Lucas: Breaking down where the Badgers stand after spring ball
April 20, 2022 | Football, Mike Lucas
Coordinators Bobby Engram and Jim Leonhard assess the progress of their units
BY MIKE LUCAS
UWBadgers.com Senior Writer
MADISON, Wis. — Although they coach on opposite sides of the ball — Jim Leonhard coordinates the defense and Bobby Engram the offense — they appreciate the same things on the practice field. For instance, they like ballers. Both were All-Americans. Both were NFL players. Both were, after all, ballers.
Listen to Leonhard, 39, offering this spring overview of Wisconsin's defense: "It's a group that plays with a ton of passion. They play really hard. They want to run and fly around to the football. When you're building off of that, you're feeling pretty good about it."
Listen to Engram, 49, sharing what he has seen out of the Badger offense: "Guys are working hard, man. I really respect the way the guys work. They come out every day and they love the game. Even when things aren't perfect, they continue to press on and find ways to compete and make plays."
As spring ball draws to a close, Leonhard and Engram know this has been another stage in building the team that will open the 2022 season Sept. 3 against Illinois State at Camp Randall Stadium. Both view March and April as a construction zone.
"The thing we don't have at some positions is much experience," said Leonhard, who's replacing eight starters from the No. 1 unit in the nation. "They might have been in our program for a while but they don't have that game experience, which is going to lead to a little more inconsistent play early on.
"It's getting those guys to balance how hard they want to play — how fast they want to play — with the consistency needed to really win week-in and week-out. But it's a blessing to be coaching that and not to be coaching the effort," he stressed about their spring competitiveness, young and old alike.
"If you take the bird's eye view, if you're one of those 80,000-plus in the stadium, you see the guy who loves football. You see the guy who's playing with great energy — communicating, finishing, running to the ball. That's hard to do day-in and day-out when the fans aren't there."
Leonhard characterized his players as "very hungry, very motivated, athletic, talented." In sum, he said, "We have a lot of things that we need when the fall comes around." But he's still looking for more consistency in the overall playmaking, a good news/bad news dividing point.
"They're doing some things that would really be good and help us — and they're doing some things that could get us beat," he said. "Just like any young team, it allows you to coach."
Leonhard chuckled, "We talk every day. They still need us." This group more so than others.
Since taking over as Wisconsin's defensive coordinator in 2016, Leonhard has schooled some of the most efficient, ball-hawking, suffocating defenses in college football. Over the last five seasons, the Badgers rank among the Top 5 in virtually every meaningful category, including No. 1 in total defense.
On the approach taken this spring, he said, "We push a lot of adjustments, we push a lot of things at them just to see who can handle it.
"We don't take it easy on them because they're young … We want to find out what they truly understand."
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From a fundamental concept, growing the offense, Engram has a comparable sight line to Leonhard.
"Some of the emphasis for us was basic football stuff, and I know that's not sexy," said Engram, an offensive assistant with the Baltimore Ravens the past eight seasons. He went on to list some points of emphasis for the spring. "It's cadence. We really wanted to work the cadence and use it as a weapon.
"We wanted to make sure we took care of the football. Ball security was a big deal. We wanted to make sure we were communicating at a high level — communication with the team and the offensive line and the quarterback with the receivers — and the guys are doing that."
Asked if the offense has developed a personality, he said, "To me, it's still evolving. You've got some talented guys out there. I think our defense has such a strong personality (he laughed) that offensively we have to continue to find our voice. But I'm excited about what we're doing."
During Tuesday's practice, quarterback Graham Mertz twice connected on deep throws to wide receiver Chimere Dike. Earlier in the spring, Mertz had posed the question, "How can we stretch defenses out and make them cover the whole field?" It's something the Badgers are tying down.
Engram commended Mertz for his "aggressive mentality" and ownership of the offense. He also cited his "professional approach and work ethic" in understanding the dynamics of the position. Said Engram, "You want to make the big plays. But at the same time, let's take the ones that they give to us."
If executed, checkdowns can equate to YAC: Yards After Catch. Nobody appreciates that more than Engram, who starred as a wide receiver at Penn State (1994 Biletnikoff winner) and had 650 career receptions for nearly 8,000 yards over 14 seasons as a pro with Seattle, Chicago and Kansas City.
"I've seen consistent speed, I've seen them consistently compete hard; you have flashes of guys, one day to the next, stepping up and make the play," he said of a receiving corps featuring Dike, Markus Allen, Skyler Bell, ULCA transfer Keontez Lewis and Dean Engram, his son. Dike is the bell cow.
"Chim is as rock-solid as they come. Very professional. The thing about Chim is that he's consistent. He's very easy for the quarterback to read. He's consistent in his approach. He's consistent in how he runs his routes. And that's a very great thing for the quarterback to have.
"Markus is a big, physical guy who's really quick and twitchy. We just want to see him make a few more of those contested plays. Skyler is playing well. He's playing fast right now. He's getting comfortable in the offense and he's making some plays.
"Keontez is big, fast and a long athlete who needs to continue to work on his transition. He can go deep and can catch the ball or take a short throw to the house. I thought Dean has made the transition nicely (from defense). He's quick and still learning how to play the position.
"The trick is — as I've told them — be consistent."
Injuries have taken a toll at tight end, where Jaylan Franklin has gotten most of the snaps. Riley Nowakowski was moved from fullback to help fill the void with the position group. At the start of the spring, Jackson Acker was actually meeting with the tight ends. He's now a hybrid fullback-tailback.
