BY MIKE LUCAS
UWBadgers.com Senior Writer
MADISON, Wis. — Jim Leonhard knew all along what he had. But the 36-year-old Wisconsin defensive coordinator admitted, "I don't know if the rest of the Badgers fans knew how special that group was a year ago. That's not normal to have that level of experience and playmaking on your defense."
Going into their 2017 Orange Bowl matchup with Miami, the Badgers ranked No. 1 nationally in total defense (253.2) and passing efficiency defense (96.3), and No. 2 in scoring defense (13.2) and rushing defense (92.6). They had allowed eight touchdowns over the previous eight games.
Leonhard opened with a nickel package against the Canes, including four fifth-year seniors (Alec James, Conor Sheehy, Garret Dooley, Leon Jacobs), a four-year starter (Derrick Tindal), a speedy jack-of-all trades (Natrell Jamerson) and a junior (Nick Nelson) who went on to be drafted in the fourth round.
The leading tacklers were the inside linebackers, Ryan Connelly and T.J. Edwards, a first-team All-American and Butkus Award runner-up. The quarterback/catalyst in the secondary was D'Cota Dixon, the fourth-leading tackler. The nickel back was Dontye Carriere-Williams, a redshirt freshman.
Off that starting unit — which had a hand in Wisconsin's 34-24 win over the Hurricanes on their home turf at Hard Rock Stadium — Edwards and Dixon will be the only returning defensive starters for the Dec. 27 rematch in the New Era Pinstripe Bowl at Yankee Stadium.
"Obviously, we knew coming into this year, it was going to be a different group and guys were going to have to step into bigger roles," Leonhard said of the expected personnel losses. "They were going to be asked to do different things and more than they have in the past."
Besides Edwards and Dixon, outside linebacker Andrew Van Ginkel, defensive end Isaiahh Loudermilk, and cornerback Madison Cone are the only other active Badgers to show up in the defensive stats (excluding special teams) from the Orange Bowl. That is a dramatic turnover.
"It has been a challenge, at times," acknowledged Leonhard, who's completing his third season on the UW staff, second as the DC. "But I love the way our guys work — they battle — and they're not looking for sympathy. All they're trying to do is get better and help this team win games."
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Injuries took a toll. Defensive end Garrett Rand, a projected starter, was lost over the summer with an Achilles injury. He had two tackles against the Canes. "You take him out of the lineup for the entire season," Leonhard said, "and everyone is in a different role than they would have been."
Coupled with Rand's loss was Loudermilk's rehab from offseason surgery which kept him on the sideline during training camp. Along with replacing the seniors (James, Sheehy, Chikwe Obasih), Leonhard had to patch together a defensive line for the opener without Rand and Loudermilk.
The anchor was nose tackle Olive Sagapolu, a 19-game starter. On the first defensive possession of the season against Western Kentucky, Sagapolu lined up with a couple of redshirt freshmen: Matt Henningsen and Kayden Lyles, a converted offensive guard. Lyles will go back to offense next season.
"He was filling a hole we needed him to fill," Leonhard said. "It was very unselfish on his part."
In late October, the Badgers had another hole on their defensive front, a huge hole, when Sagapolu injured his arm at Northwestern and was lost for the remainder of the season. A young D-line got even younger when Bryson Williams, a true freshman, made his first start against Rutgers.
The front seven was rarely at full strength. Loudermilk returned for BYU (Sept. 15) and made three starts before going down with a high-ankle sprain; the same injury that Van Ginkel sustained against BYU. He continued to play but at a limited capacity.
Last week, it was announced that Connelly, UW's second-leading tackler, would miss the Pinstripe Bowl and have surgery for an injury that hampered him over the final month of the regular season, according to head coach Paul Chryst. Connelly is a fifth-year senior.
"I couldn't be more proud as a coach of the impact that he's had on this team. He does everything you ask of him the way you want him to do it," Leonhard said. "We have to get guys to rally around him; this is not the way he wanted to go out and finish this thing.
"Between Chris and Jack, they're going to have to step up and man that position."
Chris is redshirt junior Chris Orr, a veteran of 35 games and 15 starts. Jack is true freshman Jack Sanborn, who has appeared in 10 games.
This season, the Edwards and Connelly tag team flourished despite all the youngsters around them — despite the expectations for one or the other, or both, to be the defensive leader regardless of the circumstances. Through 12 games, they have combined for 193 tackles, 20.5 tackles for loss and six sacks.
"The tough thing for me was trying to find guys outside of T.J. and Ryan to make plays, big plays," said Leonhard, pointing out that Van Ginkel and Dixon were "beat up throughout the year and there were few games where I would say they were truly themselves."
Leonhard has been waiting on the development of that "next wave" of contributors.
"Zack Baun did it at times; he was very dynamic for us," he said of Wisconsin's third-leading tackler who had 60 stops, 29 fewer than Connelly. "But you look outside of that group (of linebackers), it was pretty inconsistent as far as game-changing plays, just noticeable big plays."
