Size is the main problem Wisconsin Badgers got a problem on last season and that’s basically one of the wishes defensive coordinator Mike Tressel had in the offseason. He also wanted it that his players will have the right mentality whenever on the field.
“We know we didn’t perform the back end of the season,” he said on Wednesday.
“Part of that was depth. Part of that was straight-up size compared to the other people we were lining up against. The other big one was, ‘When the going does get tough, how do we respond?”
Tressel is now on his third year as Badgers’ DC with the last one ending on a losing record. He is now racing to set the defense right which many critics blame for their disastrous 2024 campaign.
Badgers lost some players in the transfer portal and saw two of their main guys Jack Nelson and Hunter Wohler enter the NBA draft.
Adjustments have to be made and good thing players are delivering.
Wisconsin Badgers’ defensive mindset
Tressel previewed on April that the team got two players who may exemplify physical and mental toughness. The two players he first discussed about their defensive plans were Charles Perkins and Jay’viar Suggs who they both got through the transfer portal.
This mindset has been spread around and Tressel now believes they are ready for the new season collectively.
“I think that our aggressive mindset is going to be significantly different,” he told Badgers reporter Evan Flood through On3.com.
“I think you’ll see that both in terms of how defense is called, but more so in terms of the way the guys are attacking. The belief, I think, is stronger than ever.”
“I think that the size and depth that we’ve created up front will be significantly different and be a strength for us. We’ve got to not just be able to hold up. That’s not the mentality you can have.
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