Notebook: Breaking down the past week of Wisconsin’s spring ball practices

The Wisconsin Badgers celebrate a Cade Yacamelli #25 touchdown against the Purdue Boilermakers at Camp Randall Stadium in Madison, Wisconsin, on October 5, 2024. (Photo by Ross Harried/NurPhoto via Getty Images) | NurPhoto via Getty Images It’s been an eventful last week of spring ball for the Wisconsin Badgers, as they’ve started to ramp up, reaching the midway point of April. With a lot of updates coming, let’s do a long notebook that breaks down the last four practices individually, giving my thoughts on each.

Wisconsin had its sixth practice of the spring last Thursday, seventh on Saturday, eighth on Tuesday, and ninth today on Thursday. Notes on spring practice No. 6 The defense dominated to start the day last Thursday, especially in team drills in the run game.

The front seven were consistently getting stops at or near the line of scrimmage, and the energy was completely on the defense’s side to start the day. Players who stood out making plays included defensive lineman Nolan Vils, who has been quite consistent all camp, and Micheal Garner, who has been in and out due to injury. But I thought things started to flip a switch in 1-on-1s between the offensive and defensive line, as the former had an impressive performance there.

Kevin Heywood was a clear standout, winning all of his one-on-one reps, regardless of who he went up against. He’s poised to be the leader of the offensive line this season after missing all of last year with a torn ACL. Overall, though, I thought the offensive line did a pretty good job keeping things even (or even winning more reps) in the 1-on-1s, where the defense usually has more of an advantage.