Wisconsin Badgers beat writer Jesse Temple will be analyzing the 30 most important players to the Badgers' success in the 2015 season. Check back each weekday to see the latest player on the list.
Note: This is not a list of the team's 30 best players or a series about past success, but rather which of them means the most to how Wisconsin will fare this year. Criteria such as depth at that player's position, general expectations and overall importance of that player having a good season are all highly considered. The list does not include incoming freshmen because their potential impact is unknown at this time.
No. 23 -- Jazz Peavy, wide receiver
Why he's No. 23
Someone needs to emerge as a second wide receiver threat opposite Alex Erickson, and Peavy could prove to be that guy. Erickson, who caught 55 passes a year ago, is the only returning receiver with more than 13 catches. Slot receiver Kenzel Doe (17 catches, 197 yards, one touchdown) is gone, as is tight end Sam Arneson (29 catches, 387 yards, four touchdowns) and running back Melvin Gordon (19 catches, 153 yards, three touchdowns). Those three ranked 2-4 on the team in total catches.
Peavy was among the most consistent receivers during spring practice, and that bodes well for his immediate future. He often lined up as the third receiver for the starting offense when the team went to three-wide sets. Peavy seems to be able to run all the routes and could be both a big-play threat and a nice safety valve in short passing down scenarios. During the team's spring game, he caught three passes for 28 yards.
Expectations for 2015
Peavy thought he was ready for the spotlight a year ago until a hamstring injury during the third practice of fall camp sidelined him. The setback took so long to heal that by the time he returned, his opportunity to earn meaningful snaps had passed.
This year, Peavy has an entirely different level of expectations. And so do the coaches.
"Probably the only guy that's been more consistent at this point is Alex," first-year Badgers receivers coach Ted Gilmore said of Peavy this spring. "And he's right there. Don't get caught up in who's playing X, Z, this and that. Trust me. That young man at this point has put himself in position to help us play."
This is a role Peavy has relished since he arrived at Wisconsin from Kenosha Tremper, where he caught 38 passes for 535 yards and eight touchdowns as a senior. Peavy injured his hamstring during preparations for the Wisconsin Football Coaches Association all-star game that summer and was unable to show much of his talent in fall camp -- the same scenario that plagued him last season.
"I wasn't able to practice the plays out on the field," Peavy said. "I feel like that's the easiest way I learn and probably most people learn is actually doing plays, not just seeing them. So I wasn't able to do that or I couldn't showcase what I could do. I just fell behind, and that was that story."
Peavy said he was working to better grasp the team's playbook, which features new terminology with a new coaching staff. Feedback he's received from Gilmore and offensive coordinator Joe Rudolph is that there still are little things he must work on, particularly when it comes to securing blocks in the run game.
Still, the staff was impressed with Peavy's development through 15 spring practices.
"He's done a heck of a job," Rudolph said. "I've liked what he's done this spring."
Doe, Arneson and Gordon combined to catch 65 passes, which means there are plenty of passes to go around in 2015. If Peavy can contribute even one catch a game to help out Erickson, the tight ends and running backs, that could go a long way toward lifting the offense in the post-Melvin Gordon era.
What would they do without him?
Peavy will have some competition as the No. 2 wide receiver. Right now, that looks like a three-man race with Peavy, Rob Wheelwright and Reggie Love. All three players have much to prove after disappointing seasons a year ago. Love caught two passes for 15 yards, Wheelwright caught one pass for 17 yards and Peavy didn't contribute at all on game day.
Wheelwright appears to possess the most upside and sparkled during the spring game when he caught seven passes for 79 yards with two touchdowns. Love was the second receiver opposite Erickson in the spring when Wheelwright missed time with an injury. And Peavy, whose hands were consistent, is in the mix as well.
Other receivers vying for significant snaps are Jordan Fredrick (13 catches, 126 yards last season), George Rushing (five catches, 62 yards) and Krenwick Sanders (one catch, 10 yards).
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