Very few Badgers ‘true’ freshmen seeing the field in 2019

Head coach Paul Chryst and Wisconsin took advantage last year of the new rule which allowed “true” freshmen to play up to four games and retain their ability to redshirt.

Thirteen such players appeared in at least one game for the Badgers in 2018 with eight retaining freshmen eligibility for this season by playing in four or fewer games.

Through the first six games of the 2018 season, 12 of those “true” freshmen had already appeared in at least one game, with Brady Schipper the exception.

This season, Chryst has taken a different tact when it comes to his first-year players.

Through six games, only five of the 27 on the roster have played in a game. Some haven’t played due to injury and others have been dressed but did not see action.

Of those five that have played, two have seen cursory action – tight end Clay Cundiff and cornerback Semar Melvin have one game under their belts. Quarterback Graham Mertz has come in to relieve Jack Coan in two games and appears to be on the four games or less program.

Linebacker Leo Chenal appears to be avoiding a redshirt. He’s played in four games, but injuries have caused him to miss two more and he’s listed as questionable for this weekend’s game against Illinois. Chenal had nine tackles over the first two games. He has no statistics yet in a Big Ten game (mainly because he’s missed two of them and was hurt in the other).

The one “true” freshman who has appeared in every game is nose tackle Keeanu Benton. He’s even started in two games, against Michigan and Michigan State. Statistics are hard to come by for nose tackles in a 3-4 defense, but Benton has shown promise, recording tackles for loss in his first two contests and a quarterback hurry against Michigan.

While he’s earned some playing time due to an injury to Bryson Williams (who played in every game as a freshman last year), Benton has earned his spot on the field.

There’s still six games remaining, but after this week Wisconsin doesn’t have too many pushovers left on the schedule. The Badgers are currently a 31-point favorite at Illinois, so perhaps there’s a chance for some freshmen to play – if they are on the travel roster, that is. There are three other road games – at Ohio State, Nebraska and Minnesota – which present a similar situation with a limited roster. Iowa at home figures to be a usual scratch-and-claw game. That leaves Purdue, which is 2-4.

So, maybe not a lot of chances.

Out of curiosity, you might be wondering how are those eight players who participated last year but redshirted doing in 2019?

One – safety Reggie Pearson – is a starter. Cornerbacks Donte Burton and Alexander Smith have played in every game; Burton even started against Michigan State.

Tight end Cormac Sampson has played in every game and running back Brady Schipper all but two, but both of those guys appeared in just one regular-season game (Nebraska for Sampson and Rutgers for Schipper).

Wide receiver Taj Mustapha has played in just one game (vs. Central Michigan) while cornerback Travian Blaylock and running back Isaac Guerendo have yet to see any action.

Sixteen “true” freshmen didn’t play a snap last season and 12 of those have played in 2019, with running back Nakia Watson seeing the most action. The list also includes players such as linebacker Jaylan Franklin, defensive end Isaiah Mullens, safety Jack Torchio and quarterback Chase Wolf.

The five players who appeared in too many games to redshirt? They are all contributing (see sophomores list below).

Here’s the complete rundown of the young Badgers after six games:

“TRUE” FRESHMEN
Keeanu Benton, NT
South Florida: 2 tackles (solo), TFL
Central Michigan: Started, 1 tackle (solo), TFL
Michigan: Started, 1 tackle, QBH
Northwestern: Played, did not record a statistic
Kent State: Played, did not record a statistic
Michigan State: Started, did not record a statistic
Season totals: 4 tackles (2 solo), 2 TFL, QBH

Clay Cundiff, TE
South Florida: Did not play
Central Michigan: Played, did not record a statistic
Michigan: Did not play
Northwestern: Did not play
Kent State: Did not play
Michigan State: Did not play
Season totals: n/a

Leo Chenal, LB
South Florida: 5 tackles (3 solo)
Central Michigan: 4 tackles (4 solo)
Michigan: Played, did not record a statistic
Northwestern: Did not play
Kent State: 3 tackles (3 solo), sack, TFL, FR
Michigan State: Did not play
Season totals: 12 tackles (10 solo), sack, TFL, FR

Semar Melvin, CB
South Florida: 1 tackle (solo)
Central Michigan: Did not play
Michigan: Did not play
Northwestern: Did not play
Kent State: Did not play
Michigan State: Did not play
Season totals: 1 tackle (solo)

Graham Mertz, QB
South Florida: Did not play
Central Michigan: 4-of-5 passing, 35 yards
Michigan: Did not play
Northwestern: Did not play
Kent State: 5-of-5 passing, 38 yards; 2 rush, 6 yards
Michigan State: Did not play
Season totals: 9-of-10 passing, 73 yards; 2 rush, 6 yards

