Wisconsin football spring practice observations: Defense ahead of sloppy offense

MADISON, Wis. — Wisconsin took the field Saturday afternoon at Camp Randall Stadium ready to unveil its new-look Air Raid offense to the public for the first time during an open scrimmage. Attendance through the gates was approximately 10,000 people, and the excitement was palpable despite strange late-April weather that included both sunshine and snow.

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Badgers fans witnessed some sloppiness from the offense, which looked out of sync for large chunks of the day and surrendered five interceptions and 10 sacks. There are still two spring practices remaining, however, and more than four months until the season opener for Wisconsin to continue to adapt to offensive coordinator Phil Longo’s scheme.

“I think competitive spirit is what I wanted to be able to see,” Wisconsin coach Luke Fickell said on the radio broadcast afterward. “Guys being able to handle some adversity and some mistakes and things like that. Obviously, I think we saw that today.”

Here are nine takeaways from the team’s 13th practice this spring.

1. Starting quarterback Tanner Mordecai, who has been so steady throughout the spring, did not have his finest performance Saturday. He threw interceptions on each of his first three drives with the first-team offense and ended up with four picks total.

Mordecai’s first-down pass over the middle intended for slot receiver Will Pauling was intercepted by safety Kamo’i Latu, who stepped in front of the throw. On the next drive, with the offense facing a second-and-14 at its own 36-yard line, Mordecai’s pass sailed over slot receiver Skyler Bell’s head and landed in the arms of cornerback Ricardo Hallman. Mordecai then threw too far out in front of receiver Chimere Dike, and Hallman made a great play on the ball for another interception.

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Mordecai was intercepted for a fourth time — and a third time by Hallman — on a third-and-7 from his own 28. Mordecai threw a pass downfield that went through the hands of receiver C.J. Williams and right to Hallman. Mordecai unofficially completed 17 of 32 passes for 97 yards with no touchdowns. He did respond by completing 11 of his final 16 passes, including a stretch of six consecutive completions.

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“It’s easy to look at Tanner and say, ‘OK, the ball was picked off three times or whatever it was,’” Fickell said. “He didn’t bat an eye. He didn’t get down. He kept coming back, kept firing. I think guys rallied behind him.”

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2. Second-team quarterback Braedyn Locke compiled a much better day and opened with a fantastic drive during which he completed 5 of 6 passes for 63 yards with a touchdown. He connected on back-to-back throws, first to receiver Quincy Burroughs for 16 yards over the middle and then to tight end Jack Eschenbach for 22 yards. Locke finished off the drive when he threw an 11-yard touchdown pass on third-and-9 to tight end Hayden Rucci in the front of the end zone with safety Austin Brown draped all over him.

Locke led a second scoring drive when he completed all three of his passes for 65 yards, including a 14-yard touchdown pass to Burroughs. In between, he made a handful of nice throws on other drives. On a third-and-9 at his own 39, Locke kept the play alive long enough to complete a 15-yard pass to Vinny Anthony. Burroughs and Tommy McIntosh were among his favorite targets. Locke unofficially completed 20 of 36 passes for 236 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions.

Mordecai has established himself based on his overall body of work this spring, as well as his two years of starting experience at SMU, in which he threw for 7,152 yards and 72 touchdowns. But Locke continues to show that Wisconsin has a highly capable backup who can contribute if necessary.

3. Burroughs and McIntosh have not been among those regularly highlighted during spring practice given the amount of top-end talent Wisconsin possesses at wide receiver. But both players were outstanding while working with the second-team offense.

Burroughs caught a 16-yard pass over the middle and hung on despite being drilled by safety Owen Arnett. Burroughs later made a good catch on the left sideline for 17 yards, diving and keeping his feet inbounds on a third-and-10 from the defense’s 43-yard line. Later, on a second-and-7 from the defense’s 14, Burroughs caught a short Locke pass inside the 10 and then turned and beat cornerback Jace Arnold for a touchdown. Burroughs unofficially caught five passes for 60 yards with a score.

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McIntosh showcased his athleticism in a 6-foot-5 frame. He made a great leaping catch on a Locke pass thrown over a defensive back on the right sideline. During one sequence with the second-team offense, McIntosh corralled a pass down the right sideline working against cornerback Jonas Duclona for 34 yards. On the ensuing play, McIntosh caught a pass over the middle, shed a couple of would-be tacklers and gained 17 yards. McIntosh unofficially finished with five receptions for 86 yards.

4. Mordecai led one touchdown drive with the first-team offense, completing 4 of 6 passes for 16 yards. But running back Braelon Allen stole the show on the series, demonstrating his physicality and burst in one of the rare full tackling situations for him this spring. Allen broke off back-to-back impressive runs, gaining 17 yards on a third-and-3 from his own 42-yard line followed by 13 yards. Allen scored on a 3-yard touchdown to cap the drive.

