BadgerNotes Mailbag: Future of the FB, UW's Most Hated Rival and More
BadgerNotes received a wide variety of questions from our dedicated readers/Twitter followers earlier this week.
BadgerNotes received a wide variety of questions from our dedicated readers/Twitter followers earlier this week.
So, without further adieu, Let's jump into your mailbag questions...
That's an excellent question that plenty of Badger football fans are also wondering. As you mentioned, Phil Longo runs a lot of 11 personnel. For those unfamiliar, that means: one running back, one tight end, and three wide receivers.
One thing the incoming coaching staff has done well at previous stops is adapt to their personnel. They're not completely married to their style – and adjust their scheme to the strengths of the players they already have.
That said, I think we'll see the fullback position gradually phased out of the offense.
Luke Fickell has traditionally used more of an H-back/move tight end in his offense (think Josiah Deguara). I anticipate UW going that route and still using a "fullback," but mainly as a pass-catching threat out of the backfield or acting as a lead blocker out in space. No more FB dives 😔
It was the 2012-13 school year – the intramural team was the Tree Hill Ravens — and Madison Area Technical College hosted the intramural basketball league.
College basketball has had its fair share of scandals over the years – but I'd argue one of the greatest stories never told was the 2013-14 Tree Hill Ravens. Our roster featured only two players who were enrolled in classes/attended the school (which is frowned upon). Through fake student ID numbers and other back alley forms of verification, the Ravens took the court every week – and left it all on the floor.
What made the Ravens special wasn't the overall talent – because, if I'm being honest, we lacked high-end athletes. We also didn't have a single player over 6-foot tall – forcing us to play small ball at all times. That said, the sum of our team was far greater than its individual parts.
So, you're probably thinking this was a run-and-gun team that wore down its opponents. But that couldn't have been further from the truth. The Tree Hill Ravens had virtually nobody capable of running a mile without fainting – everyone was well past their athletic prime.
What the Ravens did have, however, was cohesion, a game plan, grit, and a burning desire to win at all costs. This was a Bo Ryan type of team if I ever saw one.
Our Phil Jackson, if you will, was Jason Long. This man took one look at our roster and knew we had to do the little things and win on the margins to give ourselves a fighting chance.
He both innovated + orchestrated our offense out of the high post and carved up defenses bold enough to run zone against us (think Nigel Hayes). Through our slow and methodical style of play, three-point shooting, ball movement, and hard-nosed defense – we, against all odds, appeared in the title game – only to fall short in the closing seconds.
It was a brotherhood on the court I'll carry with me forever. The Tree Hill Ravens will ALWAYS have a special place in my heart.
I'm going to hedge a little here – Iowa for basketball – Minnesota for football. Each head coach (Fran McCaffery/PJ Fleck) is objectively a douchebag – which makes Wisconsin beating those teams a little more satisfying.
I don't know if this is a shared sentiment across the Badgers fanbase, but in my household, that's our shared belief.
To answer your question — yes. I wrote about Phil Longo and his scheme's tendencies here – if you'd like to read about his offense more in-depth.
Longo is bringing a modified air-raid offense to UW next season using a lot of 11 personnel and other spread concepts. That doesn't mean the Badgers will start throwing the ball 50 times a game, though. Wisconsin will still rely heavily on the run, but it will look much different than it has for the past 20+ years.
Nolan Rucci is an immensely gifted athlete for his position – and truth be told, I think he's better suited for the offense coach Fickell is bringing to Wisconsin. That said, I don't see him leap-frogging anyone currently listed ahead of him at tackle.
The new coaching staff is exploring offensive line additions in the transfer portal – so a lot of things would need to break right for him to crack the Badgers' top five.
Rucci is not a good fit at guard. Plus, Jack Nelson, Riley Mahlman, and Trey Wedig are all presumably ahead of him right now -- although that could certainly change with a strong offseason under the new coaching staff. Keep an eye out for him starting at left tackle in 2024 after Nelson moves on to the NFL.
Markus Ilver is physically ready to contribute; however, the game is still moving too fast for him, hence why he doesn't see meaningful minutes. Outside of his three-point shooting, I'm not sure Ilver has a ton to offer UW this season, but long-term, I think there is still some upside here.
For a long time, I've viewed Chris Hodges' upside as a high-energy reserve big man, which has plenty of value, but I don't see more than that in his game — at least not right now. I said before the season that he wasn't ready to play a meaningful role — and he's done nothing to change my mind about that. He still has a long way to go — and it would appear Greg Gard agrees.
Regarding the future, I'm incredibly optimistic about pairing Gus Yalden and Nolan Winter in the 2023 recruiting class. They're both inside-out players that complement one another exceptionally well. If everything breaks right, I see them as multi-year contributors who can see the floor early – and even become building blocks for the program.
Now that coach Gard essentially ruled Jahcobi Neath out for the season, the rotation will probably stay the same. Connor Essegian will continue playing heavy minutes as the team's sixth man. Behind him, Kamari McGee and Isaac Lindsey will continue splitting time depending on matchups.
That said, I anticipate McGee earning a more consistent role as the season progresses — he's taken better care of the basketball lately (only two turnovers in his last 29 minutes played).
Many fans, myself included, have been wondering about the status of four-star defensive lineman Isaac Hamm.
He signed with UW last season but never enrolled — although it was believed he was attending MATC, tieing up loose ends academically.
I've exhausted my resources trying to obtain an answer and reached out for a comment but didn't hear back.
Unfortunately, this one remains a mystery.
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