What we THINK we know about the Wisconsin Badgers football team

[Music] welcome in welcome in it's uh talking Badgers and we got a pack show for you tonight uh if you've been paying attention to the poll for the Wisconsin football program lately uh you know there's a lot of excitement on the air or in the air and I've got the badger notes after dark crew with me to dive deep into I bad your fan should be hopeful for the 2024 season uh now not let's not waste the blessing here folks if you're here you're not just a casual Observer uh you're part of this Twisted little Community we've built uh so go ahead and share the show with a friend or two because we got plenty of good stuff coming your way uh and make sure to stick around because later on tonight we're going to be giving away tickets to the season opener and uh you have to find out how to enter uh on tonight's show uh we're going to be starting with the quarterback competition it's one of the biggest talking points of the offseason for the Badgers and uh tonight we're going to break down what separated Tyler van dijk from Braden lock in just a few minutes uh then we're going to get into the running back room a position that's always been the heart and soul Wisconsin football team uh this year's no different uh but here's the thing the depth is going to play a massive role in how we compete this season uh we'll talk about who stepping up why this group might be better than it was in 2023 uh then we're gonna hit on the offensive line depth and uh finally coup is GNA tell us what he thinks he knows about this defense before we discuss the week one betting lines how we doing here fellas it's good to be back we're always good to be back so back Ryan uh going to t one up for you here right away uh let's talk quarterback competition obviously I was do uh transfer quarterback Tyler van dijk out of Miami and uh Braden Braden lock Tyler van dijk was named the starter um why ultimately do you think that Wisconsin ended up making that decision and then do you think there will be any long-term implications because of that decision no I think they made that decision because he's clearly the better player um for those that joined Badger notes after dark in our uh previous season you know I was a huge Lulu lock Stan uh thinking he was he was going to be the next guy um yeah I I saw one practice and I I was gravely mistaken um Lulu is still good Braden Tyler van djk is a different kind of animal like seeing him step stand next to him I said I was thinking to and I mean this respectfully of course I saw him standing next to each other in the quarterback line I said oh who's Tyler van DJ's little brother there did he come to practice today this this cat is enormous and I think the reason why he's not only the starter is he not only us to bring the leadership the physicality the size at the quarterback position he was hucking this thing in some tight windows and I was like okay that's that's kind of what he's known for like he's he's a good man manman thrower but what is Miami always Miami fans always criticize him for is he oh he can't read his own he can't do this now understandably it was nine on seven or seven on seven or scripted and there wasn't a rush and he's not getting hit I he was eating our defense alive in zone coverage they kept dropping they were going cover three cover one different cloud coverages like and I'm not trying to sound like a brainiac but it's like you play college football a couple times you think you're an expert now especially at the varsity level like I am um but he was eating this apart they were dropping different guys like uh wer and other guys were like dropping into zones and he was picking it apart I think at one point they were he was like 10 for or hit like 10 in a row and it's like I understand again that it's it's not the regular season and when real bullets are flying it could be different but I am so intrigued by what he can bring because like even when he would pull it down and run it it just looks different but to to the second part of the question I don't know if it necessarily jeopardizes anything in the future because I think it all depends on the handling of it and always keeping it a meritocracy now I think kind of what you're you're alluding to is like with Bren Lock's little brother Landon lock in the the recruiting class is Braden not winning it going to be an issue for Landon but I don't think it is because not only do they both want to play for Longo in this system they both understand football is a meritocracy and as much as Braden may be disappointed he didn't win the job me just a a talking stooge could see after just one single practice okay that just looks a lot different so I think after the hard feelings kind of go away they kind of know what it is and Braden still could be a good guy down the line he he could grow and develop more and his brother could come here and it'd be cool to see two brothers like the Ruchi brothers and the Nelson brothers and all the guys that we have the root um and what was it there's we got a lot of brothers um so I think that'd be kind of cool yeah I I think that Wisconsin gave Braden a legitimate chance to win the job so I think for that you know they've remained open throughout the process I think they were pretty honest about it gave them a fair shot and you know and then they ultimately made the announcement so I I I don't think you can say that he wasn't given an honest path um you know towards winning the job I I I think I think that it it's its