Deepest Wisconsin RB depth chart in a long time, we talk Mellusi, Walker, Jones, Dupree and Acker!

deepest running back room since the white ball Gordon era let's talk about it you are locked on Badgers your daily podcast on the Wisconsin Badgers part of the locked on podcast Network your team every day what is going on Badger fans welcome to locked on Badgers your team every single day thank you so much for tuning in for being part of this journey for being part of this community this is part of the lockdown podcast Network and for all the every dayers that are here every single day thank you so so much for tuning in today's episode is brought to you by our boys over at game time download the game time app create an account use code locked on for $20 off your first purchase so I was I was doing kind of a thought experiment and and it was really kind of inspired by the running back depth chart and just how deep it is and I was starting to think when was the last time you had this many guys in the running back room that you felt confident could also play this year in some in some way shape or form this isn't like I feel confident that that this is not a lit litness test that I feel confident in every one of these players being a star this year but I feel confident in six of these guys playing this year if they had to if these guys had to step into a role I'd be like okay I I think let's let's roll with it and there's only seven scholarship running backs so I started thinking about it what percentage of play players on this roster do we feel comfortable playing right now and how does that look like when you break it out unit by unit and then historically for just like especially the running back position what does that look like and it got to me thinking this might be the deepest running back room we've had in a decade right you go back to those those ball white Gordon rooms that also had um maybe Derek wad in there then you start talking four or five deep you know they had um Lewis in there in that mix but there's rotation there's seven scholarship running backs in this roster and I feel pretty good that six of them could play this year and play at a at an at a level that's good enough that you're okay with them being on the field right that's 85% of the the running back dep chart that you're okay with so that's chz tywi akre yakel Dupri and and Jones and people will say well you can't count on the Freshman I'm telling you the coaches are like everyone you talk to it's unprompted Bickle said it we got to get those guys reps I mean he's he's saying it specifically and you know AER is going to play they're using him in goal line not goal lines Red Zone situations as a PowerBack he's gotten better and better y melly's look good he could absolutely step in there and play if you had to have him play and then you st the top two in chz and tawe that's six out of seven at that spot that I think could play this year again 85% of that depth chart you feel pretty good about that's that's depth and quality and numbers like it's not hyperboy man that room is really deep and it's not as good when I say deepest running back room since some of those early 2010ish type teams it's not as good as those rooms make no mistake there's not unless unless Jones or Dupri become Mega Stars there's you know those those rooms we're comparing to had Melvin Gordon they had Monty ball they had James White right those were special special rooms John clay was a special player um for that one year he had 1500 yards Big 10 offensive player of the year this I'm not saying this room is better but I think this room is deeper it's as deep as we've had that I can remember uh it's a real credit to the team it's a real credit to the coaching staff the recruiting staff you look at how this room was built It's a combination of guys from the Christ era and it's a combination of recruits save one plus plus a couple transfers in chz and tawe um it's really good it's really deep and the more I thought about him more I'm like this is this we got to talk about this because this is about as deep as I can remember at that spot and then I was like well let's go let's go position by position let's do this let's see what percentage of players at each position do we think could play a meaningful role this year and the performance not suffer again I have it I have it at 85% for the running back six out of seven scholarship players I think could play this year and be fine and by the way Grover Bardot a walk- on like that's a really good walk- on so that room is loaded to the gills um yeah really really good let's look at inside linebacker I have 83% here 83% of these guys five out of six I think could play a meaningful role this year that's Thomas Cheney Allegro Jan C Curtis only Landon gothier true freshman um and I should go back and say getting ITA is the only running back I didn't include in the we could really see him this year and we wouldn't see any type of drop off that's no knock to getting ATA the dude's a true freshman that's no lock to Landing gothier dude's a true freshman but again that linebacker room the inside linebacker room you're looking at tons of quality depth right Thomas uh Cheney Allegro jansy and ttic Curtis any one of those five guys that's five out of six at that spot any one of those Five Guys think could step up and and play and you're not going to see a huge drop now attack it's probably maybe on the outside looking in but I think he's going to get better and better as the season where on as he gets his his feet underneath him those two spots man running back and inside linebacker over 80% of the players at those those scholarship spots I think could play this year and play at a level that you're not going to see a dramatic drop off tons of depth there really really good job by the staff I highlight some of the depth that they built on this roster receiver I have it at 67% so I have as the guys who could play Bryson Pauling Anthony uh Henry um CJ Williams Brooks tretch and Kion Barry Johnson I think those seven could step in and you'd be okay um some of those people might push back on kimberry Johnson seeing him in practice a little bit with the 2D that he could play rotationally in spots I I really do think they