Wisconsin Badgers Football

HEIGHT: 5'10"

WEIGHT: 185

HAND:

ARM:

WINGSPAN:

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40-YARD DASH:

3-CONE:

SHUTTLE:

VERTICAL:

BROAD:

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POSITIVES

— Great athlete who has very good footwork, with the ability to put his foot in the ground and drive out of breaks. Plays with great change of direction and has fluid hips to flip and swivel.

— Has very good turnover when running, with the speed to stick in receivers' hip pocket while working down the field.

— Instinctive player with top-notch ball skills to identify and attack the ball in the air. Looks to run routes for receivers when in position.

— Versatile player who can play in both man and zone coverage. Plays with good vision in zone to see the big picture. Does a good job of anticipating and jumping routes.

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NEGATIVES

— Lacks ideal size for an NFL cornerback. Physical player but doesn't have the strength necessary to take on bigger blockers at times.

— Gambler who is always looking for the big play, which can leave him open to double moves. Occasionally looks to sit on routes, causing him to be pulled out of position at times.

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2023 STATISTICS

— 13 G, 34 TOT, 3.0 TFL, 7 INT, 1 TD, 5 PD

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NOTES

— 21 career starts

— 3-star recruit in the 2021 class, per 247Sports

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OVERALL

Ricardo Hallman is a twitchy athlete with playmaking ability from multiple positions in the secondary. A bit undersized, he does a great job of transitioning out of breaks and playing the ball in the air. His scheme flexibility allows him to play in both man and zone coverage.

When playing in coverage, Hallman has great footwork in his backpedal. He has the fluidity and control to quickly transition with little wasted movement. Combined with his smooth hips and supreme change-of-direction skills, Hallman does a great job of driving on routes with little to no separation.

Due to his smaller stature, there are times in which Hallman can get stuck on the back of bigger receivers, allowing contested catches. For the most part, he does a great job of attacking the ball, whether he is high-pointing it or running the route for receivers and playing through the catch point. Hallman has the speed to carry most receivers deep while sticking to their hip pockets.

When playing against the run, Hallman has shown the physicality and aggressiveness needed to support the run. Although he lacks ideal size and strength, he quickly comes up to play his positions with the proper leverage. His lack of strength mostly shows up when he is matched up against bigger blockers, where he can get shielded on the edge or chooses to run around blocks. Overall, Hallman does what is needed to play his position in the run game and isn't afraid to tackle ball-carriers.

Hallman consistently showed his top skills throughout his time at Wisconsin. He was a competitor each and every week he played, even when he faced Ohio State's Marvin Harrison Jr. His size and lack of strength limited him at times, but he showed the ability to overcome it with his instincts and football IQ. He will most likely be a nickel defender in the NFL, but he has the ability to add depth to any room as an outside cornerback as well.

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GRADE: 7.2 (High-Level Backup/ Potential Starter — 3rd Round)

OVERALL RANK: 60

POSITION RANK: CB7

PRO COMPARISON: Chase Lucas

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Written by B/R NFL Scout Cory Giddings

Former Miami quarterback Tyler Van Dyke announced his commitment to the Wisconsin Badgers in a social media post on Tuesday.

#OnWisconsin pic.twitter.com/sCV3VjUUiJ

— Tyler Van Dyke (@Tyler_Van_Dyke) December 12, 2023

Van Dyke, who spent the past four seasons with the Hurricanes, announced on Nov. 27 he was entering the transfer portal.

pic.twitter.com/7i4TOTrkPZ

— Tyler Van Dyke (@Tyler_Van_Dyke) November 28, 2023

Van Dyke appeared in 30 total games for the Hurricanes in the past three seasons, throwing for 7,469 yards, 54 touchdowns and 23 interceptions. He went just 15-13 as the starter, however, and lost his spot atop the depth chart to freshman Emory Williams ahead of the Florida State game after a turnover-riddled 2023 season.

He then regained his starting berth when Williams broke his left forearm in the loss to Florida State. But with Williams likely to have the inside track on the starting gig next season, given Van Dyke's struggles, a change of scenery made sense.

Wisconsin was a logical landing spot, given the huge need at quarterback. Tanner Mordecai used up his eligibility, Braedyn Locke has just three starts to his name and the Badgers have an inexperienced quarterback room (Nick Evers, Cole LaCrue and incoming freshman Mabrey Mettauer) beyond that.