potential is like a really big thing in this storyline too is like Tyler van djk was pretty good as a freshman and and his size like what what success has Longo had with quarterbacks like we went back to the old Miss days like he had Jordan TAMU he had Shay Patterson like he had pretty big quarterbacks and like Tyler van djk fits that mold like the Drake May mold being 6'4 200 plus pounds like he fits that mold uh we went back and looked too because we've talked about this a few times in our group chat like he hasn't rushed the ball he didn't run the ball at all at Miami but that's like an element that I think Wisconsin is going to expose for him quite a bit more like I think he's a little more mobile than than BR lock is and I think he's a lot more mobile than he's shown on film at Miami and I think that's an element of his game that is gonna help Propel the offense and then like you said Ryan the size thing like he's just so much bigger than I 4 inches may not seem like a lot but some people tell me that it's a lot uh and I think he's he's gonna be a dog this year I'm all in after literally Ryan you said it in group chat you watched one practice you thought it went I went six to midnight I went just I'm so excited for Tyler Van Dyke I'm all in on him I'm I'm excited to see what he can do when he's protected by a good offensive line and not Miami yeah I mean what everyone else said um I think the biggest thing with him is we're GNA see a lot more shots downfield this year gota that dude's got a [ __ ] rocket of an arm so I think that's going to be a huge thing just kind of open up the offense um other than that I don't have much to add like that's my big thing is just I think the Deep shots are G and he's not going to give a [ __ ] if he throws six or seven interceptions on 20 plus yard throws like he's gonna make those throws and sometimes you need that in an offense so I'm excited for it um love Braden lock selfishly I wanted him to be the guy but I get it I mean Van Dyke like you guys talked about prototypical size also are paying him quite a bit of money whether you want to say it or not that factors in so know I'm excited yeah I hope it doesn't happen but I think we're also gonna I wouldn't doubt that we still see BR lock at some point in the year yeah I mean if you look 10 out of the last 12 Seasons Wisconson has at some point needed to lean on their backup quarterback to play meaningful snaps and so I think that you know those are the layers to this right I mean Tyler van djk he's the bigger arm he's the ceiling razor probably the biggest thing that has stood out to me you know as you alluded to is the fact how much more mobile he is than we thought he would be I mean obviously he's transformed his body with Brady Collins the time he's been here um you know at Camp down in Platville there was a a play where he had like a perfect read um you know he kept it went for it would have been at least a 60 yard run you know but it was a Scamper where he he he's going to keep defenses honest and and that's all the more that you could ask for um you know from your quarterback so he's the ceiling Razer the Big Arm he's got the experience he's improved mobility and you know by all accounts by the way that Luke fickle and them are talking about him he's been a good leader since he's gotten here and so I I I feel better about Tyler van djk today than I did uh back in Spring I mean yeah the ceiling is the roof dude I mean you you nailed it on the head that's that's pretty much it um so I'd like to move on then and uh to the running back room where I've got a take and I want to tell you guys to tell me where I'm wrong I think that entering the 20124 season that the Badgers running back room is going to be better than it was last year now I'm not suggesting that you you know shed a guy like brayan Allen and all of a sudden you're better talent wise because I don't think that's exactly what I'm claiming here but I think there is an argument to be made that the Badgers currently have six running backs that you could argue are deserving of snaps or at least like that they could play some kind of role or you could understand the thought process as to why they would be being worked in you know chz Maly you know what you have with him he he's back he's healthy he's confident he's running well tell we Walker I Toby Walker is someone who you know quite frankly I think might be the team best running back you know I think they're going to take the ball of the carries but Jackson AER is going to play he's going to be an HB he's going to be short yardage I mean he's probably their best pass blocking back you have two freshmen and Dylan Jones Darion de PRI who work their way up the depth chart they're not red shirting um they're too talented and in today's portal era I don't think you can afford to sit them I think the guy who gets the short end of the stick is going to be K yelli although I I think he has looked the part at the very least am I off my rock ER in saying that Wisconsin's running back room is better this year and I I'll be honest I think by a large margin than it was a year ago no I think the skill set we have in the running back room fits the offense a lot better this year whereas Allen like obviously great player he's in the NFL was he a fourth round a conditional fourth round draft pick um but yeah just I think the talent we have fits the scheme better and like okay maybe Allen is technically more talented better than all of the running backs we have but for what we're trying to do like these