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— Wisconsin Football (@BadgerFootball) April 22, 2023

Allen unofficially carried 15 times for 71 yards with a touchdown. Running back Chez Mellusi unofficially carried 12 times for 67 yards. His best run came from midfield when he burst through a hole for 19 yards after a high snap to Mordecai. Running backs were not live-tackled during the second half and were instead “thudded up.” Allen and Mellusi are both healthy and have the potential to be a potent one-two punch this season.

5. Walk-on Marshall Howe once again demonstrated why he is Wisconsin’s No. 3 quarterback at this stage, leading an impressive touchdown drive with the third-team offense in which he completed all four of his passes for 35 yards. That included a 12-yard pass up the left hash to freshman tight end Angel Toombs. On second-and-7 from the 9, Howe tossed a 9-yard touchdown pass to receiver Alex Moeller. There weren’t a ton of third-team reps to go around, but Howe unofficially completed 5 of 8 passes for 42 yards with a touchdown.

Myles Burkett earned one drive with the third-team offense and completed 1 of 3 passes for 26 yards, delivering a short throw in the right flat to running back Cade Yacamelli, who gained good yardage after the catch.

Oklahoma transfer Nick Evers, meanwhile, misfired on all three of his passing attempts. He threw the ball away out of bounds against pressure by defensive lineman Tommy Brunner, was intercepted by Duclona on a pass intended for McIntosh and misfired high for receiver Cam Fane. Evers did showcase his athleticism, scrambling for runs of 14, 7 and 5 yards, but still appears to be trying to make up ground with his knowledge of the playbook and execution.

6. Hallman has been the most impressive cornerback for Wisconsin all spring and was an absolute pest Saturday. His three interceptions gave him six picks during the Badgers’ past two practices. He also was in on several other plays Saturday.

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Hallman broke up a pass for Dike on third-and-3 from the offense’s 32-yard line. Hallman had a nice open-field tackle on Dike to limit him to a 2-yard gain. Hallman broke up a downfield pass intended for Dike that didn’t count because the defense was offside. Later, Hallman broke up a pass intended for Bell on the left sideline and was in coverage on an incompletion for tight end Jack Pugh.

2️⃣/2️⃣ for 2️⃣

🚀 @ricardohallman6 pic.twitter.com/fG0q4FRv9D

— Wisconsin Football (@BadgerFootball) April 22, 2023

Even though he started eight games last season, Hallman’s role diminished following a tough performance at midseason against Michigan State. But he has all but locked up a starting role for next season.

“I think his game experience definitely can help,” Wisconsin cornerbacks coach Paul Haynes said this week. “I just sat there, and I just talked to him as we broke our meeting of just how intelligent he is. He’s starting to see things a lot better.

“The better vision you have as a DB, the more plays that you can sit there and make. So I think his vision has gone off the roof this spring. But there’s a lot of things he’s got to continue to get better at. Don’t get complacent, find a way to challenge yourself to get better at every single thing.”

7. Duclona, a second-team cornerback as a freshman early enrollee, has a bright future at Wisconsin. He made an outstanding pass breakup to prevent a fourth-down touchdown pass from Locke to Burroughs in the back of the end zone. He intercepted an Evers pass that was underthrown for McIntosh down the right sideline. Duclona has worked at cornerback with Arnold and Amaun Williams in the slot.

Denied 🚫 pic.twitter.com/faOjIVIEcq

— Wisconsin Football (@BadgerFootball) April 22, 2023

8. Wisconsin’s defense was active and made life difficult for the offense throughout the scrimmage. The Badgers’ 10 sacks came from nine players. Inside linebacker Jordan Turner sacked Mordecai twice, including on a third-and-10 with the offense at its own 45-yard line. Other first-team defense members to notch sacks were inside linebacker Maema Njongmeta and defensive lineman Rodas Johnson.

Defensive lineman Gio Paez, inside linebacker Bryan Sanborn, inside linebacker Jake Chaney and outside linebacker Kaden Johnson recorded sacks. During a two-play sequence with Evers in the game, inside linebacker Garrison Solliday went up the gut to sack him for a 7-yard loss, and outside linebacker Jordan Mayer immediately followed with a sack.

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“I think you see some back and forth like normal,” Fickell said. “Sometimes, you get into these situations, and early on, I think defensively maybe you are just naturally a little bit ahead, and there’s probably more similarities to what we do defensively. But I think all in all, the competitiveness is what I really wanted to see.”

9. Wisconsin’s field goal kicking was shaky. Ohio transfer Nathanial Vakos missed a 40-yard field goal wide left, although he came back to make a 47-yard field goal with room to spare when Fickell immediately gave the ball back to the first-team offense. Vakos missed a 43-yard field goal wide left from the right hash to close practice and finished 1-of-3.

Vakos regularly has been the first-team kicker ahead of Nate Van Zelst, who made 11 of 14 kicks last season but struggled Saturday. Van Zelst missed a 44-yard field goal wide right and short and a 43-yard field goal wide right.

(Top photo courtesy of Wisconsin Athletics)

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