Last year, the Badgers had 89 TFLs, 42 sacks and 20 interceptions, including three against Miami in the Orange Bowl. They also returned five picks for touchdowns, a school record; and had a fumble return for a score. By comparison, they've had 57 TFLs, 18 sacks and 10 interceptions in 2018.
"Not that guys weren't doing really good things," said Leonhard, "but as a secondary, especially, we struggled making quarterbacks pay. The more aggressive teams are, if you don't take the ball away, you're going to be in trouble eventually.
"I was pleased with how our guys grew and I was happy with the way that they worked. We're a lot farther along right now than we were at the beginning of the season."
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In the past, the Badgers have been able to reload on defense. When they lost T.J. Watt and Vince Biegel, they had Dooley and Jacobs step up. Both were seasoned vets. When they lost Sojourn Shelton at corner, they had Nelson; when they lost Leo Musso at safety, they had Jamerson.
By contrast, a true freshman took over for Nelson this season; a redshirt freshman for Jamerson.
"It's one of those things where you have to play longer together to get a feel for each other," Edwards said. "Towards the end of the year, we were closer to that."
Defensively, the Badgers were in rebuild mode, especially the secondary.
At Michigan, for instance, youth was served. Out of necessity. Rachad Wildgoose started at corner and Reggie Pearson at safety. Both are true freshmen. Eric Burrell, a sophomore, replaced an injured Dixon at the other safety. And Deron Harrell, a redshirt freshman, was the other corner.
The week before Michigan, the starters were Dixon, Harrell, redshirt freshman Scott Nelson and redshirt freshman Faion Hicks.
The week after Michigan, the starters in the nickel package were Harrell, Burrell, Wildgoose, sophomore Madison Cone and fifth-year senior Evan Bondoc.
Another sophomore, Caesar Williams, and another true freshman, Donte Burton, also made starts in the back end.
"It was very challenging because you don't really get a lot of cohesion as a group," Leonhard confirmed. "It was rarely the same guys performing at that level, week-in and week-out, whether it was due to injuries or just youth and inexperience.
"Eventually, it's going to pay off."
Leonhard tailored his lesson plans to his students.
"Knowing you don't have the experience, you really have to teach football," he said. "You have to teach basics and maybe keep it a little simpler at times to just give guys the opportunity to play fast.
"You have to help them play confident — you have to help them play physical."
Leonhard's coaching and teaching adjustments have not gone unnoticed.
"I just felt like he did a really good job of keeping us more accountable," Dixon said. "From 2016 (Leonhard's first year), he has taken the initiative of understanding each player for who they are and then implementing tools or techniques. When you've got younger dudes, you've got to adapt to them."
Leonhard's flexibility stood out to Edwards. "He changed his style to accommodate what we have this year," he said. "I love it. That's exactly what a coach should do."
The future looks promising. Nine underclassmen started at least once in the secondary: Hicks (10), Wildgoose (7), Nelson (7), Burrell (5), Harrell (5), Williams (4), Cone (2), Pearson (1) and Burton (1). True freshmen Travian Blaylock and Alexander Smith also saw some action but, like Burton and Pearson, preserved their redshirts by playing in four or fewer games.
"With our injury situation this year, we were able to get guys some good quality reps who are going to still redshirt. I like the rule," Leonhard said. "It's still going to be a work in progress as far as what's best for everyone. But I definitely think it helped us out."
Collin Wilder, a University of Houston transfer, is another player that Leonhard is excited about. He appeared in 13 games as a true freshman at UH but only two as a sophomore after injuring his knee. "You can ask anyone in the locker room," Leonhard said, "and he has showed up in big ways."
At various points, so did many of his young pups on defense.
The Badgers blanked Iowa in the fourth quarter of a 28-17 road win. They held Michigan's Shea Patterson to 124 passing yards. They intercepted Northwestern's Clayton Thorson three times. They held Purdue to a fourth-quarter field goal in another come-from-behind win (47-44 in triple overtime).
As for the inevitable growing pains, Dixon said, "We definitely matured since week one. I think it's going to pay dividends in the long run. There was a big learning curve. But guys crossed over the hump. Now, it's time to take the next step."
Van Ginkel can relate to what many of the DBs have been going through. As a redshirt freshman, he started 11 games at South Dakota (where he was first-team All-Missouri Valley). "You're trying to make sure you're lined up correctly let alone being in the right spot to make the play," he said.
But he has seen progress and growth on defense even with the Minnesota setback.
"You've seen a lot of people step up into the spot where we needed them and really embrace their role," said Van Ginkel, a senior. "Obviously, our secondary and D-line has been thin with all the injuries and things going on. But they got experience throughout the year.
"I'm not worried about the young guys at all. You're starting to see a lot more of them — like Matt Henningsen, Faion Hicks and Rachad Wildgoose — make plays in key moments. And they'll just continue to grow. I'm excited for what their future holds."
