Wisconsin Cornerback Room Season Outlook & Player Expectations
A quick look at the Wisconsin football cornerback room heading into fall camp and analyzing their individual expectations for the season.
With fall camp just around the corner for new head coach Luke Fickell and the Wisconsin football program -- BadgerNotes continues our rollout of position previews. We've already done QB, RB, WR, TEs, DL, OLB, ILB, and safeties thus far.
But I want our position previews and season outlook write-ups to be different than a regurgitated version of what every outlet is putting out.
I want to approach this breakdown by establishing individual player expectations heading into the season so we can more effectively evaluate each player at the end of the season—that way, we can avoid being a prisoner of the moment.
So, let's review the breakdown of how we define player expectations:
No expectations (walk-ons, true freshmen, practice bodies).
Low expectations (roster fillers, third team players, next man up situation).
Moderate expectations (key backups & role players *how well are you playing the role asked of you).
High expectations (core players of the team you expect to make a big impact in their role or statistically).
Let's wrap up our series with the Wisconsin football cornerbacks.
High Expectations
Alexander Smith (RS SR)
Ricardo Hallman (RS SO)
Jason Maitre (RS SR)
I'm placing Alexander Smith, Ricardo Hallman, and Jason Maitre in the high-expectations group for the Badgers this season because all three players are the sure-fire starting cornerback trio entering fall camp.
Entering his sixth season with the Badgers, Alexander Smith could be among the most impactful players on the entire defense–even if he doesn't fill up a stat sheet. According to PFF, Smith was the highest-graded cornerback on the Wisconsin football team last season (72.8) and only gave up 14 catches in 185 coverage snaps.
Smith is the clear-cut CB1; if he can stay healthy, he could be in line for a damn good final season.
Then there is spring practice darling Ricardo Hallman, who established himself as the starting boundary corner opposite of Smith.
This past season, the 5-foot-10 defensive back appeared in nine games, starting eight, played 341 total snaps, and registered 9.0 tackles, 3.0 pass deflections, and one interception while playing on the boundary.
Hallman, a former three-star recruit, only allowed a 41.4 REC% — giving up 12 catches on 29 targets, per PFF. Unfortunately, his one tough outing against Michigan State, where he was targeted eight times and allowed 3TDs, seems to overshadow an otherwise impressive redshirt freshman season. Because of Smith's ability to erase most teams WR1 -- Hallman will have an opportunity to be a real playmaker for the Badgers secondary.
Finally, we have Boston College transfer Jason Maitre, who will be the starting slot corner for the Wisconsin football team.
According to Pro Football Focus, Maitre has logged 2,155 career snaps across five seasons. Of those, 179 came in the box, 700 at free safety, 824 from the slot, and 438 came as a boundary corner -- so he has plenty of versatility.
This past season, Maitre registered 42 tackles, seven stops, six pass deflections, four pressures, one sack, and one interception while splitting time between free safety and the slot. He also allowed a 55.2 REC% — giving up 16 catches on 29 targets, per PFF. His physicality and experience will be critically important for UW's new look secondary in 2023.
Everyone in this grouping needs to maintain their starting roles and play above average cornerback to meet expectations.