Have not played
Peter Bowden, LS; Stephan Bracey, WR; Logan Brown, OL; Dante Caputo, S; Julius Davis, RB; Jordan DiBenedetto, WR; Quan Easterling, FB; Dean Engram, CB; Tatum Grass, LB; Rodas Johnson, DE; Jackson Kollath, LB; Spencer Lytle, LB; Cooper Nelson, QR; Maema Njongmeta, LB; Logan O’Brien, OL; Gio Paez, NT; Cam Phillips, WR; Hayden Rucci, TE; Joe Tippmann, OL; Titus Toler, LB; Blake Wilcox, K; James Williams, CB.

REDSHIRT FRESHMEN
A.J. Abbott, WR
South Florida: Did not play
Central Michigan: Played, did not record a statistic
Michigan: Played, did not record a statistic
Northwestern: Played, did not record a statistic
Kent State: 1 tackle (solo)
Michigan State: Played, did not record a statistic
Season totals: 1 tackle (solo)

Donte Burton, CB
South Florida: Played, did not record a statistic
Central Michigan: 1 tackle (solo)
Michigan: PBU
Northwestern: Played, did not record a statistic
Kent State: 1 tackle (solo)
Michigan State: Started, did not record a statistic
Season totals: 2 tackles (2 solo), PBU

Boyd Dietzen, DE
South Florida: Played, did not record a statistic
Central Michigan: Played, did not record a statistic
Michigan: Played, did not record a statistic
Northwestern: Played, did not record a statistic
Kent State: Played, did not record a statistic
Michigan State: Played, did not record a statistic
Season totals: n/a

Jack Eschenbach, TE
South Florida: Played, did not record a statistic
Central Michigan: Played, did not record a statistic
Michigan: Did not play
Northwestern: Did not play
Kent State: Played, did not record a statistic
Michigan State: Played, did not record a statistic
Season totals: n/a

Jaylan Franklin, OLB
South Florida: 1 tackle (solo), sack, TFL
Central Michigan: Played, did not record a statistic
Michigan: Played, did not record a statistic
Northwestern: Played, did not record a statistic
Kent State: Played, did not record a statistic
Michigan State: Played, did not record a statistic
Season totals: 1 tackle (solo), sack, TFL

Michael Furtney, OL
South Florida: Played, did not record a statistic
Central Michigan: Played, did not record a statistic
Michigan: Played, did not record a statistic
Northwestern: Played, did not record a statistic
Kent State: Played, did not record a statistic
Michigan State: Played, did not record a statistic
Season totals: n/a

C.J. Goetz, DE
South Florida: Played, did not record a statistic
Central Michigan: Played, did not record a statistic
Michigan: Played, did not record a statistic
Northwestern: Played, did not record a statistic
Kent State: Played, did not record a statistic
Michigan State: Played, did not record a statistic
Season totals: n/a

Andrew Lyons, OL
South Florida: Did not play
Central Michigan: Did not play
Michigan: Did not play
Northwestern: Did not play
Kent State: Played, did not record a statistic
Michigan State: Did not play
Season totals: n/a

Isaiah Mullens, DE
South Florida: Played, did not record a statistic
Central Michigan: Played, did not record a statistic
Michigan: Played, did not record a statistic
Northwestern: Played, did not record a statistic
Kent State: Played, did not record a statistic
Michigan State: Played, did not record a statistic
Season totals: n/a

Taj Mustapha, WR
South Florida: Did not play
Central Michigan: Played, did not record a statistic
Michigan: Did not play
Northwestern: Did not play
Kent State: Did not play
Michigan State: Did not play
Season totals: n/a

Reggie Pearson, S
South Florida: Started, 1 tackle (solo), FF
Central Michigan: Started, did not record a statistic
Michigan: Started, 3 tackles (2 solo), .5 TFL, FF
Northwestern: 1 tackle (solo), PBU
Kent State: Started, 3 tackles (3 solo)
Michigan State: Started, 4 tackles (3 solo)
Season stats: 12 tackles (10 solo), 2 FF, PBU, .5 TFL

Cormac Sampson, OL/TE
South Florida: Did not play
Central Michigan: Played, did not record a statistic
Michigan: Played, did not record a statistic
Northwestern: Played, did not record a statistic
Kent State: Played, did not record a statistic
Michigan State: Played, did not record a statistic
Season totals: n/a

Brady Schipper, RB
South Florida: Did not play
Central Michigan: Played, did not record a statistic
Michigan: Played, did not record a statistic
Northwestern: Played, did not record a statistic
Kent State: 6 rush, 21 yards
Michigan State: Did not play
Season totals: 6 rush, 21 yards

