The Wisconsin Badgers have not looked like a winning team and have not delivered a winning product on the field through four games this season.
After entering the season with plenty of hope, the Badgers appeared to be heading in a nosedive down to rock bottom after a home loss to the Maryland Terrapins. Maryland may end the season as a serious team within the Big Ten Conference, but the loss is unacceptable considering where Wisconsin aims to send the program and the upcoming schedule that looms. Wisconsin will now enter a tough stretch of games against Michigan, Iowa, Ohio State, and Oregon before entering a potentially winnable contest.
While nobody wants to point a finger and coach Luke Fickell continues to blame himself for many of the losses, the Badgers need to take accountability and potentially move around certain players to win games. Veteran defensive back and key team leader Ricardo Hallman has been on the field the most for Wisconsin this season after the Badgers managed to convince the defensive back to return to the school.
However despite playing the most so far this season, Hallman has been someone at the very front of the struggles on defense for Wisconsin.
Wisconsin Badgers Veteran Leader Ricardo Hallman Rapidly Declining After Emotional Return to Team
Hallman has been such a major presence on the team over the past few seasons and a leader in the locker room, which makes his rough start difficult to deal with. However, continuing to play Hallman at such a high rate and putting the defensive back into situations where he struggles is even worse. The best medicine for the situation might be giving Hallman more breaks each game even if that is only for a snap or two as key mistakes are being made more frequently than before.
Against Alabama and Maryland in particular, the touchdowns Hallman allowed were a result of the defensive back being caught with tight hips, off-balance, and in no position to defend against the play. Simply put, Hallman was beat by the receiver on each play which is something that has been an issue through four games as opposing defenses have targeted Hallman 23 times already. Typically, opposing offenses are supposed to fear the top corner back a team has, but the opponents Wisconsin has faced early on have done just the opposite.
Additionally, Hallman has a forced incompletion rate of just 9% this season after recording a rate of 12% last season and only allowing four touchdowns all year. The defensive back allowed just 21 receptions last season which will certainly not stand this year. Hallman is regressing this season and doing so fast as opposing teams are no longer worried about the defensive back stealing away an interception.
Moving forward, the Badgers should consider giving more opportunities to younger players like Cairo Skanes or Omilio Agard against top receiving options. Wisconsin already knows what Hallman has to offer, so giving the youth of the team chances now makes the most sense.
New players like Agard or Skanes could also be used in rush defense situations as Hallman has been the worst starting defender against the run with a grade of 54.7 on the season. Hallman has 73 run defense snaps and played the most snaps (21) in such situations the last game against Maryland despite continuing to struggle.
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