College Football

Wisconsin Football: The Defense's Unsung Hero

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 7:01 p.m. ET

Fansided, Nelson Raisbeck/FanSided via Badger of Honor

An unsung hero on the Badgers defense this season wasn’t necessarily a player, but their defensive coordinator, Justin Wilcox. Wilcox took over this season as the defensive coordinator following Dave Aranda’s departure for LSU. Aranda had turned a decent Badgers defense to one of the best in college football during his three seasons. Though many defensive starters were returning, there were many questions whether the defense would be as good as it was the past few years. Those questions were answered after Wilcox’s first season as the Badger’s defensive coordinator.

Apr 16, 2016; Baton Rouge, LA, USA; LSU Tigers defensive coordinator Dave Aranda looks on during the Spring Game at Tiger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Bush-USA TODAY Sports

Replacing Aranda

The Badgers hired Justin Wilcox after the Steve Sarkisian debacle at USC last season. He took a lot of heat due to the struggles of the USC defense at the end of the season. USC fired Wilcox once Clay Helton took over the football program. However, there was reason to believe in Justin Wilcox’s coaching after leaving Los Angeles.

Wilcox had great success in his past coaching stops before USC, and was a promising hire for Wisconsin. He was the defensive coordinator at Boise State under Chris Petersen from 2006-2009. Wilcox played a big part in establishing Boise State as a perennial power and his defensive units set school records. Boise State notably upset Oklahoma in the 2007 Fiesta Bowl. The program established itself as a non-Power Five program to be respected throughout that time period. Wilcox also had successful stops at Tennessee and Washington prior to USC.

Mar 3, 2015; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Southern California Trojans defensive coordinator Justin Wilcox at spring practice at Cromwell Field. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Wisconsin did have some key losses coming into the season on the defensive side of the ball. Joe Schobert, Darius Hillary, Michael Caputo, and Tanner McEvoy are all playing on Sundays. Even with the losses of some key players, Wilcox inherited good players such as Vince Biegel, Leo Musso, and Sojourn Shelton. With so many players returning, the Badgers were set to have a solid core of talent on defense. The unit’s biggest question mark was if Wilcox could coach the defense to the same level as Aranda. And not only did he match Aranda’s success, but he arguably had a better season than Aranda’s best season.

Wilcox’s Style

Wilcox brought his own style of defensive scheme to Wisconsin. One of his goals was to be more physical and to outwork the opposing team every game. Part of his scheme is to locate the weak point in the opposing team’s offense and tactically attack it. This differs slightly from Aranda’s aggressive nature; he blitzed from anywhere at random. Aranda’s defenses would send lots of pressure early and often on opposing quarterbacks. Wilcox’s major philosophy on defense is to adapt: adapt to the roster he’s given, to his team’s strengths and the other team. The three words that can define Wilcox’s ideal Badger defense are physicality, flexibility and adaptability.

Wilcox continued Aranda’s success and led the Badgers to once again a top-ten defense. According to NCAA.com, the Badgers finished with the second best total defense, allowing 269 yards per game. They also finished second in division one in first downs allowed this season. They also finished 11th and sixth in the categories of third down and fourth down conversion percentage, respectively. Wisconsin also finished fourth this season in rushing defense, allowing 95 yards per game, and seventh in passing yards, allowing 173 yards per game. The Badgers were in the top 15 in most defensive categories. The defense was the rock this season for the Badgers and helped the Wisconsin offense tremendously.

Adversity

You could argue that Wilcox has raised the level of Wisconsin’s defensive play this season. He not only matched Aranda’s success, but also did so while going through much adversity. The Badgers defense suffered many injuries this season, especially to the linebacker position. Sophomore linebacker Chris Orr suffered a season-ending ACL injury early on, and then sophomore linebacker Jack Cichy suffered a season-ending peck surgery. Senior linebacker Vince Biegel was also hampered by injury for a stretch during the middle of the season. TJ Watt also missed time this season with an injury. Despite all of these injuries, the Wisconsin defense continued to stand strong and play at a high level.

Jan 2, 2017; Arlington, TX, USA; Wisconsin Badgers linebacker Vince Biegel (47) sacks Western Michigan Broncos quarterback Zach Terrell (11) during the second half at AT&T Stadium. The Badgers won 24-16. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

Wisconsin also played one of the toughest schedules in the country. They started the season by beating LSU and only surrendered 14 points. They also only allowed 14 points against Michigan in the big house. The Badgers only allowed 17 points to Nebraska and a stellar nine to Iowa. The only games the Badgers gave up more than 20 points were against Ohio State and Penn State. Both teams were ranked in the top five at the end of the season. Even in the Cotton Bowl, the Badgers shut down Western Michigan’s high octane passing offense and held them to merely 16 points. Wisconsin had many injuries and played one of the toughest schedules in college football, yet still had great success on defense.

Looking to the Future

The Badgers will lose many key starters from this season’s team. Vince Biegel, Leo Musso and Sojourn Shelton will all be lost to graduation. They have all been cornerstones on the Badger defense the last four years. Wisconsin will also lose TJ Watt to the NFL draft. He is currently ranked as the tenth best OLB prospect in this upcoming draft.

Despite losing these key players, the Wisconsin defense is poised to be yet again a strong defensive team. The Badgers will be bringing back both Cichy and Orr to help cement the linebacker position. They also return starting ILB TJ Edwards, the rock in the middle of the Wisconsin defense. The Badgers also had great contributions this season from linebackers Garret Dooley and Ryan Connelly, who will be returning next season. The Badgers landed another outside linebacker named Christian Bell, who transferred from Alabama and will be eligible to play next season. A Junior College linebacker/defensive end out of Iowa Western Community College named Andrew Van Ginkel also chose the Badgers. Wisconsin will also be returning experienced starters

Jan 2, 2017; Arlington, TX, USA; Wisconsin Badgers head coach Paul Chryst reacts to a play in the against the Western Michigan Broncos at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports

in the secondary; D’Cota Dixon, Derrick Tindal and Natrell Jamerson will all be returning next season.

Undoubtedly, the Badgers are losing a tremendous amount of talent and experience on the defensive side of the ball this season. At the same time, they are also returning many starters who are poised to work hard and continue the success the defense has experienced over the past few years. It will be Justin Wilcox’s task once again to fit all the pieces together like he did this season. Under Wilcox, the Badgers will look to build on their defensive success and continue to be one of the best defenses in the country next season.