could use him in certain situations get him in space use him across the middle uh using him out of the slot if they had to I think he'd be okay I think Henry would be okay right that's seven guys um four Hank con Anderson see Quincy Bros just because he hasn't really been able to get healthy Joseph Griffin and Nate white who just moved over there so again that's seven out of 11 spots there that I think you could look at and say I think that those players could step in and play and the team wouldn't be dramatically worse off um that's 67% there another spot where they've done a really good job of building depth receivers kind of like running back in that there's there's maybe not as much star power there but I think the depth has has gotten built up to a point where it's going to a stand rigers of the season and that's what that's what Big 10 football is that's what college football is you have to have depth you have to be able to withstand attrition you have to be able to take hits you have to dig into your two deep and your three deep all three of these spots running back inside linebacker and receiver I think there's enough depth there to to withstand a couple injuries and to make it through the season now no matter what you're going to be worse if you lose your best players out of those spots that's not what I'm saying but I am saying the dep in those spots is pretty good now we're going to take a quick break there come back we're going to talk about cornerback outside linebacker defense align how do we feel about the depth in those spots what percentage of players do we feel good about playing out of those roles that's coming up next on lockdown Badgers but first a quick break for our our boys our boys of the show over at game time listen game time is it you want tickets go to game time you want to entertain the misses um go to game time you want to treat your boys to a show a concert a theater man go to game time hook them up make them think that you're big spender you went all out when lowkey on the down low back back in back on the side you got a great deal you didn't spend a ton of money you earned a ton of brownie points the best tickets the biggest inventory the best selection of prices um any event you want it's all on game time like save money make it easier pick from the best inventory that's available and last minute deals Flash Deals so as that the event gets closer you actually save more money which means you don't have to plan ahead and if you're a non- planner like me that's kind of a great perk just go with the flow my wife hates it she's such a planner and I like I am chaotic Madness um at the end of it so she hates it that I'm not a planner but game time loves it that I'm not a big planner because you don't have to be a big planner with game time snake the tickets without the stress with Game Time download the game time app create an account use code locked on college for $20 off your first purchase terms do apply again create an account redeem code locked on college for $20 off okay let's keep going here let let's talk some more positions so quarterback how many quarterbacks do we feel could step in and this is kind of a numbers exercise this kind of thoughts exercise this is also just an exercise exercise of who do you feel confident in let me know in the chat in the comments like who do you feel confident from these different spots could step in and the team wouldn't would wouldn't suffer a big loss like there wouldn't be a dramatic Dro in play you wouldn't see other teams targeting these players right if you lose your starters it's going to be worse that's how it works but how many of these players do you feel okay stepping in and playing a role at quarterback these are the guys I'm okay with this year stepping in and playing a role being physical being able to compete Rico niser Duna Loi Delany Xavier Lucas and I kind of think Amari Snowden he's On The Fringe you could you could go either way I think with Amari Snowden depending on who you talk to maybe what role you envision what you've seen of him I think he could go out there and compete against bigger physical receivers and give you something um there were some issues in practice he got ran by a couple times but the skill set I think is interesting so I have seven and the guys wouldn't be fully sold on this year J Arnold Justin Taylor Jay Harper and alilio aard all younger players for the most part this no knock whatsoever Alia's deal with some injury stuff I think Taylor and Harper are just a little further behind haven't seen a ton of jayon Arnold really fast player that gives you 63% of that position that you feel pretty good about coming in and playing um you feel at least okay about coming in and playing again if you want to quibble maybe you want to wait and see with Xavier Lucas I'm telling you if you would if you ask him to come in and just play play tight coverage on a guy he's going to give you competitive reps there for the most part you could quibbl on Amari Snowden um curious where people go on that but yeah that's that's who I think in the quarterback room could come in and play right away outside linebacker so outside linebacker is interesting because I think just about everybody could uh but it's not a very deep spot right so I think the quality of depth at outside linebacker is really high but the quantity of depth at outside linebacker is not as high whereas cornerback the quantity of depth is is high and I think the quality of depth is high so outside linebacker I have it at 75% of that that group that I feel can come in and play and give you good minutes so that's Pas Whit Lowry Peterson lafaele and highberger now they got to be healthy right Herberger's hurt right now wht's hurt right now the two guys I'm kind of not sure on it's Sebastian cheeks who has just moved outside linebacker and he's looked pretty good in moments he's gotten a couple call outs so maybe you'd feel fine with him playing there if if you needed him and then Ernest Willer Jr the defens lineman they shift it outside linebacker I like I like the upside he was a big- time get I still kind of when I squint and look at him I feel like feels like a defense lineman and listen the coaches know him better than I do