are the right guys uh especially I think TW Walker is going to be an absolute [ __ ] monster this year um catch out of the backfield Really Gonna help with chz and I know we said it last year too but like you got to limit chess's carries with his injury history and twe Walker is the perfect guy to do it and he can catch and not that he's a scat back by any means but twe going he gonna put the shoulder down dude he's gonna let you know he's there yeah dud dude's got like that Doug Martin build during media availability standing next to him dude was just a Muscle Hamster uh yeah he's gonna fall forward that much I know and I think the two freshman could make some big plays even just like the receiving game if they spell one of the running backs on you know third Downs or something like that or if we get back to our old ways and run some jet sweeps I think that I think that fits I know Jay do do you think Wisconsin gets the opportunity to do that with a Daran depri somebody who has the versatility to move out you know into the slot be a pass catcher can they can they work him in in a role like that where you bring him in on you know a couple of those jet sweeps and rounds just a guy who gives a little something different it would benefit them like you have to like you have to get your Playmakers the ball that is the grand scheme of an offense like and I no pretty much no notes 100% agree with what cop said like if scheme matters scheme matters 100% we said last year I maybe maybe it was just me being crazy chz was a better fit last year than brayan Allen was that offense was significantly better when chz was on the field in comparison to when it was only Bray and on were they still super Dynamic with Bray on absolutely yeah they were but when it was only bril Allen that was the only option they weren't as much now they have a year under their belts they're they've recruited guys who fit this scheme they know what they want to do and they got like you said Dylan six deep now that can do what they want to do not just being power running backs not just being scat backs they got guys who can do it all and it's it's GNA be really exciting to see how they use them but they need to get them the ball I I I couldn't agree more and I mean let let's look back to last year two of the biggest injuries the Badgers suffered that you know in a lot of ways created their season was the loss of Tanner morai the loss of chz malusi obviously there's no way to plan for losing your starting quarterback and one of your top Playmakers but those are two spots that this coaching staff went out addressed at a depth and I think you know they're in a better spot at quarterback even if it's still Braden lock is the backup I think he's he's come a long way and then you have a lot of options if you were to lose somebody again in the running back room I think you have far more legitimate options that you could turn to um you know without completely skipping a beat I think Lucy and Walker are for sure the top two options but I I think there are a lot of other people in this room that can can contribute yeah I think that's exactly right too like if you just look at simple math Six is more than three uh we have six legitimate options and I know it's hard to say a freshman who haven't taken a snap that they're a legitimate option but you see them in Fall camp and you say okay the these these cats long and I think you look at it last year without chz you had a couple games where where brillin was nicked up like you literally only had what was it two scholarship running backs I mean I guess we had Nate white on scholarship but you had two scholarship running backs that you could roll out there against Indiana and uh was it Indiana and Northwestern Indiana and Illinois it's either way it didn't end well so I think having like no one I don't think any of us would argue that any of these pound for pound are better than brillan Allen as a as a football player but I think what everyone's already said is the scheme issue it's like I would take chz 100 times out of a 100 in a fil Longo air raid because not only have we seen it it's like that's that kind of skill set translates and then you look at the the two that are very much like chz and Dylan Jones and Daren Dupri you you you have you have the old dog and now you got the young pups that are cut from the same lineage like they know how to run the ball they know how to run the system and don't even get me and coup started on on tywi Walker the big dog big dog yeah I haven't seen him in in person to till D he is built like a fire hydrant and every time I see him I'm just like how is anyone going to tackle this guy you watch one-on-one drills you watch seven on seven even in pass protection this dude has absolutely zero fear and it's like that's kind of what we need like too often last year I mean I guess we could say for the last couple years as good as brillan was how many times do we say oh it just seems like he's indecisive like he he doesn't know how to pick a hole or the offensive line isn't creating what he needs tywi is a one cut and go like if there's a person in the hole you better buckle up your chin strap because he's not finding another hole you and him are going to see whose hole it is and I and I think that kind of and I think that kind of like mentality and that physicality from the run from the runbacks is going to prove dividends this year it's like and then you to to the point of last year when you look at like Kade and Jackson like those are like the really