This is the fifth in a series of 11 previews leading up to the Wisconsin football team's Aug. 6 start of practice.
July 27: Quarterbacks
July 28: Running backs
July 29: Wide receivers
July 30: Tight ends
July 31: Offensive linemen
Aug. 1: Defensive linemen
Aug. 2: Linebackers
Aug. 3: Cornerbacks
Aug. 4: Safeties
Aug. 5: Specialists
Aug. 6: Coaches
TODAY'S POSITION: OFFENSIVE LINEMEN
Rating (1-to-10 scale): 8
Projected starters: left tackle Ricky Wagner (redshirt senior), left guard Ryan Groy (redshirt junior), center Travis Frederick (redshirt junior), right guard Robert Burge (redshirt senior), right tackle Rob Havenstein (redshirt sophomore).
Key backups: Kyle Costigan (redshirt sophomore), Dallas Lewallen (redshirt sophomore), Dan Voltz (freshman).
The breakdown: Wisconsin has been synonymous with top-level offensive line play for years, and that isn't expected to change in 2012.
Left tackle Ricky Wagner and center Travis Frederick are two of the best at their position in the entire country, and those two will be relied upon to lead the rest of the big boys up front. Wagner, a redshirt senior from West Allis, Wis., is a projected top-10 pick in the 2013 NFL draft in some circles. He is an Outland Trophy candidate for college football's best interior lineman and is a good bet to win the award. Wagner has played in 38 games in his career with 24 starts.
Frederick has bounced around between center and left guard during his career but will take over as the team's center for good in 2012. He has appeared in 18 games with 17 starts and became the first true freshman in Wisconsin history to start a game on the offensive line when he lined up at center against Northern Illinois in 2009.
Ryan Groy has just four starts in his 27-game career, but he became an integral part of the offensive line late last season when center Peter Konz went down with an ankle injury. He started at left guard against Michigan State in the Big Ten championship game, so he does possess big-game experience.
While Wagner, Frederick and Groy are certain starters, the right side of the offensive line remains somewhat of a question mark.
Casey Dehn was expected to challenge for a starting role on the right side, but he is no longer with the team. That leaves Robert Burge and Rob Havenstein as the most likely candidates to fill starting spots.
Badgers coach Bret Bielema raved during Big Ten media days about the change in Burge's body composition. A stronger, more fit Burge should finally receive his opportunity to play as a fifth-year senior. Though he has appeared in 29 career games, he has yet to make a start.
Havenstein missed all of spring practice while recovering from shoulder surgery but is expected to be a starter. Last season, he played in 13 games with one start.
Bielema has said he doesn't necessarily care if he uses tackles at the guard spot or vice versa. He is simply looking for the right combination of five guys that give Wisconsin the best opportunity to compete on the offensive line.
Best position battle: Although the top five guys on the offensive line appear set, a couple of players could surprise and work their way into the playing rotation up front.
One of those players could be Kyle Costigan, who played in three games last season as a defensive lineman before suffering a season-ending foot injury. Costigan was the No. 2 right guard for the Badgers during spring practice and has progressed quicker than most had hoped.
"He's probably pound-for-pound one of the strongest players on our team," Bielema said at Big Ten media days.
Freshman Dan Voltz also impressed and was listed as the No. 2 center in spring practice. Voltz graduated high school a semester early but might be better served taking a redshirt season given the number of upperclassmen on the offensive line.
Best of the Big Ten: 1. Wisconsin; 2. Michigan State; 3. Michigan.
Despite some uncertainty surrounding the right side of the offensive line, Wisconsin should once again be the cream of the crop in the Big Ten. Peter Konz and Kevin Zeitler are off to the NFL, but the Badgers continue to reload. Not many programs could lose three first-team All-Big Ten offensive linemen -- graduated senior Josh Oglesby also earned that distinction last season -- and still be this good.
Michigan State could challenge Wisconsin for offensive line supremacy because six returning Spartans started at least one game up front last season. Fifth-year senior Chris McDonald, who has started 26 games, is one of the top guards in the Big Ten.
Michigan loses center David Molk to the NFL but should have enough experience returning to adequately protect quarterback Denard Robinson. Taylor Lewan has started 22 games at left tackle and is considered one of the best at his position in the Big Ten. Patrick Omameh also returns and has started 29 consecutive games at right guard.
Ricky Wagner says: "I want to be the best offensive lineman, the best left tackle (in the country). Nobody wants to be the second best or the third best. You want to be the best. You want to shoot for the highest goal."
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