Badgers’ offensive line is talented, versatile and deep
MADISON – Some position groups were hit hard by injuries in the spring, preventing the Wisconsin football staff from fully evaluating the team's personnel.
Offensive line coach Joe Rudolph didn't have that issue.
Except for a few instances, Rudolph had the 10 players expected to be on the top two lines and most of the reserves after that.
The result: Rudolph got plenty of critical work done for both veterans and less experienced players.
“This is about as competitive a group for jobs as
we’ve had,” he said. “Really feel pretty solid about the two-deep.
“We always have the ability to move guys around to fit into the right spot.”
During the practices open to reporters in the spring:
The first unit featured Tyler Beach at left tackle, Josh Seltzner at left guard, Kayden Lyles at center, Jack Nelson at right guard and Logan Bruss at right tackle.
The second unit featured Logan Brown at left tackle, Cormac Sampson at left guard, Tanor Bortolini at center, Michael Furtney at right guard and Trey Wedig at right tackle.
Sampson also can play center, a position at which he started two games last season. Bortolini started one game at center last season, but near the end of spring ball Rudolph gave the athletic 6-foot-4, 305-pounder work at both tackle spots.
Lyles, who missed the final three games last season because of a knee injury suffered against Indiana, appears to have settled in as a force at center.
Bruss, according to coaches and players, has become a more consistently vocal leader. That is important considering he has started 25 games and played in 32.
“He leads by example,” Rudolph said of Bruss, who has played right guard and right tackle. “He has definitely increased his voice. But when you watch him, you’re kind of like: ‘Damn, that dude is doing the stuff that I want to put on tape.’
“He is cutting it loose and he is playing fast. I think he earns a voice through how he plays.”
Seltzner has seven starts and 32 games played. Beach started at right tackle for the final six games last season.
“He is a very consistent player,” Rudolph said of Beach. “He is a smart player. He is detailed. I’ve challenged him to be more of a let-it-loose guy, more explosive.
“Trying to be great rather than trying not to be wrong. I think he’s got that in him. So, I’m going to keep pushing.”
Nelson, a touted redshirt freshman from Stoughton, did not look out of place with the No. 1 unit in the spring. He played fast and was physical day after day. Tentative does not appear to be in his football vocabulary.
“There is physicality, an explosiveness, a let-it-loose mentality that is infectious,” Rudolph said. “I think that is
INSIDE THE HUDDLE
When Logan Brown arrived at UW in 2019, some fans projected he would be the program’s next great offensive tackle. Brown, from Grand Rapids, Michigan, has the frame and athletic ability to be outstanding.
However, he enters camp as the No. 2 left tackle behind Tyler Beach. A fifth-year senior from Port Washington High School, Beach has more experience and was more consistent during spring ball.
According to offensive line coach Joe Rudolph, the 6-foot-6, 305-pound Brown could wow the coaches on one play and then suffer a mental lapse on the next play.
“Then there is an inconsistency of play you just can’t afford to have,” Rudolph said.
Part of the issue for Brown is that he missed the 2019 season while recovering from shoulder and biceps injuries and then missed out on the chance to work on his game when the COVID-19 pandemic forced the cancellation of spring ball in 2020.
Brown played in all seven games last year but he entered this past spring in catch-up mode.
“He had a few days during which he stopped thinking and just played,” head coach Paul Chryst said. “It’s a good sign. I thought the last couple practices he was able to go were some of his better ones.” what is really pushing him. His athleticism shows up because he is going a million miles an hour.
“There’s definitely some things — technique and fundamentals — that he needs to clean up so that he can be consistent.”
UW must replace two key starters from last season — Cole Van Lanen and Jon Dietzen. Van Lanen was selected in the sixth round of the NFL draft by Green Bay and Dietzen signed with the Packers as an undrafted free agent.
Based on the spring practices, UW has recruited well enough to field a solid offensive line with players who can play multiple positions if needed and capable reserves ready to fill in.
Head coach Paul Chryst noted the ability to have 15 spring practices, which weren’t available in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic, was critical.
“They’ve played a lot of football,” he said of players like Bruss, Lyles, Seltzner and Beach, “but I think it was really good for them to settle in. A group of guys that have played a lot of football but still a really good opportunity to hone in on some very specific points in their development.
“And a lot of young linemen got a ton of work. And not just on the field at practice, but then followed by meetings. A great chance to learn.”