only times in their career they've had those extended stretches so the fact that you got guys that have legitimate experience that played at Big 10 football as your number like four five six option I I don't see how you could look at it and say the room is not better no I'm just from a from a depth perspective it just 100% is better yeah yeah overall Talent ability I'm just envisioning TW Walker now running someone over on like a two ISO and being like welcome to my [Laughter] hole meet me in the AAP big dog did this is my ho big get you bro we'll talk about offensive line later but if if Ren with Renfro back and Huber up there you should be able to create some big gaping holes up there in the two Gap always the smoothest transitions uh why don't we talk about why don't we talk a little uh offensive line in uh J going to be throwing this one over to you little buy or sell should we be buying or selling that the offensive line depth is a problem entering the season I would say I buy that I I think I think we have five maybe six good guys and then I if we if we have any injuries I think that there's a real concern on the offensive line like where where do we go it's going to be a lot of young guys that come in that are kind of in that two three deep that I just you just don't know what you're going to get and I think college football we've all seen is is a different dog than high school football and expecting an 18y old kid or a 19y old kid to come in and perform against now what we've seen to be 22 23 year old guys and just defensive line is just a whole different dog like Brian loves to say there's levels to this like there's levels to the defensive line and the offensive line you're getting grown men going against high school kids pretty much and on top of it Wisconsin's going to be playing four of the of four top 10 uh rated defenses like entering the season so it's not like you know we we've made we've talked about this schedule enough like it's incredibly difficult but like we're going to be seeing some Elite defenses so it would be a big ask you know for someone to to step back in there absolutely I I think it I think you'd be silly to not be concerned about about the depth of the offensive line because like I mean I I bet you could count on one hand teams who have started you know the same offensive line starts game one as the same offensive line that starts you know Game 12 or 13 like that just doesn't happen that often in college football in high school football and pro football so expecting that to happen this year for the Badgers is is unlikely so like what're I it's everyone should be concerned obviously yeah I I think that the starting five is really good right I mean I I think you coup I already know how you're gonna probably feel about Jack Nelson but I think he's gonna have a tremendous year I think Joe Brunner is a probably a large upgrade over what ferney was as an outgoing guy um you know Jake Renfro is somebody who they brought in last offseason to be the starting center and obviously bordini had to play an unnatural position which ironically enough he might be sticking at in the NFL yeah you know but but Jake Renfro you know looks looks the part right now I mean Joe Huber is probably one of the more versatile guys in the on the offensive line and we know what Riley mullman brings like I I think those five are great JP benaw probably definitely gonna be your six on the interior um you know quite frankly I think almost regardless if an injury occurred he might be the next man in and one of the guards might kick out to tackle if that's what it came to um you know Barrett Nelson missed a lot of the spring um chunk of the Fall as well but you know he's listed on the two deep behind his brother Jack um you know Kevin Haywood is probably maybe the guy after that but uh yeah I mean this this is where the transfer portal hurts right I mean you have guys who are capable of probably playing meaningful snaps elsewhere and that's where they're gonna be playing their football this year and so it's forced the staff to uh get a lot of freshman ready in a hurry yeah I think the depths is going to be amount for Success like the more you test that depth the worse your your season outcome is going to be and I don't think that has anything to do with the ability of like Kevin Haywood or those guys but I don't think that the the fallof is going to be as much like yes true freshman don't have the experience of a red shirt senior no doubt but I think part of it too is like I've been kind of like workshopping this idea that why don't freshman tackles or freshman offense of line play like yes there's you obviously you can point to like the strength and conditioning programs but when you look at like grown men like Kevin Haywood like I feel like a lot of times if you if you have the physical size and you have the physicality I think the thing that slows you down is like the mental side like knowing protections knowing slides knowing all those different things because it's like you look at someone that is just as highly rated as Kevin Haywood and you look at someone like Kaden Proctor he started as a true freshman in the SEC at Alabama so I mean it's is it few and far between yes but it's not completely unheard of but I think that that kind of lends itself to the first two games I don't know how they're going to want to do it like we'll get into predictions and betting lines and stuff later but I think there's two distinct paths you can go with with with this season I think you're either going