2015 Badgers season preview: Secondary, special teams
This is the fourth in a series of four previews examining Wisconsin's football team by positions. Today's grouping: defensive backs, punter, kick/punt returner.
Defensive backs
Rating (1-to-10 scale): 10
Projected starters: cornerback Darius Hillary (redshirt senior), cornerback Sojourn Shelton (junior), safety Tanner McEvoy (redshirt senior), safety Michael Caputo (redshirt senior)
Key backups: Derrick Tindal (sophomore), Devin Gaulden (redshirt senior), Natrell Jamerson (sophomore), T.J. Reynard (senior), Joe Ferguson (junior), Leo Musso (redshirt junior), Lubern Figaro (sophomore), Evan Bondoc (redshirt freshman)
The breakdown: The strongest position group on Wisconsin's entire team belongs to the secondary. And it's not even close. Darius Hillary, Sojourn Shelton, Michael Caputo and Tanner McEvoy have combined to play in an astounding 133 games at Wisconsin. That's a lot of football experience.
Hillary finished seventh on the team last season in total tackles (41) and added five pass breakups and two quarterback hurries. The tackles, however, are not indicative of his value because teams don't want to throw against him. Shelton took a step backward in his sophomore season, recording 33 tackles (down from 36 as a freshman). He also didn't register any interceptions after picking off four passes in 2013. But he was one of the standouts of the spring and should return to form.
Caputo is an absolute beast and will likely be an all-Big Ten pick in 2015. Last season, he finished with 106 tackles, a sack, an interception, two quarterback hurries, two forced fumbles, a team-best four fumble recoveries and six pass breakups. McEvoy, meanwhile, will spend a full season honing his craft in the secondary for the first time at Wisconsin. He transitioned quite well to safety after starting the 2013 season in the team's quarterback battle. His length and athleticism on the back end will help the team recover from mistakes and limit big plays.
Best position battle: Lubern Figaro played in 13 games last season and made seven starts, so McEvoy's shift back to defense moves him out of the starting lineup. But expect Figaro to make a significant impact. Derrick Tindal and Devin Gaulden at cornerback should also see the field plenty in 2015.
Punter
Rating (1-to-10 scale): 7
Projected starter: Drew Meyer (redshirt senior)
Key backup: P.J. Rosowski (redshirt freshman)
The breakdown: Meyer's punting struggles have been fairly well documented. But just as a refresher, his numbers have dipped every season since a stellar freshman campaign in which he averaged 41.5 yards and ranked in the top 50 nationally. In 2013, that number fell to 38.6 yards, and it dipped further last season to 37.4 yards -- which ranked 104th out of 108 qualifying punters with a minimum of 3.6 punts per game.
Still, Meyer remains vital to the team's success. He is a three-year starter who has an opportunity to close his career as one of the most prolific punters in school history. His career punting average of 39.5 yards currently ranks ninth. His 187 punts rank eighth, and with 63 more punts, he can finish his career with more punt attempts than any player at Wisconsin.
Meyer, for what it's worth, sounded upbeat about where he was headed during spring camp after working with new special teams coach Chris Haering and special teams assistant Taylor Mehlhaff, an all-American kicker at Wisconsin as a senior in 2007. The goal is to clean up some of Meyer's technical issues, get a smoother release and follow through and get back to being the player Meyer was in 2012.
Best position battle: There really is no position battle at punter for Wisconsin. Rosowski hasn't handled a punt at Wisconsin, though he did average 41.3 yards on 39 punts as a senior in high school.
Kick/punt returner
Rating (1-to-10 scale): 6
Projected starters: Alex Erickson (redshirt senior), Natrell Jamerson (sophomore)
Key backups: Rob Wheelwright (junior), George Rushing (sophomore), A.J. Jordan (redshirt senior)
The breakdown: Most of the position battles are set for Wisconsin heading into fall camp. But the ones that remain in question are the kick and punt return man. That may be the same person, as it was with Kenzel Doe last season. Or it may be different people. During portions of spring practice, the coaching staff trotted out several players to handle kick and punt return duties in drills, including Erickson, Jamerson, Wheelwright, Rushing and Jordan.
Erickson has the surest hands but may not possess the explosiveness the staff is looking for. Jamerson, a wide receiver-turned-defensive back, has the speed but not the experience. The same can be said for the rest of the group.
Last season, Doe returned 28 kickoffs (tied for fifth-most in school history) for 623 yards and had 24 punt returns for 253 yards. He struggled to hold onto the football on occasion, but at least Wisconsin knew it had its man to handle all the returns. Now, it's totally up in the air.
Best position battle: All of them. At this stage, nothing is set. And since there were no kick or punt returns during the team's spring game, we'll have to wait for fall camp to start to find some answers.
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