Wisconsin football: Fall practice recap (August 21)

A detailed overview of all that happened at Wisconsin Badgers football practice on Sunday.

On Sunday the Wisconsin Badgers held their final open practice of fall camp before the season officially begins on September 3.

Previous practice recaps:

Working in full pads, the Badgers practiced for just over an hour, spending most of the time working 11-on-11.

Here is a look at some of the major news and notes from Sunday's practice.

Status report

Out for camp:

Notable players not practicing today:

Chimere Dike made a diving catch of 20+ yards along the sideline from Graham Mertz. Ball was throw a bit more outside than needed, but Dike made an incredible individual effort to come down with the ball.
Jake Chaney shot a gap and got into the backfield for a tackle for loss of Braelon Allen.
Graham Mertz with a long 55-yard touchdown throw Markus Allen who got over the top of the second-team defense.
Owen Arnett nearly had an interception off of Chase Wolf. He lost a handle of the poorly thrown pass.
Dean Engram had a beautiful diving catch on a throw from Wolf. The catch would have resulted in a first down.
James Thompson Jr. got into the backfield for a big tackle for loss against Braelon Allen. He beat the combination of Furtney and Tippmann on the play.
John Torchio with a pretty interception off of Chase Wolf, with his teammates yelling his nickname 'jewelry thief' from the sidelines.
Mertz connected with Chimere Dike on a post route for 30+ yards against Charlie Jarvis at safety. Dike made a leaping catch on the play.
Mertz hit Skyler Bell on a pair of 10+ yard gains, including an 11-yard touchdown.

Markus Allen had a long touchdown reception and also hauled in a couple of other impressive receptions. He continues to show an ability to make an impact in the passing game.
Chimere Dike had a couple of great grabs during team time. He had a diving reception and a couple of other impressive receptions.
Keeanu Benton was disruptive in the backfield. He almost had two sacks by my count and was tough against the run as expected.
John Torchio had the top defensive play of the day on an interception off Chase Wolf.
James Thompson Jr. made a big tackle for loss with the second team defense, and looked great working against the first-team offensive line. The 6-foot-5 sophomore has made big strides in fall camp.

True freshman Vinny Anthony saw a couple of first-team reps. He had a nice first-down reception and also ran a jet sweep with the first group.
Logan Brown was working as the No. 1 right tackle, while Riley Mahlman was the first-team left tackle with Jack Nelson out with a thumb injury. Tyler Beach (LG), Joe Tippmann (C), and Michael Furtney (RG) rounded out the first-team offensive line.
The second-team offensive line was Nolan Rucci (LT), Joe Brunner (LG), Dylan Barrett (C), JP Benzschawel (RG), and Trey Wedig at right tackle.
Clay Cundiff and Hayden Rucci were the top-2 at tight end, while Jack Eschenbach also received reps with the first and second-team units. Freshman Jack Pugh was back from injury and saw action with the second-team offense after missing most of fall camp.
In the first five snaps, Graham Mertz had two passes nearly intercepted by the second-team defense. Amaun Williams jumped an out route, while Avyonne Jones almost came away with a tipped pass off the hands of Braelon Allen. The ball appeared to come out a little hot on the short throw to Allen.
This was the first practice where we saw Chimere Dike get more involved. He had several pass receptions, including the catch of the day moments before fans were welcomed into the stadium.

At inside linebacker Bryan Sanborn and Tate Grass were the first pairing with the first-team defense. Sanborn has seen his rep count steadily increase throughout camp, and was the player who saw the most consistent first-team work on Sunday. Wisconsin rotated multiple different combinations with the second and first-eam groups though. Jake Chaney, Maema Njongmeta, and Jordan Turner also earned snaps. Of all the of defensive positions, the inside linebacker battle continues to be up the most fluid.
With Alexander Smith and Justin Clark still out, Jay Shaw and Ricardo Hallman were once again the starting tandem at cornerback. Amaun Williams received reps as the first-team slot cornerback. Cedrick Dort, Max Lofy, Avyonne Jones, and Al Ashford all worked with the second-team defense.
Kamo'i Latu and Preston Zachman were the safeties with the second team. Hunter Wohler and John Torchio were the starters.
Along the defensive line, Keeanu Benton (NT), Isaiah Mullens (DE) and Rodas Johnson (DE) were the first teamers, with Gio Paez, James Thompson JR. and Cade McDonald as the reserves.
C.J. Goetz and Nick Herbig were the starting outside linebackers throughout practice, with Kaden Johnson and Darryl Peterson as the next two up, and T.J. Bollers also earning opportunities with the reserves. Goetz had a would-be sack on the

Wide receiver Chimere Dike caught the first punt of practice. This was a change after Dean Engram had primary taken the first reps throughout camp. Engram did catch the second opportunity, and is still the likely favorite to return punts this season.
Nate Van Zelst was the primary field goal kicker. He made kicks of 30, 40, and 30 yards on the day.
UCLA transfer Keontez Lewis received the first kickoff, with Jack Van Dyke kicking the ball for the kickoff team. Arkansas transfer kicker Vito Calvaruso remains out.

The second-team defense outplayed the first-team offense most of the day in my opinion. Outside of the broken coverage on the 55-yard touchdown from Mertz to Allen, and a late touchdown throw from Mertz to Bell against largely the third-team players, the defense won the day. Both quarterbacks were unable to string together long drives, and had moments of inaccuracy, and a couple of throws that were nearly intercepted.
The offensive line also had several key holding penalties that stalled or concluded drives. Bob Bostad had his group running gassers after practice. Defensive line coach Ross Kolodziej did the same with the reserve defensive linemen.
Wisconsin offensive coordinator Bobby Engram was not on the sideline for practice. My assumption is he was up in the booth calling down plays, as the quarters we using headsets and signals to relay the message.

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