Badgers boast depth, experience, versatility

Seventh in a nine-part Badgers by Position series.

MADISON – Wisconsin defensive line coach Inoke Breckterfield shouldn’t have any trouble recognizing the faces in his meeting room in 2017.

UW’s top six defensive linemen from last season return. That includes three senior ends who have combined to start 62 games at UW.

Chikwe Obasih leads the trio with 31 starts, followed by Conor Sheehy with 19 and Alec James with 12.

Junior nose tackle Olive Sagapolu (6 foot 2 and 346 pounds), who missed five games because of a wrist injury, is set to anchor the interior in three-man fronts. Junior Billy Hirschfeld (6-6 and 305) was the No. 2 nose tackle throughout the spring.

Sophomore Garrett Rand, who was a reserve nose tackle last season and played in all 14 games, has been moved to end.

Breckterfield, entering his third season on the UW staff, expects the unit to continue to be stout against the run and free up the linebackers to make plays.

“For us, it is being great at what we’re good at and trying to get better at the things we need to improve on,” he said when asked about his expectations for 2017. “What is that going to accumulate to? I don’t know. I just want my guys to play hard and fast and keep building.”

James and Obasih, rivals in high school at Brookfield East and Brookfield Central, respectively, have become interchangeable.

James needed more time to

adapt to playing on the line, but he has become stout against the run.

He had 23 tackles last season, including 3 1⁄2 sacks. He also broke up three passes, thanks to his ability to leap near the line of scrimmage.

Obasih, who had 22 tackles, also was a disrupter on pass plays with four passes broken up.

Sheehy, who had 2 1⁄2 sacks and 27 tackles last season, is arguably the unit’s most versatile performer. He has developed into a standout end and last season filled in at nose tackle after Sagapolu was hurt in the loss to Ohio State.

Rand and redshirt freshman Isaiahh Loudermilk are set to be the fourth and fifth ends, respectively.

Rand dropped three pounds to 272 since the end of last season. He hopes to be a step quicker.

“He did a good job filling in last year, but I was hoping to get bigger (at nose tackle),” Breckterfield said, “and I don’t think his body will get bigger.

“So with the departure of three ends next year I wanted him to get all the experience I could early, so when that does happen the transition should be a little easier.”

Loudermilk, who played eightman football in high school in Kansas, put together a solid spring and caught the attention of the coaches and offensive linemen. The 6-7, 306-pounder likely will get spot duty in 2017 but could play a key role in ’18.

“I’d like to give him some reps to get his feet wet," Breckterfield said

Head coach Paul Chryst is excited about the depth and versatility of the front seven.

“I think it is a group that is capable of impacting the game,” Chryst said. “We feel like we’ve got good players there and they’re capable of impacting the game and producing in numbers.”