to have to like platoon guys early in those games and then sacrifice the score a little bit to like get them reps or you need to ensure a blowout but of Western Michigan and South Dakota by the third quarter to get these guys meaningful reps because because like Jay said you're not going to get through a season with this five like we we love this five we think this is a great five I would put my mortgage payment on WE this isn't going to be the same five at the end of the year it's just statistically it's not going to happen so you got to get those guys reps you don't want Kevin Haywood trying to deal with Alabama Edge rushers because somebody gets nicked against South Dakota because they got rolled up on when tywi just smashes somebody and calls his hole you know what I mean so it's like you want to get meaningful reps so they're not forced to go out there with game on the line program Tyler van djk back there you get him hurt now the whole se you know it's cascading failures as our boy kid says yeah you're gonna you're gonna need a lot of dogs to against Alabama regardless and obviously nobody's trying to look forward you know look ahead to those games but like like you kind of alluded to Ryan like you need they need to be have success early against the their first few games against South Dakota against Western Michigan because they need to get guys reps like whether that be the ones the twos it doesn't matter they need to get a lot of guys reps in those games because they're gonna need they're gonna need a lot of guys on the you You' got those four games to preserve that red shirt so like I you're 100% right like you'd be foolish not to to find them some you know when when applicable obviously Buffalo last year wasn't the out that we were hoping but like you know and we'll get into it these are the games where you need to execute so that you can make that happen because this is also a very veteran offensive line and there's going to be a lot of spots open next year so you'd like to see some guys you feel comfortable stepping yeah this is probably a conversation for another day uh but before c goes do do we need to preserve red shirts I know you had brought that up and like I said that could be a conversation for another day but in 2024 I don't think we should be playing the red shirt game anymore because at the end the day like if you got dudes like we think with like Kevin Haywood and Xavier Lucas and those guys they're staying three years whether they play this year or not they're either going to get two years of film or three years of film that's the program they want to be yeah I'm not too worried about it play them six games if they need to because I don't know CPE what do you think I mean with the transfer portal like it doesn't really matter does it like every season got you got you got to treat every season like it's your last yeah you're re-recruiting your roster every year every year yeah I mean as far as the o line depth I I mean I I love our first five um I think Haywood would start on a lot of other teams not named wi the Wisconsin Badgers agreed say what you will about Jack Nelson not as biggest fan after last season but lot of pedigree I mean he's an NFL prospect um I think M's a very very underrated right tackle a mid mid maybe mid late round right now NFL prospect so you got Haywood at 68 325 as a freshman sitting behind those two um who was a preseason All-American for the Freshman I believe right Y correct yeah so I absolutely love that I think I mean I get Ben schwall but but if one of the tackles gets hurt I mean obviously hey what's the next guy so to me he's our our sixth best lineman right now and he might even be better than that but we just won't get to see it because of who's ahead of him um but no I love our line for this year Renfro I think is going to be great obviously we kind of missed out on him last year um it's just and Dylan kind of alluded to it like the starters in our line this year senior sophomore senior senior red shirt Jr like we got a lot of veterans with a good season mman could go too you know like that could exactly you could be replacing four so that's what concerns me is I mean besides Ben schwall and Haywood like what do we really have on our second team when it comes to offensive line and I know we got I know we got some freshman who are probably on the third string or might red shirt we're pretty like high pedigree guys I know we got some decent recruits coming in but still like you just never know with the offensive line it's such for freshman it's either you're a grown man or you got to wait a year or two to be a grown man like and that's no shade on anyone that's just it is what it is like when you you look at guys like Travis Frederick like who started right away like they don't build [ __ ] like that every day dude like that's a special breed and so to guys like that is a very daunting task so yeah the maybe the depth for like next year concerns me but I think our I think our first seven this year I'm confident in like like to hear the optimism I I can I probably needed uh needed a little bit of that if Ben and hay would have to play I'm not concerned like and hey would I mean he's a true freshman you're going to have to just take what he can give you but I think I think he can play good enough if needed as a true freshman where he's not going to kill us all right top there's top 10 teams that I have freshman that need to play on their yeah line this year so that's fair that's a good point go before we pivot want to leave