While major roster turnover has left the Wisconsin Badgers with questions at multiple key positions, one position in which the Badgers seem to have a surplus of above-average talent is linebacker.
With Big Ten Linebacker of the Year and first-team All-American Joe Schobert’s departure to the NFL, redshirt sophomore T.J. Watt and senior Vince Biegel become the focal point of the outside corps.
Biegel opted to stay in Madison for his senior season instead of leaving early for the NFL, even after being a consensus third-team All-Big Ten Conference selection last year. Last season, Biegel played a large role in UW’s No. 1 scoring defense with 66 tackles, 14 tackles for loss and eight quarterback sacks. The TFL’s and sacks were second on the team to Schobert, Biegel’s tag-team partner on the outside. But with Schobert now in the NFL, Biegel will become more of a focus for opposing teams.
Filling the outside linebacker void left by Schobert will be T.J. Watt. Watt, the youngest brother of the best defensive football player in the NFL, J.J. Watt, certainly has the potential to become an elite defensive player at UW. Watt’s physicality at the point of attack is one of his strengths. He is 6-foot-5 and 243 pounds. Schobert, by comparison, was a mere 6-2 and 236 pounds. Throughout both spring and preseason practice, Watt and Biegel have become pretty much inseparable, constantly working with one another at practice to try and make the other better.
On the inside, the Badgers for now will be led by Holiday Bowl-Game hero Jack Cichy, as well as Chris Orr. Only one of these players is in the permanent starting lineup however, as the Badgers await the return of sophomore T.J. Edwards, who missed all of fall camp with a left foot fracture. Last season, Edwards started all 13 games at inside linebacker for the Badgers and led the team with 84 tackles. A stellar first season in Madison saw Edwards get awarded with both Freshman All-American and Big Ten All-Freshman honors. Early injury concerns, though, seem to present a question about whether Edwards will be able to produce at such a level.
Orr is likely the guy to replace him. That’s not necessarily a negative though, as the sophomore from DeSoto, Texas had six starts at inside linebacker last season. Orr logged a career-high 14 tackles, including 11 solo stops in only his third career game last year against Troy. Orr is the smallest linebacker of the group and was actually the least productive of the aforementioned trio as the season progressed last year. He is likely the guy to move to the bench when Edwards does return from his foot injury.
Junior Jack Cichy famously logged sacks on three consecutive plays in the second half of the Badgers’ win over USC in the 2015 Holiday Bowl en route to Defensive MVP Honors. His standout performance to close the season capped off an impactful first year for Cichy in which he played in all 13 games with four starts. Cichy finished last season with 60 tackles to rank fifth on the team. His eight tackles for loss and five sacks were also good enough for third among all UW players. Orr and Cichy seemed to have complementary scripts last season as Orr was by far the more productive player during the first half of the season, while Cichy was one of the best Badger defenders during the last half of the season.
Behind UW’s core five linebackers though is a group of unknowns. Freshman Zack Baun has potential at the outside linebacker spot, but it is unclear if he will be able to make a meaningful impact if either Biegel or Watt go down. Sophomore Ryan Connelly seems to be the fourth inside linebacker on the roster and will likely see some action early in the season as Edwards begins to return to the fold, but he too is rather unproven.
While some major roster turnover means Wisconsin’s defense might not be able to live up to its No. 2 ranking in total defense under former defensive coordinator Dave Aranda, the 2016 defense still looks poised to be an elite group nationally. Its production all starts with its stellar linebackers.