Alexander Smith, CB
South Florida: Played, did not record a statistic
Central Michigan: Played, did not record a statistic
Michigan: Played, did not record a statistic
Northwestern: 1 tackle (solo), PBU
Kent State: 2 tackles (2 solo)
Michigan State: 1 tackle (solo)
Season stats: 4 tackles (4 solo), PBU

Marty Strey, OLB
South Florida: Did not play
Central Michigan: Did not play
Michigan: Did not play
Northwestern: Did not play
Kent State: Played, did not record a statistic
Michigan State: Did not play
Season totals: n/a

Jack Torchio, S
South Florida: Played, did not record a statistic
Central Michigan: Played, did not record a statistic
Michigan: INT, PBU
Northwestern: Started, 1 tackle (solo)
Kent State: Played, did not record a statistic
Michigan State: 1 tackle (solo)
Season stats: 2 tackles (2 solo), INT, PBU

Nakia Watson, RB
South Florida: 14 rush, 80 yards, TD
Central Michigan: 8 rush, 29 yards, TD; 1 catch, 0 yards
Michigan: 13 rush, 31 yards
Northwestern: 1 rush, 1 yard; 1 tackle
Kent State: 12 rush, 63 yards; 1 catch, 6 yards
Michigan State: 5 rush, 34 yards
Season stats: 53 rush, 238 yards (4.5 average), 2 TD; 2 catches, 6 yards

Chase Wolf, QB
South Florida: Played, did not record a statistic
Central Michigan: 1-for-1 passing, 2 yards
Michigan: Did not play
Northwestern: Did not play
Kent State: Did not play
Michigan State: Played, did not record a statistic
Season stats: 1-for-1 passing, 2 yards

Have not played
Travian Blaylock, CB; Mike Gregoire, WR; Isaac Guerendo, RB; Jacob Heyroth, ILB; Conor Schlichting, P.

“TRUE” SOPHOMORES

John Chenal, FB
South Florida: 1 rush, 2 yards; 1 catch, 12 yards; 1 tackle (solo), FF
Central Michigan: 3 rush, 11 yards; 1 catch, 2 yards
Michigan: 2 rush, 5 yards, TD
Northwestern: Played, did not record a statistic
Kent State: 4 rush, 24 yards
Michigan State: Started, 4 rush, 17 yards; 1 catch, 1 yard
Season totals: 14 rush, 59 yards (4.2 average), 2 TD; 2 catches, 3 yards, 1 tackle (solo), FF

Aron Cruickshank, WR
South Florida: 1 kick return, 23 yards
Central Michigan: 1 catch, 19 yards; 2 punt returns, 14 yards
Michigan: 1 kick return, 11 yards
Northwestern: 2 kick returns, 69 yards
Kent State: 2 rush, 6 yards; 2 catches, 10 yards
Michigan State: 2 rush, 28 yards; 1 kick return, 38 yards
Season totals: 4 rush, 34 yards; 2 catches, 10 yards; 5 kick returns, 141 yards (28.2 average); 2 punt returns, 14 yards

Jack Sanborn, LB
South Florida: Started, 5 tackles (2 solo)
Central Michigan: Started, 1 tackle, INT, QBH
Michigan: Started, 7 tackles (5 solo), 2 TFL, sack, FF
Northwestern: Started, 13 tackles (7 solo), TFL, PBU
Kent State: Started, 2 tackles (2 solo), 2 sacks, 2 TFL
Michigan State: Started, 5 tackles (3 solo), TFL
Season totals: 33 tackles (19 solo), 3 sacks, 6 TFL, INT, QBH, PBU, FF

Rachad Wildgoose, CB
South Florida: 2 tackles (solo)
Central Michigan: Played, did not record a statistic
Michigan: PBU
Northwestern: 3 tackles (3 solo), 2 TFL
Kent State: Started, 3 tackles (2 solo)
Michigan State: Started, INT
Season totals: 7 tackles (6 solo), 2 TFL, PBU, INT

Bryson Williams, NT
South Florida: 1 tackle (solo)
Central Michigan: Did not play
Michigan: Did not play
Northwestern: Did not play
Kent State: Played, did not record a statistic
Michigan State: Played, did not record a statistic
Season totals: 1 tackle (solo)

Dave Heller is the author of Ken Williams: A Slugger in Ruth’s Shadow (a Larry Ritter Book Award nominee), Facing Ted Williams – Players From the Golden Age of Baseball Recall the Greatest Hitter Who Ever Lived and As Good As It Got: The 1944 St. Louis Browns