Just three months after the Badgers' disappointing 21-19 Rose Bowl loss to Texas Christian University, head coach Bret Bielema and his 2011 squad are already in their second week of spring practice.
While the Badgers return with a significant amount of talent on offense, defense and special teams, there will certainly be some important races—notably behind center—as UW works up to the spring scrimmage April 23, through summer conditioning and into fall workouts. Here's a look at how some of those races may shape up between now and Wisconsin's opener against UNLV.
Quarterback
Two years ago, few Badger fans would have expected Scott Tolzien to win a starting job, hold that job through two full seasons and turn in one of the most efficient years in school history en route to a Big Ten title. In fact, two years ago, much of Badger nation wanted to see how then-freshman Curt Phillips fared with his arm and his legs.
Today, coaches have yet to really see what Phillips possesses due to two knee surgeries. He will not take part in contact drills this spring, and redshirt sophomore Jon Budmayr will have every opportunity to win the job. The Woodstock, Ill. native saw sporadic action a year ago, performing mop-up duty at the end of three Badger blowouts.
Budmayr threw just 10 passes in 2010 but completed eight of them, including a 74 yard strike for a touchdown against Indiana.
Freshman Joe Brennan will also get work under center for Wisconsin through spring ball. The coaching staff likes his size and skill set, but the coaches also like Budmayr's grasp of the offense, mostly because this is his third spring in camp.
Defensive End
Wisconsin returns all of its defensive tackles from last season, meaning the interior should be difficult to run against. The biggest loss on defense clearly came when the dynamic end J.J. Watt decided to forego his senior year and jump to the NFL. Senior Louis Nzegwu will be looked to as an anchor of the unit. The Platteville. native started fast last year, but disappeared at times during the Big Ten slate, despite benefiting from the attention Watt garnered on the other side.
Junior David Gilbert will have the first crack at replacing Watt on the UW line. Gilbert played in all 13 games for the Badgers a year ago and registered 1.5 sacks and 21 tackles.
Bielema spoke highly of redshirt sophomore Pat Muldoon several times late in the season last year, and redshirt freshman Konrad Zagzebski figures to get some reps as well.
Tight End
Departed senior Lance Kendricks was not only the Badgers most reliable receiver in 2010, he also made a habit of delivering crushing blocks in the run game. None of Kendricks' potential replacements in the offense have his physicality, but there is certainly some offensive potential in this years' corp.
Redshirt sophomore Jacob Pedersen established himself as a threat over the second half of 2010 and should be the primary target among tight ends this year. Redshirt freshman Sherard Cadogan looked natural catching the ball during drills last year and has the potential to develop into a down-the-field target.
Competition for a few spots will heat up once all the incoming freshmen report for fall camp. In addition, senior wide receiver Nick Toon is out for all of spring camp as he recovers from offseason foot surgery.
The Badgers have 10 more practices before the April 23 Spring Game.
