today that was later posted on social media. It's a group that could cause a lot of trouble for Wisconsin's opponents. "Through the first few games, I don't know how much they'll hear their name," Fickel said, "I don't know. But I can tell you this, that I think it's a really solid group."
Fickell described the unit as nine guys deep. "I'm not saying it's a complete strength just yet, but I think that our ability to play with nine guys up there is going to give us the chance to wear some people down."
Wisconsin only has 10 guys listed as interior defensive line. Which means he basically plans to use all of them except one. Knowing how Fickell doesn't love throwing freshmen into the fire on either the offensive or defensive line makes you think it's a freshman, and considering that Bah is also under 300 pounds, it may be him. Give him another year to get big, strong, and develop.
That's beside the point; the point is that the depth is deep, and Wisconsin plans to wear offensive linemen down with a rotation of interior linemen that will unleash chaos in the backfield. For Fickell, he's happy to see the growth: "And so, one of those things that went in as a question mark in fall camp. I'm coming out almost at a point now where I feel really good about where we are up front there."
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