Badgers Fall Camp Day 4 Notebook: QB Play, Upgraded Secondary, OL Concerns

Extraneous notes from Wisconsin's fourth practice of fall camp.

Wisconsin CB Jai'mier Scott. | Christian Borman.

After four straight days of practice, the Badgers are nearly a quarter of the way through fall camp already.

Wisconsin wrapped up its fourth practice of fall camp inside the Kellner Family Athletic Center Sunday morning, and will get a break Monday before taking the field once again Tuesday for practice No. 5.

Badgers On SI had multiple writers on hand Sunday morning, and below we empty the notebook from a spirited, (mostly) padded practice:

Upgraded size, length at WR, DB immediately apparent

This isn't exactly a new revelation, but Wisconsin is bigger at both wide receiver and cornerback, in particular. The secondary had the upper hand Sunday, as the passing game struggled to get going. But both of these rooms are more physically imposing and this looks like the best collection of athletes, especially at corner, since Fickell has been in Madison.

Up-and-down QB play

Ryan Hopkins. | Christian Borman.

The talent in this quarterback room is miles better than what it was last year. That much is clear. But for as exciting as Colton Joseph and Ryan Hopkins are, especially, it was something of a roller coaster practice for both players. Both showed off their arm talent and made a handful of nice throws, but both also made poor decisions and Hopkins in particular threw a few balls that should've been picked off. Joseph will absolutely raise the floor of quarterback play in Madison as the starter, but the consistency (or lack thereof) is going to be key.

Second-team OL has a rough day

Wisconsin's starting offensive line didn't exactly have the best day, particularly the offensive tackles — I thought PJ Wilkins and Lucas Simmons-Johansson (starting for the banged up Kevin Heywood) showed some warts in pass protection. But as a whole, the first-team offensive line was solid. It was the second unit that got absolutely chewed out by coach Eric Mateos. Heywood and Colin Cubberly displayed leadership, hyping up the group after they got scolded. That was good to see, but it wasn't an inspiring day for the second-team offensive line.

Blake Cherry is clearly the No. 3 guard

Emerson Mandell was held out of team periods Sunday, working off to the side by himself. That meant Cherry, the Arkansas transfer, played starting right guard. Again, this isn't the easiest environment in which to evaluate linemen, but he largely held his own. Just like at tackle, the Badgers appear to be at least three starters deep, but with two backups playing with the first five right now, Mateos' unit is a little convoluted early in fall camp. And make no mistake — the starting five need to stay healthy.

CB2 is a legitimate battle

Wisconsin cornerback Eric Fletcher. | Christian Borman.

Jai'mier Scott and Eric Fletcher are battling for the starting field corner role across from already penciled-in starter Javan Robinson. The pair just about split reps with the 1st-team defense today; neither looked to have a firm lead. Fletcher did have one of the better PBUs of the day, breaking up a short throw from Deuce Adams and hitting an emphatic "seatbelt" celebration.

3-ILB package utilized heavily

Wisconsin deployed Jon Jon Kamara quite a bit Sunday. The Kansas transfer mans the third inside linebacker or "STAR" position, and he took the majority of the snaps with the first-team defense. At one point, the Badgers deployed a 2-5-4 package, with five total linebackers on the field at one time. It'll be interesting to see what Wisconsin's true base defense is this fall.