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. 28 -- Drew Meyer, punter
Why he's No. 28
The field-position battle is one of the most crucial elements to each football game, and Wisconsin struggled to win that area during an up-and-down season from Meyer in 2014. His punting average has dropped each 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. That mark ranked 104th out of 108 qualifying punters with a minimum of 3.6 punts per game.
Still, he's 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.
Expectations for 2015
Meyer's junior season was uneven for a multitude of reasons. His struggles began in the season opener against LSU, when he experienced leg cramping and required an IV mid-game. In the second half, he punted back-to-back 25 and 26 yarders that didn't even stretch past the LSU 40-yard line.
During the season, Meyer said his problem was ball-foot contact, noting the ball was coming off just to the side of his metatarsal bone, and he did not have the clean surface area he wanted. The process of fixing that problem lasted well into the season and clearly affected his numbers. He also did not adjust well to the coaching staff's request for a rugby-style punter, which led to third-string quarterback Bart Houston handling that role late in the season.
But the Houston experiment at punter is likely over, and that means it's all Meyer's show. He has played in 41 career games, and it's time for him to start showing that experience by becoming a more consistent punter.
Meyer has spent the spring 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. And he is brimming with optimism about the ways in which the two have helped him to clean up small technique issues, including a quicker release with shorter steps and a smoother swing through the ball.
"I just feel more confident right now," Meyer said. "It's great having Taylor and coach Haering around. I was always a firm believer growing up and going to camps that the more people you can go to, people look for different things. You can grow as an overall player more with the more eyes you have on you. It's been a great experience so far, and I'm really excited for the summer to keep improving and then come back in the fall and get back to work."
What would they do without him?
The only other punter on the roster is redshirt freshman P.J. Rosowski, but he is entirely unproven at the college level since he's never handled an in-game kick. The Stoughton, Wis., native did average 41.3 yards on 39 punts as a senior, and Meyer praised Rosowski's performance this spring.
Still, Wisconsin likely would be in rough shape if Meyer struggled to the point that he lost his job as a senior.
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