absolutely that goes without saying um but there's not a lot of extra depth outside linebacker you feel good about just about everybody in the room like Pas absolutely Lowry absolutely Peterson absolutely Aaron wit if he's healthy yeah absolutely there's four La F yeah absolutely highberger if he's healthy I think so um cheeks and Willer you can go either way but again that's a group that doesn't have a bunch of numbers but it does have a high quality ad depth I have that group at 75% that you feel good with coming in uh defensive line I have at 77% really I I think you feel okay if Will Hills is playing Elijah Hills McDonald um Thompson Jr Barton Lane uh Curt dis Neil and and I think Dylan Johnson that gives you seven I think are any of those players if any of players are out there in meaningful reps are you exceedingly worried Badger fans Elijah Hills Cade McDonald James Thompson Jr Ben Barton uh Curtis Lane Brandon or Curtis Neil Brandon Lane and Dylan Johnson that's 77% of that room that you feel okay about getting snaps um this is starting to hit on a theme as I was going through this I feel like the quality ad depth is really getting much stronger on this roster like the the talent on the peripheral the talent on the edges and the talent in the two deep I think is getting stronger I think it's getting better and now it's just numbers right now it's the numbers that need to get up in certain spots defensive line to me is one of those spots uh the two guys that I said I'm not sure this year it's uh Hank Weber true freshman again absolutely no no issues there freshman aren't supposed to come in and compete right away on the defensive line the offensive line heck they're not supposed to come in and compete anywhere right away really so that's that's no knock no trepidation he's got time and it's Jamal Howard I I don't know honestly it I don't think he flashed a ton in the week I was able to watch him talking to some other people I don't think he's flashed a ton I think he's a little further down so I have those two that are cting in the outside again it's a bit of a numbers game so I think the depth here is pretty good but the the Quant but the quantity could get a little bigger um if you look at numbers for scholarships and this is a bit of a side this this exercise we're doing but there's nine Wisconsin has nine scholarship defense linan right now Oregon has 12 uh Penn State has 11 Bama has 15 Wisconsin has nine and that's that's with I took uh Ernest Willer off that maybe he ends up moving back to defensive line and then there's a couple guys coming in this class right telok uh torren pedway so zavier upoko aaku so there's guys reinforcements coming but they have to rebuild that room in terms of numbers because when you compare Wisconsin from a scholarship number standpoint to other schools and it's a little tricky it's not apples to right because every school has different schemes every school has different numbers they want on the defensive line you know maybe a school's running a 43 or 34 or 335 or they're goingon to run more of a 24 five r i get that that being said I think you need more than nine scholarship defense alignment I I I just think you need 10 11 12 because you need those bodies not everybody's going to hit some players are going to get hurt some are going to rotate out some are going to transfer I think that's an area where Wisconsin needs to continue getting two to three every single cycle and then you're building it up to 12 to 15 right then you're building up those numbers so they started doing it they did it a little bit last cycle they're doing it this cycle it needs to continue happening but that's still an area where the numbers I would say aren't necessarily in Wisconsin's favor um but once again you feel good about the the quality ad Dept there right when you say I think 70 and to me it's 77% of those guys can play the only two guys and correct me if I'm wrong you tell me are you is anyone not confident if Elijah needs a couple reps if Brandon Lane needs a couple reps I I think they can all play a little bit um all right let's go to tight end next um this one's a 50 Center for me so there's six scholarship tight ends I think you feel okay this year if you see Riley no Kowski for sure tuer Ashcraft for sure and then Jackson mcon munana um mgan sorry I have to get that right at I mispronounced it originally the wrong time Jackson mcon M mcgan do you feel good with Jackson on the field um I swear to goodness I am not doing that on purpose it's like a mental block with name for me and I'm going to fix it uh obviously no ky's going to play ashraf's going to play they're going to use those guys on the edges they're going to use those guys in run blocking they're gonna use them as Outlets as well right those are players that you know Tucker Ashcraft May finish the season with eight catches riy no CI might get four or five something like that but they could be out of those 10 catches the two of them combin for it could be for like two or three first downs right so they'll be Outlet receivers they'll be blockers they'll be physical point of attack guys players that they'll run uh receivers screens behind those type of things those two are going to play and they're going to be solid in their roles depending on who you talk to is is Jackson going to play role this year I think he'll work his way into it we saw some flashes in practice towards the end um catching a couple touchdowns with the two deep you know with the twos but I think there's some flashes there where you can say okay maybe he'll play the guys I don't think you'd be comfortable seeing a ton from this year JTC Greaves former Chris player hasn't really flashed and then the two freshman right Rob Booker Grant St I thought St might be come in just cuz he's physically developed he's a really big kid good hands fourstar Prospect I thought he might come in and push a little bit more but it looks like he's probably still year out and again that's realistic that is the normal timeline for these guys so no concerns there I have that number at about 50% with the three main the the three guys and I'm going to include Jackson in that but let me know if you think he's going to play a role this year or not we're going to