Observations from the 2017 Wisconsin Badgers spring game

[Da-news-now]

The third spring football camp is now in the books under head coach Paul Chryst. It ended with the White squad (defense) beating the Cardinal squad (offense) 20-17 in an hour-long scrimmage.

Before that it was an hour of drills and team-orientated work. It all took place in front of a pretty darn good crowd for a Friday night in late April. Let’s just say it was hard to be entertained if you enjoyed good offense.

That’s because it took until the very last play of the running-clock scrimmage to get an offensive touchdown on the board. It came as early enrollee freshman quarterback Jack Coan hit a wide open Zander Neuville in the back of the end zone to make it 20-17.

Despite the lack of offensive firepower, there is plenty to have taken away from this game.

Here are our early observations after taking in practice and the scrimmage tonight.

Isaiah Loudermilk is a Beast


We’ve all heard the talk and reports out of spring camp about Loudermilk. Word on the street is that he was a noticeable difference maker in practice all spring long and that showed up in spades on Friday night.

Loudermilk ate the Badgers offensive line for dinner more than a few times over on the night. He lined up at all three defensive line positions, and if the drills included live pass rushing would’ve ended up with a handful of sacks at the very least.

When watching the quarterbacks in team passing drills and you see No. 97 having to let up to not actually come after the quarterback that is a problem for the offensive line. It’s also a really good sign for the 6-6, 277-pound redshirt freshman.

Chikwe Obasih’s injury has opened the door of opportunity and the good news is that Loudermilk showed 14 practices weren’t a fluke by being a pest to the offense all night long. He even ended up with two sacks when the quarterbacks were put in live situations during the scrimmage.

If one player is worthy of being on the hype train after spring football, Loudermilk should be at the top of the list on the defensive side of the ball.

Deep Passing Game Needs Work…


Wisconsin had one of the worst passing games in the nation last season. A lot of that had to do with the state of flux at quarterback. No such thing exists heading in to the 2017 season, as sophomore Alex Hornibrook has been named the starter.

But, throughout the no pass-rush at all portion of team drills the three quarterbacks in the rotation were not exactly setting the world on fire. Deep passes were the focus and it wasn’t good, as overthrows…underthrows…and plenty of throws in to coverage were the highlights of the deep passing game.

Receivers struggled to get free against the secondary for most of the team portion and in the one case a receiver was open, Cephus flat-out dropped a ball that can’t be dropped come the fall. Other than a wide open Zander Neuville touchdown to end the spring game, UW’s young quarterbacks have a long ways to go in the deep passing game.

…But the Secondary is Solid


On the flip side of the struggles of the passing game was the fact that secondary was all over the receivers down the field. Memories of getting torched in the Big Ten championship game come immediately flooding back.

The good news is that even without the likes of Sojourn Shelton and Leo Musso in the secondary anymore, this group is really freaking good. In fact, it may be the most overall athletic group of defensive backs we’ve seen.

Redshirt freshman safety Eric Burrell was adept at both the pass coverage and line of scrimmage play. He stuffed two running plays as they were bounced outside, while also ranging to break up some passes.

Meanwhile, this group could’ve had more than a handful of interceptions. Often times it was balls thrown in to double coverage and UW’s defensive backs knocking each other off the ball. If they are this ball-hawking in the fall, opposing offenses really aren’t going to enjoy their 60 minutes against UW’s defense.

But, we want to see this group in action against someone other than the Badgers’ second-string offense and freshman quarterbacks. At least Friday night’s performance was encouraging for the overall secondary group.

The post Observations from the 2017 Wisconsin Badgers spring game appeared first on A Wisconsin Badgers Site.

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[TW]

Jack Coan, QB? From the stats I've seen (I haven't watched the 1 hr scrimmage yet), he was pretty good. I wonder if he's going to be a red shirt freshman this year, or thrown into the mix. The word I've heard, still, without seeing the actual scrimmage, Hornibrook wasn't good past 7 yards.

I'm anxious to see Loudermilk's work. It sounds like he's become a one-man wrecking crew on the defensive line. If it's true, there's going to be a lot of teams forced to throw into the secondary, and I have a hunch our defense will be even better this year than it was last year.

 

[Mark87]

Jack Coan, QB? From the stats I've seen (I haven't watched the 1 hr scrimmage yet), he was pretty good. I wonder if he's going to be a red shirt freshman this year, or thrown into the mix. The word I've heard, still, without seeing the actual scrimmage, Hornibrook wasn't good past 7 yards.

I'm anxious to see Loudermilk's work. It sounds like he's become a one-man wrecking crew on the defensive line. If it's true, there's going to be a lot of teams forced to throw into the secondary, and I have a hunch our defense will be even better this year than it was last year.