leave uh listeners with this if Jack Nelson comes out of the gates plays three consecutive strong games one of those coming against Alabama can he win you back over no okay okay moving on damn uh and uh I almost fit uh you know quick quick pause here and uh you know this you know we make a lot of jokes on this show but this one is uh gonna be that was a one um you know we're talking about Kaden's wish um and Kaden is granting life-changing wishes for uh you know children battling critical illness and uh you can be part of making the difference um so if you can find it in your heart um you know head on over to Cadence swish do.org check them out um Let's help make some dreams come true and uh you know just help out a good cause all right um we're back Coupe gonna give you the lead once again uh what do you think you know about this defense heading in to the 2024 season what do I think I know about this defense that their main objective is to hold the other offense to less points than we score every game that's what I know coops in season four with these analysis I'm just like it's like Magic Johnson's it's like Magic Johnson's Twitter account exactly those those are the things I know right now Dylan because I think this is going to be a whole new look defense compared to what we saw last year so what do you think you know about this defense um that our secondary is going to be [ __ ] awesome confirmed I think our linebacker core the speed we're going to see out of our linebackers is going to be something Badger fans haven't seen in maybe five six years since we've had like Borland yeah the Borland's the Watts of the world you know I mean think I mean like that right there look at you know this is no shade to Muma Jang meow who just made a 53 man roster today as a udfa but that was someone who ran you know a 49 and were're replacing that with you know a plethora of guys who are probably more like four six range and and move around and play in space so I I I think you know your point there like is is very one of our new inside linebackers has a necal so yeah that that matters we're just gonna throw that out there Shout Out J matters it does matter people we're gonna absolutely love Jem Thomas dude that I you want to talk about a guy who wants to play football just loves the game he do this [ __ ] for free dude that moves my needle that well he's got his nose pierced too so he is he he is a unique fellow can play inside he's going to he's going to play outside yeah I mean he's a guy who's going to be able to move outside on on certain packages and get other you know Middle Line middle linebackers on the field like Christian Allegro T Curtis you know like and he can move around and make way for other guys to get some single we have linebackers wearing single digits that's all we need to say well that that for him that's a shame though I'm a little disappointed though Jay because with that neck roll last name Thomas little five little 54 huh yeah little Zack Thomas with a neck roll 54 hunting but mop all right before we get to the dline which I think is the biggest question what do you guys think of Curtis and Allegro being um second on the depth chart on at both inside linebacker spots love it Jay they're white I honestly I I I love it because I think the two of them you know after this year like we have Jake Cheney we have Jem Thomas they're going to play a ton of SL snaps they're going to be really impactful um but those are two guys that are really effing athletic and I think are gonna be able to step into those starting role I think they're gonna play you know a 65 35 snap split this year I think that they're going to be very intentional in rotating these guys and keeping them fresh and deploying them in certain packages I'm really really high on that pairing long term you know I I I think they're both super Dynamic and that's why they're there because like we saw it already at the end of last year with the leag like he was spying quarterbacks like those two dudes are going to come into the game in nickel packages and dime packages like they're going to be they're going to be in there when they're passing when there's when they think that they're passing Downs Alro is gonna spy the quarterback like that's I think that they're super Dynamic like they're going to mix it up where I think Thomas is more going to be like a sideline to sideline traditional downhill linebacker I think Alro algro and Curtis give you something a little bit different and what they need from linebackers who can cover guys and can also still defend yeah no I agree with that and then to just I mean looking down the depth chart here an outside linebacker I mean you don't know until the [ __ ] season starts but obviously expectations for Pas I think for every Badger fan rock rock through the roof for this guy and I mean him Leon Lowry and then what do you think Peterson and Wht are probably up the other guys starting Peterson's one yeah Peterson is gonna start you know like obviously he's gonna be more of a run Defender but yeah like Lowry and pyus they're going to bring a lot in the pass rush and quite frankly I'm really I'm gutted about Thomas hyberger getting hurt I mean that's we we've talked about him multiple times on here just a kid with three Kish tools and if he wasn't you know from from a Dakota like he he would have been at a bigger school I I'll stand on that but he he's somebody that coach Matt Mitchell said you know was in line to to to play this season as a true freshman at outside linebacker and