"We're asking them to do some things they've never done," Engram said. "They're big and strong and they don't mind the physical contact. I'm pleased with where those guys are."
Injuries have also factored into the numbers at tailback with Chez Mellusi, Isaac Guerendo and Brady Schipper sitting out the spring to rehab. The rotation will be fortified in the fall with their return. Braelon Allen, who rushed for 1,268 yards as a freshman, and Julius Davis have been the workhorses.
"Braelon is a special talent," Engram said. "He's a big guy who can move. He's athletic. He has really good hands and he can run routes. We've challenged him a little bit this spring to do some more things in the pass game. I like what I'm seeing there. He's a student of the game.
"Braelon wants to be great. He doesn't say it. He just shows it. I respect guys like that."
Engram complimented Davis, a redshirt junior, for "having a really good spring" and elaborated, "He's quick. He can hit the hole a little bit faster at times. But he's physical. He runs hard. He understands his tracks. And he has been fairly solid in the pass game."
Throughout the spring, the No. 1 offensive line has been a constant. From left to right, Jack Nelson, Tyler Beach, Tanor Bortolini, Michael Furtney and Logan Brown. The X-factor is Joe Tippmann, who's working his way back from an injury. Tippmann started 11 games at center last season.
"They're physical … that's the first thing we ask of our offensive line and Bo has done a great job," said Engram, singling out assistant Bob Bostad and his transition from coaching inside linebackers to the O-line. The latter has been Bostad's longtime mailing address, collegiately and professionally.
"We're all a work-in-progress," Engram acknowledged. "We've got some depth there. We just need to continue to chase some of the techniques and the things we want in the run game and the protection."
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The offensive line has benefit from its competition with the defensive line. And vice versa.
"There are a number of players ready to take that next step," said Leonhard, recognizing the task in replacing a Matt Henningsen. "Starting with Keeanu (Benton). He's so much more physical, so much more consistent. He has come back on a mission — to finish better, to play more physical.
"You can put Isaiah Mullens in that tier of guys who has played a lot of snaps, had a big role last year and came back to improve on specific things. With the rest of the group, you're looking at guys who have been waiting for that bigger opportunity: Rodas Johnson, James Thompson, Isaac Townsend.
"Now, it's time to get on the field for really extended, bigger roles."
Nick Herbig, now a junior, is a proven, dependable playmaker and Alpha at outside linebacker.
"You know what you have as far as production and the consistency of what Nick has provided for us," Leonhard said of Herbig, a 20-game starter with 14.5 TFLs and 10 sacks in two seasons. "C.J. Goetz (a fifth-year senior) has played the most snaps and had significant roles going into weeks.
"Outside of that, you've got young guys who are climbing the ladder and are ready to go."
Darryl Peterson, TJ Bollers and Kaden Johnson are "on the rise" according to Leonhard.
"As the season went on, you saw these three guys play with so much more confidence and you really saw them elevate their game," Leonhard said. "It's been a lot of fun this spring watching that group take the next step really trusting what they're doing and what they're coached to do."
Drawing the most scrutiny on Leonhard's defense has been inside linebacker and the challenge of replacing All-American Leo Chenal, the Big Ten Linebacker of the Year, and Jack Sanborn, a first team all-conference selection. They were the leading tacklers, difference-makers and team leaders.
Jordan Turner piqued everyone's curiosity with six tackles and two picks in limited exposure.
"You forget how few snaps he actually had because of the production when he got on the field," Leonhard said. "It's really cool to see him settle in and now become more confident and consistent at that position. He plays fast. He plays physical. He's had a knack for the big play."
Tatum Grass, a junior walk-on, has often been Turner's partner.
"Tatum has a veteran's presence and has been a great leader for that group — he has been providing some consistency," Leonhard said. "You look at Maema (Njongmeta), Jake Chaney, Jake Ratzlaff, and Bryan Sanborn, they're all young and hungry and excited for the opportunity now."
The Badgers tapped into the transfer portal for three cornerbacks: Jay Shaw (UCLA), Cedrick Dort (Kentucky) and Justin Clark (Toledo). They were needed because of the holes left by Faion Hicks and Caesar Williams, who were fixtures in the secondary for multiple seasons.
"The players that we brought into the program, they bought into it — 'I have to go prove myself again, I have to come in here and prove the type of person and type of player that I am,'" Leonhard said. "They've done a great job mixing in with the group.
"Alex Smith has probably been our most consistent guy. I'm really excited for what he has done. Ricardo Hallman is another guy who's just having a huge spring. He took a big jump from where he was last fall. You're seeing guys play confident and faster — like Max Lofy and Amuan Williams.
"I really do love the mix of those guys," he went on. "They've all really handled the situation well. This is the first introduction to the transfer portal kind of world. It's not something that we want to live with year-in and year-out. But we did it for a specific reason and I'm happy with the results."
Leonhard may go back to the portal for safety help. Especially with the uncertain timeline for Travian Blaylock, who was injured this spring. Preston Zachman has been out with an injury, too. John Torchio and Hunter Wohler have been the starters with Owen Arnett and Bryce Carey in reserve.
Leonhard has been cross-training others, including Al Ashford III and Avyonne Jones, a true frosh.
"The depth is a little concerning," he said. "Obviously, I like to play a lot of guys."
The punting game is an extension of the defense, and the Badgers are solid with Andy Vujnovich. The placekicking battle between Arkansas transfer Vito Calvaruso and walk-on Nate Van Zelst should be competitive. That will sort out and answer itself in time.
Like all the other questions in March and April.