Hard to say much about the QB's as a group when your WR are god awful... sloppy routes and bad hands. PC #1 issue before fall will be WR without a doubt. With that said not sure you can fully evaluate that defense vs this passing game. Kind of disappointed in what I saw.

 

[TW]

Good points Mark. I've since watched the scrimmage through, twice. Horrible routes, bad hands, inability to insinuate themselves between the ball and the defenders on them, and seeming to run like they were dragging a blocking sled behind them. It did make it difficult figuring out just how good the QBs were, or the defensive backs either.

What I did see though was quickness from the D-backs, and Coan did seem to throw the better passes. I have a hunch he's going to be in the mix as a starter, long before anyone thought possible. He moves well out of the pocket, and is by far the best passer we have, when on the move. That's a quality that works well with a predominantly running team.

RBs constantly getting the ball knocked out of their hands strikes me as something that isn't acceptable. In the spring drills, you should be impressing the coach, not making it look like you can't hang onto the rock.

I'm anxious to see how this team shakes out. Thinking about Orr & Cichy being back is pleasant. Those two are dynamic players who could have been key defenders last year. I'll have to admit, I'm already impressed with the defensive "potential." I think they could be even better than last year, because they have enormous depth, even in the secondary. The transfer kid, Nick Nelson, appears to be someone who's going to be an instant help on the field. I believe the Badgers were projecting him at safety, but wasn't he a CB prior to being a Badger? Curious about that one.

I believe the Badgers have removed themselves from the Malik Zaire speculation at QB. I'm thankful for that. I think it would send the wrong signal to the QBs we have in house.

This year could be the catalyst of turning the Badgers into a real national power house. This will be the year that Chryst's players, and coaches, will be running the show, and growing into the system. If they have a great season, it will play into recruiting for the future, and move them ahead even further. The trick is in getting enough guys pulled into the combine and drafted in 2018. If the number is high, 4 star recruits will see the Badgers as being a place to turn their careers into 5 star projections. I'd rather see "over-achievers" on a roster than under, like we see so often in SEC schools.

 

[packerbacker78]

My spring game observation.... feel alright about a #2 QB who ever ends up with it. Coan started slow,got better , Pryor made an awesome reception, Penniston will be great compliment to Fumigali. Madison Cone & Loudermilk made me feel good about the future on defense.

 

[WiscoSam]

My views and I don't post much but was at the spring game.

Between Peavy, Fumagalli and the reported ability of James and Shaw to catch the ball out of the backfield, UW is putting together the pieces of an improved passing game. I've also read good things about Neuville's development, Penniston looked good at times and Ingold is another decent receiving threat. Having so many guys who can really hurt a defense on check downs or designed screens will be huge for a power running team that sees a lot of loaded boxes and run blitzes. If Cephus, A.J. Taylor and/or Kendric Pryor can step up and become a reliable compliment to Peavy, and maybe someone who can stretch the field to take advantage of Hornibrook's ability to throw the deep ball, we could see a more potent offense than we have in a few years. Call it a hunch, but I also think the running game could be better (or at least more explosive) even with the loss of Clement and Dare. A solid 1A and 1B backed up by Deal and Brodner, and Jonathan Taylor is the incoming freshman I am most excited about. Not saying he'll play but I would not be surprised to hear his name during fall camp.

I'm really excited about this team, well beyond the normal irrational spring optimism I experience every year. Since 2011 we've had one dominant unit that, at times, had to carry the other. That's been the defense for the last three seasons. This may be the year the offense can beat teams on its own. Coming off 11 wins, UW has developing talent and, suddenly, great depth all over the field.

 

[TW]

Wisco - You could be right on the receivers, but the jury is still out. If you are right, and they can hang onto the ball, and get free, the Badgers should be one heckuva team. Especially since they're a solid rush team.

I agree on your assessment of the RBs it's a good crew, and there are some new guys in the mix, who could be dynamite down the road.

It is hard to get excited about an upcoming season based on spring practice. Yet, when you see some of the potential that's out there, it does make a person smile.

I think they're going to be pretty good, and one year down the road, challenging for a high national ranking.

 

[57packer]

I think ideally they would like to red-shirt Coan, but that will only happen if Lyles is competent enough to run the show if needed for parts of games. Chryst has named Hornibrook the starter and I think the only way that could change is if he gets hurt or implodes during fall camp. So in an ideal situation, you'd like to have the starter taking all the snaps all year with the back-up taking some mop-up snaps. Wasting a year of Coan taking back-up snaps would be unfortunate. Even if Hornibrook starts through to his senior year, if they can keep Coan red-shirted this year he'll still have 2 full years to start. Of course injuries could change things quickly.

I think RB could be a real strength for the next 2 seasons, especially if Taylor can add something to the mix.

Loudermilk's size and the hype has me thinking JJ Watt, though I know that is unfair.