take a quick break for our friends of the show we're going to come back and talk offensive line uh we're going to talk safety we're going to talk a fer spots plus like Walk-Ons I think you should keep an eyee on that's coming up next on locked on Badgers but first a quick break for our friends of the show also a quick second that they say thank you thank you for tuning in thank you for watching thank you for being part of the community really really do appreciate y'all um it's absolutely incredible to be building this with you building it together so thank you so much for that all right let's talk safety let's go offensive line Let's offens Line because this is the one where we've talked a lot about the depth right how how good do we feel about this depth chart how worried are we I have it at 53% like again this is just me this is only my opinion let me know where you think I'm wrong on this these are the guys I think you feel comfortable with in some role this year um K kadono is the backup center Renfro Huber Nelson mullman Brunner Haywood I think you put Haywood in this list at this point originally you're not really excited to see a true freshman but he's got so many reps with the ones he's mostly held his own and then JP benchwall so that gives me eight um the players that you're a little worried about or aren't going to see a role right it's Barrett Nelson Lon Nelson obviously got hurt uh James Durant Colin cubberly Derrik Jensen Ryan Cory and Emerson Mandel couldn't Manzel play because they need him yeah he could but I don't think I don't think you necessarily want it right just because came from a high school that didn't really throw the ball uh more of an option team I think you want him to take a year so I I think there's qu this is one of those this is kind of the opposite of the outside linebacker room right it's kind of the opposite of maybe the defensive line room as well here you have quality of numbers but or quantity of numbers but at least for this year I don't think you have great quality ad depth and this is one of those areas where this could really come back to bite him this year and it's not it's not because they didn't try to address it right they brought Joey oaka in they obviously brought Nate Leon Nelson both transfer portal guys they brought five offensive lineman last class five offensive lineman this class um they were able to make sure Nelson came back like they definitely attacked this room but it's still light it's still light with experience um the young Talent is a year or two away from really becoming the best versions of themselves so again I think there's quality here I I think there's quantity here I mean but I think the quality for this year is a little lacking I have that at 53% let me know if you feel more comfortable than I do in guys like Nelson Durant cubberly Jensen Cory Mandel having to play a big role this year because that would change the equation let's go safeties safeties I have uh four out of six guys right so I have uh about 65% here I think you you're comfortable with camo Lau certainly Hunter wer certainly Preston zachman certainly Austin Brown Braden Moore I have is not quite yet and Rafael Dunn I have is not quite yet maybe you could convince me on Braden Moore and then that number gets into the 80 percentile because then five out of six can play but I don't think they're going to necessarily need more safeties and lowkey Owen Arnette who is a a preferred walk-on safety number 18 he's really good like for especially for walk-on but he's a good player regardless dropped the walk on nomenclature he's just a good solid football player in the back end so that gives you five safeties there I have a feeling that you would see Owen Arnette before Braden Moore probably and Rafael Dunn is just a big ball of clay uh it's not going to be this year for him but there is a ton of upside length and athleticism uh with that guy so file that one away but in the future that's definitely a player that could you could look out for I wanted to hit on a couple preferred Walk-Ons that I think are interesting guys that add to the depth and spots and then we might not get those anymore right the preferred Walk-Ons now that they're bumping it up to 120 scholarship aren jeez they're they're adding 20 scholarships um that it might realistically be kind of the end of the walkon era but there's some good ones on this roster we highlighted Garrison solid the other day inside linebacker out of Minnesota he's a Richard Jr he had a really good practice in the night scrimmage last one in Platville really really good practice so I'm interested to see he I think he gives you some depth right uh Lon nordgard I thought has had a really good kind of practice kind of fall Camp from what I've seen as a true freshman walkon there's a receiver there to foul kind of in the back of your head and just keep your eyes on Owen Arnett I mentioned gr overboard a Lotti so a couple a couple um for Walk-Ons that just I would just you know file away in the back of the brain good definitely good depth pieces increases quality competition increases the depth um and honestly they bring heart they they're culture guys and that stuff really freaking matters so yeah that's the show I I thought it was interesting let me know if you think there's players that I don't think would could maybe step in seamlessly this year that you think could or vice versa my rough numbers again I think about 83% 85% of the running backs could play 83% of the inside linebackers 67% of the receivers you know Quincy burough if he was healthy would flip up into that could play this year role now would change the equation um let's see quarterbacks at 63% outside linebackers 75% but not a lot of bodies defens line 77% but again not a lot of bodies um safety I have about 50 about 65% tight end 50% and offensive line 53% and it goes back to that depth question on the offens line thank you so much for tuning in some really fun interviews coming up this week so make sure to check that out when you're done here go check out lockon college football 247 stream of the best college football news and know what's going on in the college football world you're not going to want to miss it that's on the lockdown podcast Network