Coming off a 36-9 win over the Western Illinois Leathernecks, the Wisconsin Badgers are set to play the Eastern Michigan Eagles in Week 3 before settling into their conference schedule.
Ahead of the week, the Badgers released their depth chart for Week 3. Let’s break it down.
Quarterback
1. Colton Joseph
2. Ryan Hopkins OR Deuce Adams
The Badgers have had Ryan Hopkins and Deuce Adams listed as co-backups on the depth chart since the start of the season, which made sense after their fall camp battle. Luke Fickell elected not to name a backup in Week 1, noting that they want both players to get reps throughout the season in practice.
Well, we saw a QB2 see the field for the first time at the end of Saturday’s game, and it was Ryan Hopkins. No, he didn’t throw a pass, but Hopkins did call his own number for a pair of runs. It’s a promising sign that he has ascended quickly to be the No. 2 already.
Perhaps that changes depending on situation, but Wisconsin has raved about its true freshman quarterback this offseason.
Running Back
1. Abu Sama
2. Darrion Dupree OR Bryan Jackson
Wisconsin initially had Abu Sama listed as the No. 1 running back and Darrion Dupree alone as the No. 2. But with Bryan Jackson healthy for the first time, he ended up getting the most carries on the team (10) and is now listed as a co-backup with Dupree.
The running back distribution was quite interesting on Saturday. Sama, who the Badgers have wanted to be their bell cow, started the day strong, bouncing a pair of runs to the edge for 103 yards and a touchdown on his first two carries.
Sama would gain only four more yards on his next six carries, as Darrion Dupree and Bryan Jackson got a lion’s share of the snaps and carries as the game went on. Jackson went for 40 yards on 10 carries, while Dupree had 38 yards, including the 28-yard touchdown run, on four carries.
Dupree led the room with 19 snaps. Bryan Jackson was second with 17, while Sama had 16. Fourth-stringer Nate Palmer had two snaps at the end of the game as well.
This continues something we saw last week. While Sama has clearly been explosive and a home-run threat, the Badgers have pointed out they want more vertical running, following the blocking rather than making the wrong reads and bouncing to the edge for minimal gains. Sama has struggled with that, and he saw his snaps decrease on Saturday.
Dupree and Jackson combined for an eight-play, 68-yard touchdown drive all on the ground in the third quarter that beautifully exemplified this. They’re two different styles of runners, and they could continue to eat more at Sama’s snaps against better teams if that behavior continues.
Wide Receiver
1. Chris Brooks, Eugene Hilton, Tyrell Henry
2. Malachi Coleman, Shamar Rigby, Malachi Coleman
Chris Brooks, Eugene Hilton, and Tyrell Henry have been Wisconsin’s starters at wide receiver so far, with Brooks and Hilton on the outside and Henry in the slot.
Malachi Coleman and Shamar Rigby are the two others we’ve seen on the field, with Coleman being seen both on the boundary and in the slot, which is why he’s listed as the No. 2 at both spots.
Coleman was hurt early on Saturday, consolidating the receiver snaps to the top four. Chris Brooks led the team with 39 snaps, while Tyrell Henry had 27 and Eugene Hilton, who was limited entering the week, had 26. Shamar Rigby wasn’t far behind with 20 snaps.
Tight End
1. Jacob Harris
2. Grant Stec OR Emmett Bork
With Ryan Schwendeman out and listed as “Injured-Status TBD”, Grant Stec and Emmett Bork are now listed as co-backups.
Jacob Harris has been listed as the starter for Wisconsin since the start of the season, but the snaps have looked different. Stec was the leader again in Week 2 with 34 snaps, while Bork was second with 22 and Harris was at 21.
Harris has not been used much as a blocker, running routes on the majority of his snaps, while Stec, Bork, and Schwendeman have all been seen running routes and blocking consistently.
Offensive Line
1. PJ Wilkins, Colin Cubberly, Austin Kawecki, Stylz Blackmon, Kevin Heywood
2. Lucas Simmons, Hardy Watts, Ryan Cory, Blake Cherry, Barrett Nelson
PJ Wilkins was a full go in Week 2 after getting hurt at the end of Week 1 at left tackle. In addition, Stylz Blackmon was listed as the starter going into Week 2 at right guard and took all of the main snaps after rotating with Blake Cherry back in Week 1.
Emerson Mandell is getting closer to a return. He dressed last week, and the Badgers are hoping he can return this week, giving him a chance to play before the Big Ten slate. Apart from that, there are no surprises here as well. Those five backups were the ones who came in when Ryan Hopkins got snaps at the end of the game.
Defensive Line
1. Hammond Russell, Charles Perkins
2. Junior Poyser OR Dillan Johnson, Nolan Vils OR DeNigel Cooper
The Badgers rotate a ton here on the defensive line, giving all six of these guys meaningful snaps while keeping them fresh.
Hammond Russell saw a team-high 23 snaps at the position. Behind him, DeNigel Cooper, who has looked quite good through two games, saw his reps increase to 22 snaps. Junior Poyser had 21, Charles Perkins had 17, Nolan Vils had 15, and Dillan Johnson had 14. Illinois State transfer Jake Anderson, who also played in the rotation in Week 1, had 14 snaps.
Johnson looked much better this week as well after a struggle in Week 1, and could be in line for more reps. But the Badgers seem to like their six-to-seven defensive linemen rotation. We’ll see how the snaps allocate as players do better or struggle more.
Outside Linebacker
1. Sebastian Cheeks, Tyreese Fearbry
2. Nicolas Clayton OR Micheal Garner, Justus Boone
This is the group of outside linebackers for the Badgers. Sebastian Cheeks has looked strong and paced the group in snaps through two games. Tyreese Fearbry also had a better Week 2, and he’s gotten a good number of reps.
Jumbo edge Micheal Garner had 23 snaps, and seems to be the No. 3 guy in the room, while Nick Clayton had 13 and Justus Boone had 10. Aaron Witt also got in the game for seven snaps.
Inside Linebacker
1. Mason Posa, Cooper Catalano
2. Thomas Heiberger, Jon Jon Kamara
These have been the four linebackers for the Badgers, and Thomas Heiberger got some extended snaps when Mason Posa got hurt on Saturday.
Jon Jon Kamara had only six snaps in place of Cooper Catalano, who nearly played the whole game, while transfer Taylor Schaefer also got in the mix for seven snaps.
Cornerbacks
1. Javan Robinson, Jai’mier Scott, Bryce West (slot)
2. Cai Bates, Eric Fletcher, Raphael Dunn (slot)
There haven’t been any surprises here after the camp battle between Jai’mier Scott and Eric Fletcher. Scott has played the lion’s share of snaps, which continued on Saturday as he outpaced Fletcher 42-26.
Robinson and West have been seeing the wide majority of the snaps as well, with Cai Bates not rotating in much to start the year.
Scott and Fletcher were both beaten deep against Western Illinois. We’ll see if they can recover in Week 3.
Safeties
1. Matt Jung, Marvin Burks
2. Carson Van Dinter, Cairo Skanes
Matt Jung and Marvin Burks have been the clear starters, but Cairo Skanes has rotated in a good amount for Burks in the safety room.
He saw 22 snaps on Saturday to Burks’s 40, while Jung had 57 snaps. Carson Van Dinter came in at the end of the game, seeing seven snaps.
