FootballStudyHall looks at Wisconsin's Defense, it's walkons, and moving to a 3-4 (which seems relevant to us this spring)

[Saunders]

Why is this in the Husker Football section? Because it's what we should be doing. Wisconsin has been a model for consistent defense using non-top tier defenders, and walk-ons. And it's not exactly a secret that this is partially why we switched.

Walk-ons attack!

The move to the 3-4 under Gary Andersen was clearly huge for unlocking the potential of Wisconsin as a defensive squad because it emphasized the importance of linebackers and the Badgers have tended to find some good ones.

Big sturdy guys that are excellent in the box but would have questionable fits in a defensive scheme that asked them to cover a lot of grass against today’s spread offenses seem to sprout out of the ground at Wisconsin farms. Since 2014 in particular, when Joe Schobert (a walk-on) and Vince Biegel took over the two outside linebacker positions, Wisconsin has preferred defensive packages that kept four linebackers on the field. In their nickel package that has meant embracing a 2-4-5 package that Wisconsin relied on for the majority of their snaps in 2016.

With four linebackers in the box all the time, each skilled in playing a few different positions and roles within the front, the Badgers were free to unleash the hell of modern blitz schemes on their opponents. If all four linebackers know how to play a few different coverage assignments and a few different spots up front than any of the them can become a featured weapon in the pass rush on any given snap.

http://www.footballstudyhall.com/2017/3/8/14842594/wisconsins-walk-on-led-defense-leonhard-watt-cichy-connelly?utm_campaign=footballstudyhall&utm_content=chorus&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter

 

[Saunders]

This is the sort of scheme that Wisconsin has been engraining into their program on defense. They have two linebacker coaches committed to ensuring a constant supply of versatile hybrids at the position with the inside-backers taught by former OL coach Bob Bostad and the outside-backers by Tim Tibesar. Their 2017 unit returns four players that saw a lot of action a year go, including walk-ons Jack Cichy and Ryan Connelly, but has to figure out which player to emphasize on the blitz with T.J. Watt joining his brother in the NFL.

Sound familiar?

 

[seaofred92]

Absolutely phenomenal find Saunders- +1 for sure. Really looking forward to seeing how Nebraska does moving forward in this scheme. Think it is probably the best fit for us- and should help us when playing teams that use the 3-4 like Wisconsin as well.

 

[Saunders]

Absolutely phenomenal find Saunders- +1 for sure. Really looking forward to seeing how Nebraska does moving forward in this scheme. Think it is probably the best fit for us- and should help us when playing teams that use the 3-4 like Wisconsin as well.

Thanks! I find these types of articles vastly more interesting than the usual offseason fluff pieces, and I think it's a perfect blueprint for what Nebraska is shooting for.

 

[TonyStalloni]

Paul C and Riley are close. Hard to say if they shared this with each other. More likely our coaches saw what they were doing and how effective it was and decided to clone it. It has potential to be strong against both the run and pass. The last 7 years we have been able to do one or the other of those but not both at the same time.

 

[NUinID]

That was a nice read. It really shows how Wisconsin has flourished with less than 5* at most positions to win a lot of games.

 

[Red Five]

I think that there is a bit of luck in finding these walk-ons though. You can't just throw anyone out there and expect it to run the same.

Maybe we need the Dakota schools to recruit Wisconsin harder and take some of their walk-ons.

 

[seaofred92]

I think that there is a bit of luck in finding these walk-ons though. You can't just throw anyone out there and expect it to run the same.

Maybe we need the Dakota schools to recruit Wisconsin harder and take some of their walk-ons.

obviously can't just throw anyone out there and expect it to run the same, but I think this system really makes NU's margin for error much larger than a 4-3 scheme does. Nebraska has produced good walk on's at both LB and DE but it is incredibly hard to find good enough DT's at large enough quantities to be able to run a dominate 4-3 in college, especially given Nebraska's location. There are simply more really really good LB's out there than there are DT's. Being able to use the walk-on program for depth at LB and DE in this system will be extremely helpful and very much suits the football climate of the state of Nebraska IMO. The less elite level linemen Nebraska has to recruit to run a defensive scheme, the better.

 

[NUinID]

I think that there is a bit of luck in finding these walk-ons though. You can't just throw anyone out there and expect it to run the same.

Maybe we need the Dakota schools to recruit Wisconsin harder and take some of their walk-ons.

I would agree with this. Wisconsin is getting a lot of quality walk ons like NU used to. A lot of the really good kids that used to walk on are now opting for a 1AA or a mid major scholarship. Wisconsin also has 3x the population of Nebraska and a lot of little towns that produce some great athletes.

 

[GSG]

I think that there is a bit of luck in finding these walk-ons though. You can't just throw anyone out there and expect it to run the same.

Maybe we need the Dakota schools to recruit Wisconsin harder and take some of their walk-ons.

I would agree with this. Wisconsin is getting a lot of quality walk ons like NU used to. A lot of the really good kids that used to walk on are now opting for a 1AA or a mid major scholarship. Wisconsin also has 3x the population of Nebraska and a lot of little towns that produce some great athletes.

Not to mention that they are the only school with football that can offer athletic scholarships. All the other schools with football are D-III