In a much anticipated event since it was announced in February, Wisconsin held their “The Launch” event. There was a live scrimmage as well has of events for fans of all ages. Today, fans got to see their first look at first year head coach Luke Fickell and the 2023 Wisconsin Badgers. Here were some key takeaways from today’s scrimmage portion.
The Defense Dominated
It was a tough day for the Wisconsin offense. The defense seemed to have thier way all day and ended up winning the scrimmage 33-24. At one point, the defense forced 10 sacks and five interceptions. Local writer at the scrimmage stated the offense, especially the first team, looked out of sync all day.
Five interceptions and 10 sacks today for Wisconsin's defense. Have seen a handful of impressive offensive plays, but overall looks a bit out of sync.
— Jesse Temple (@jessetemple) April 22, 2023
The player of the day seemed to be yet again redshirt sophomore corner Ricardo Hallman. After having a great last few weeks of spring practices, Hallman added three more interceptions in today’s scrimmage. Wisconsin has to replace their top corners from a season ago and it seems as if they have their number one corner.
Wisconsin cornerback Ricardo Hallman might be a problem for defenses next season. He has three interceptions today and six in the last two practices. Has had a fantastic spring locking down a starting spot for the Badgers.
— Jesse Temple (@jessetemple) April 22, 2023
Hallman has been all over the field. He seems to be making life tough on the quarterbacks. I also think this defense has the potential be really good again despite missing Keeanu Benton and Nick Herbig. They have experience in the secondary and they return two of their leading tacklers from a season ago. The defensive line is also mixed in with some veterans too. There could be some rocky moments in a new scheme, but this defense could be poised to have a really good season.
Tanner Mordecai Struggled All Day
It was the first time fans got to see the Air Raid offense. It was a sluggish day to say the least. Each of the first three possessions from the offense resulted in interceptions. As mentioned earlier, the offense never seemed to get in stride.
It’s not a reason for concern at all. It’s just spring and it’s a brand new offense with new coaches and a new quarterback. At the same time, it’s not ideal for your sixth year quarterback to come out flat and the offense struggle as a whole. They will get it cleaned up there’s no doubt about that.
Braelon Allen scores for the first-team offense, punching it in from the 3.
Allen looked really good that drive breaking tackles and hitting holes quickly.
Unique scoring system today, but #Badgers defense leads 18-14 with 2:52 left in first half.
— Colten Bartholomew (@CBartWSJ) April 22, 2023
There was talks that Braelon Allen had a productive day too. Anytime your starting running back can go out and perform and avoid injury in an event like this, it’s always a good sign. Allen looks like he could be on track for another solid year in 2023.
Brayden Locked Seemed To Impress Again
Braedyn Locke leads the second unit down the field for a score, hitting Hayden Rucci for a 9-yard TD. Second team defense let up some wide open looks and Locke made them pay.#Badgers.
— Colten Bartholomew (@CBartWSJ) April 22, 2023
Once the second team offense took the field, they went down and scored. They did this against the second team defense. It shouldn’t come as a surprise since Locke did get a year of experience in Mike Leach’s offense which has a similar Air Raid style. Locke has also been mentioned by media members on Twitter a number of times for impressive days and his ability to get this offense down fast.
At the beginning of the year, I thought second string quarterback would be a battle down to the wire between Locke and Nick Evers. There’s no doubt about Ever’s talent and his massive arm. However, it’s clear Locke has the experience and seems to be ahead of Evers by a pretty good margin. It seems like going into fall camp Wisconsin has a really good backup quarterback.
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