I think that's really notable um you know they made made it clear he's not gone for the year but uh really B that that's some we're not going to see some another player another young option at linebacker at the outside who I think is super Dynamic really athletic and um someone who's gon to be a big piece move forward so really bummed that he won't be a part of that rotation at least initially and then as far as the question goes what do I know about this defense our defense line I think is going to be a problem and not in a good way I mean Thompson Jr out for the year I there might be ways to mitigate that though C the next four guys like I like I just I can't trust him and then we're gonna have to I mean Dylan Johnson's gonna play right yep I think he's gonna play for sure yeah fle said for sure he would be getting time so like to me that's if you want to narrow it on like one thing I know about this defense is that I don't trust our defensive line and I'm through the roof on basically every other position we have well can I can I bring some excitement to your to your bones absolutely uh you always do like I said as an expert who I watched one practice I saw him rolling a lot of 254 which hasn't been something we brought up a lot we always hear like 245 but when they get the bigger safeties out there I mean it's more of like your run defense but when they have two down linemen and they're kind of like eating up the the two and the four and the three and the five gaps AB gaps like you're letting these other guys hunt so when Dylan was saying earlier like Jim would bump outside when you got like I mean it could be like Kurt Neil and uh the Brandon Brandon blanket on his Lane you have those two space eaters just eating things and you get Jahim and Allegro and tacket and Cheney and PAs all on the field at the same time with wer and Loy and Rico and Austin Brown like that is that that is a lot of speed a lot of physicality and a lot of violence that they could bring now I get what you're saying like there's no way it's concerning dude no it's 100% concerning but I think having that speed to Gap jump and GAP bust and do all that stuff if they can give you something on that 254 then I think you you can buy more rotations because like you said with those guys that are going to start there's only about five guys I think fle said he only has like about Five Guys that he trusts now now that Thompson's out so you're going to have to go to a lot of two down fronts because if you go three four fronts three or fourman fronts your guys are going to be dead by the second half so you're you're going to have to supplement it's silly to say but like it how they defend the run is going to be how this defense goes because like if they can get ahead if they can get ahead of early like and a team has to throw against them that's when the badger defense is going to thrive but like if they're if a team you know if there they're locked Z zero or you know A team's ahead and they're running the ball that's going to be like the Crypton of the badger defense is is defending the run which it's obvious to say with that defensive line but I I think if the Badgers can get into situations where they're you know third Longs or they're they're playing with a lead that's where this defense is going to thrive because that secondary is is really good I think their pass rushers are going to be really good it's just defending the Run that's GNA be concerning for the Badgers everybody completely agree with you Jay like they they have so many versatile pieces on the back end you have like a guy like Conor wer that can move around you know did all of last season because you've got a guy like zachman next to him who this this coaching staff trusts completely you know earned a starting job in Camp you also have Austin Brown who is somebody who you know is gonna be backing up at safety but is also there too in the nickel um you know and Max loafy is somebody who's played a little bit little bit of safety in practice just in a few looks and I think those are guys where like you can mask coverages because in a pinch could ask a lot of different guys to fill into different roles and I think that's important right that's where thrives is is is yeah is is is hiding his defense you know like is you know I'm the words blanking me but this guy you know having to this guy's defense bringing pressure on Third and long you know like pass rush I think that's where Trestle is even better so that's that's what they need to do it's it's all going to come back to and you know they've said this we know this can we generate a pass rush is are the guys we went out and got are they impactful enough I mean right there we we just could not apply pressure on the quarterback last year you know we in theory have the pieces you know can can they get it done and I know we got to move on here quick I just want to say one thing though that I absolutely love um obviously seeing big Kev on the uh two or yeah the two deep dep chart to open the season on offense another true fresh though on the two deep dep chart uh Xavier Lucas love to see that St yeah went into Florida got a got got a 62 Corner that runs I was low four fours uh2 200 pounds yeah he I absolutely love that staff AR you thinks that high of him yeah re Rico said he couldn't believe that that the Florida schools let him out of Florida so I mean that's the guy who's going to play this year when we're talking about or the dline like he's playing this year yeah 100% it almost is it'd be a travesty if