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5 Wisconsin Badgers placed on prestigious preseason watch lists

Despite lower expectations from the national college football media, the Wisconsin Badgers have a handful of players on the watch lists for major awards this season.
Lorin Cox|
Oct 12, 2024; Piscataway, New Jersey, USA; Wisconsin Badgers wide receiver Vinny Anthony II (8) catches the ball as Rutgers Scarlet Knights defensive back Bo Mascoe (3) tackles during the second half at SHI Stadium
Oct 12, 2024; Piscataway, New Jersey, USA; Wisconsin Badgers wide receiver Vinny Anthony II (8) catches the ball as Rutgers Scarlet Knights defensive back Bo Mascoe (3) tackles during the second half at SHI Stadium | Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

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Wisconsin Badgers

Despite lower expectations from the national college football media, the Wisconsin Badgers have a handful of players on the watch lists for major awards this season.

The program has announced five different players who are up for the college football awards recognizing the best players in the nation at their respective positions.

Junior linebacker Christian Alliegro was a fast riser from last season to now, earning a spot on the Butkus Award watch list despite only three starts under his belt.

On the back end of the defense, veteran cornerback Ricardo Hallman was named to the Allstate Wuerffel Trophy watch list. That award isn't for his on-field performance, but it recognizes leaders in community service.

Hallman was previously nominated to the Allstate AFCA Good Works Team for 2025 because of his community service efforts.

After a bit of a breakout season last year, wide receiver Vinny Anthony is a candidate for the Paul Hornig award, given to the most versatile player in the sport.

He is effective both out wide and in the slot, in addition to his work as a kickoff and punt returner as well as a gunner on special teams.

Also on special teams, both the Badgers' punter and kicker were named to the watch lists for the Ray Guy and Lou Groza awards, respectively.

Nathanial Vakos was 3-for-3 on kicks from 50-plus yards last season, but he'll need to fine tune his accuracy on some of the shorter kicks to contend for the award.

Atticus Bertrams finished in the Top 15 in the country in net yards per punt last season, including a 74-yard rolling punt against USC.

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Lorin Cox
LORIN COX

Lorin Cox is the managing editor of Wisconsin Badgers on SI. He has been covering Badgers sports since 2014, when he was an undergraduate at the University of Wisconsin. He previously wrote for the Wisconsin State Journal, NBC Sports Chicago and USA Today Sports Media Group, and he is a former analyst for Pro Football Focus.

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