The challenge this offseason has been figuring out the position battles and the depth chart. There's enough talent now that it's not easy to determine on paper. There is a lot of speculation at plenty of positions, and one way is watching who's getting reps at the ones in fall camp. Yet, often those can be rotating players, so that's not foolproof, and that only works for media members. Fans have to wait to hear it from those with a press pass.
The other way is listening to how the players talk about camp. Mason Posa revealed that the starting linebackers are essentially him, Cooper Catalano, and Jon Jon Kamara, with Thomas Heiberger as a rotational player. He described "Tommy" as pushing him and Catalano. Yet, he also revealed another big position battle... the boundary corner spot.
Posa was answering a question about the athleticism on the defense this year as compared to last year, and he said, "I feel like everywhere we're really athletic, you know, especially in the secondary, J-Rob, Marvin...and the three DBs are battling right now for the boundary corner, Cai, Jai'mier, and Eric. Like, I feel like we're a lot more athletic out there and just a lot faster too."
The main answer is not all that exciting; of course, the team is more athletic this year than last year, Wisconsin spent a bunch more money in the portal, and the roster (on paper) looks a lot better. Yet, the aside about the position battle at the boundary corner is what caught the ear.
Wisconsin has a three-way position battle for the boundary corner
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For that's a position group that hasn't fully been figured out. Javan Robinson is an obvious starter, but then who? According to Posa, it's redshirt sophomore and transfer from Florida State, Cai Bates; redshirt freshman and former 4-star recruit, Jai'mier Scott; and Eric Fletcher, a redshirt sophomore who transferred from Oklahoma State.
That's quite the battle with a lot of young talent fighting for that spot. It also reveals that Bryce West is probably the nickel. If we flip back to the prediction before fall camp, it was pretty close. The original projection was Javan Robinson, Bryce West, and Cai Bates as the three starters. Which Cai is in the mix for that final spot.
Yet, early reports have some things to say about Scott, and he's really been turning some heads. So it could very well be Robinson, West, and Scott as the three starters for Luke Fickell's defensive backs. Scott was a 4-star recruit out of high school and showed a lot of promise in the spring. Yet, he redshirted last year, which makes it hard to project.
Either way, Posa's answer to a question about athleticism may have helped us understand exactly how the defensive backs look and where the position battle remains. Keep an eye on who emerges from that spot; the competition seems to be tight.
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