he doesn't I I even made the comment after watching the practice that I was like when I first saw him because I was like who is this number six over there I thought like a Lineback I thought it was like a Lowry got his jersey scrunched up and I'm like why is he working out with the DBS this dude is enormous he looks he looks like an NFL corner right now and that's what fickle does you look at like s Gardner like he likes big long Corners he but I say when you put him and Snowden next to each other and then you stand next to Rico it makes Rico look I mean Rico's not great size anyway just a great player but when you look at Snowden and Lucas you can see what fickle wants to build these guys are are just they they just look like freak shows super long arms wicked fast and like super tall we're so back C any thoughts on the defense anything else that you think you know no like I I know there's I was joking a little bit but like my biggest thing is I'm confident our defense except our front and I agree with Jay like if we're forced to defend the Run we might be f d it yeah I think the defensive line was a spot where I think they coming out of Camp you felt better that they were going to be fine but it was a position group that couldn't afford to lose anyone and they lost we lose our best defensive line the only player that I think you could look at as a big 10 honorable mention caliber guy um you know I think it's devastating um he's out for the year right he TS Peck yeah he's out as more or less for the year they don't anticipate having him back um we alluded earlier in the show to a ticket giveaway um to the season opener I'm going to throw it over uh to Ryan here for more information on that yeah so thank you for watching our show thank you for spending some time with the boys so so in honor of uh starting a new talking Badgers pod powered by Athlon Sports we're going to give away two tickets uh to the Western Michigan game vers Wisconsin on Friday uh at 800m at Camp Randle uh if you would like to win there's only one trivia question you have to answer you just have to respond to my DMs which my username is right there on the screen at ryanb eers you just have to hop in there and let me know who is the first player that Wisconsin had that won the Heisman not not not both of them just who is the first Heisman winner at Wisconsin um first one in there uh we'll connect and then we'll go based on if you're going to take the tickets but I I I want him to go to somebody that's actually going to go to the game and rooe on the Badgers um we hope to see you there appr that Ryan um and that's going to bring us to our last segment of the night um you know I'm going to be tracking uh the boys picks as the season goes on so that uh we can hold ourselves accountable each week more than anything or if we all do really bad then I'll just forget about it we act like this never happened you know rules I also don't want to ruin our credibility so uh you know B Ball's firly Ball's firmly in our court all right as the guy who as the guy who's done this for the last two and a half years by himself you make your own rules yeah all right uh so the Badgers uh as of as of today Tuesday August 26 seventh um on FanDuel sports book are going to be opening as 23 and a half Point favorites uh the over under is currently set at 55 and a half Jason what are your picks Western Michigan Broncos I have the over uh I'm on my pessimistic grind and I think I got Western Michigan plus 23 and a half yikes all right CP where's your head at uh um I like the Badgers minus 23 and a half and give me the under Ryan yeah so when I heard Jay's voice I KNE I know a hater's voice when I hear it I'm in lock up with C I got the I got the Badgers winning 45 to six so give me the Badgers to cover and hit the under yeah Jay's [ __ ] player hater of the Year dude yeah I know hater's voice when I heard one um I I am going to take the under um as a whole um but I am going to take the Badgers to cover and it's mostly it mostly just has to do with do I do I believe that they're gonna cover historically speaking probably not um you know but they they they've underwhelmed a couple times in a row now in these early season games but uh I'm gonna give them the benefit of the doubt I I have the most confidence this is a better football team uh than it was a year ago and so I think they're gonna they'll cover and I think that they're G the defense more than anything is Gonna Keep Western Michigan um who currently projects as an offense outside of the top 100 um you know I think they're gonna keep him off the scoreboard and Dylan I know we gotta go um I had one quick thing this week since we have know what are we doing here one thing that just [ __ ] with my mind um and a fun fact for everybody did you know Atlanta is west of Detroit the more you know the more you know no I did not know that come back next week geography facts with CP big geography guy I play Global every day did fun fact about coup and I we were both in uh you know AP History for a day I left coup stayed I passed that [ __ ] what you talking about yeah I was saying we were together in it for one day I yeah they handed me my second text and I handed it back and said I won't be needing that um you know all right uh that's that's going to be a wrap for this episode of talking Badgers appreciate yall tuning in and remember we got plenty more to break down as the season rolls on um you know we'll see you back here next week uh hopefully it'll be talking after Badger W and uh I'm Wisconsin