Tyler Van Dyke’s experience will be valuable for the #Badgers as they navigate a tough 2024 season.

With matchups against Alabama, USC, Penn State, and Oregon coming up, bringing in a QB with 32 total games of experience with 28 starts against solid completion is a plus.

— Jake Maier (@JakeJMaier) December 12, 2023

Van Dyke will have pole position in the team's quarterback competition this spring, in other words.

As Jesse Temple of The Athletic noted, however, Van Dyke "is not a mobile threat, as many of offensive coordinator Phil Longo's quarterbacks have been. So it will be interesting to see how the offense is tailored toward his skill set."

Tyler Van Dyke to Wisconsin (on paper) is a great fit. Lots of talk about his turnovers but very little about his 3 different OCs. Getting back into a style of offense that made him rookie of the year in the ACC

Full thoughts: https://t.co/1OKVBrth8S pic.twitter.com/0IZICCkEjZ

— J.D. PicKell (@jdpickell) December 12, 2023

Neither Tyler Van Dyke or Wisconsin lived up to the hype this season but I think TVD in Longo’s offense has a lot of potential. Just need to get some WR depth with Dike and Bell hitting the portal.

— Jacob Wayne (@jwaynesports) December 12, 2023

He's also had a lot of instability in his college career, with three different offensive coordinators at Miami. As The Athletic's Manny Navarro noted, Van Dyke thrived under Rhett Lashlee's up-tempo system in 2021, throwing for 2,203 yards, 20 touchdowns and three interceptions in the final six games while completing 65.5 percent of his passes.

I firmly believe the Tyler Van Dyke I saw in 2021 is still in there somewhere. We'll see if Phil Longo and the Badgers can bring it out of him.

— Tom Fornelli (@TomFornelli) December 12, 2023

Miami went 5-1 during that stretch and it appeared as though Van Dyke was a star-in-the-making. That didn't come to fruition in the two seasons that followed, though perhaps he'll maximize his ability in Madison.

"He can be two different people," an ACC head coach told Max Olson and Bruce Feldman of The Athletic. "He's got a lot of arm talent. I think he played hurt this year and he was wildly inconsistent. Maybe he just needs a refresh."

Now he's getting one.

Former University of Miami quarterback Tyler Van Dyke is starting to make his rounds after entering the transfer portal two weeks ago.

According to ESPN's Pete Thamel, Van Dyke will visit with Wisconsin this weekend as he searches for his new home in college football.

Van Dyke, who is a fourth-year junior, has struggled to replicate the success he enjoyed as a redshirt freshman in 2021, and he was benched for a period of time this season.

On Nov. 27, Van Dyke released a statement on X, formerly known as Twitter, regarding his decision to enter the portal:

pic.twitter.com/7i4TOTrkPZ

— Tyler Van Dyke (@Tyler_Van_Dyke) November 28, 2023

In his first season as a starter in 2021, Van Dyke completed 62.3 percent of his passes for 2,931 yards, 25 touchdowns and six interceptions, which led to some NFL draft experts viewing him as a potential future first-round pick.

His stock took a hit last season, though, as he completed 63.2 percent of his attempts for 1,835 yards, just 10 touchdowns and five picks.

Van Dyke went through a major change as his 2021 offensive coordinator, Rhett Lashlee, left Miami to become the head coach at SMU.

That resulted in Josh Gattis replacing him in 2022, but he was fired after just one season as OC.

Miami brought in Shannon Dawson to be the new offensive coordinator in 2023, but things didn't get significantly better for Van Dyke, who completed 65.8 percent of his passes for 2,703 yards, 19 touchdowns and a career-high 12 interceptions for a Hurricanes team that disappointed with a 7-5 record.

If Van Dyke decides to transfer to Wisconsin, he will join a Badgers team that also went 7-5 this season.

However, Wisconsin has been among the most consistent programs in college football over the past couple of decades, reaching a bowl game in each of the past 22 seasons.

Quarterbacks Tanner Mordecai and Braedyn Locke combined to throw for just 2,465 yards, 11 touchdowns and five interceptions this season, so Van Dyke would represent a significant upgrade.

Marcus Randle El, who is a former Wisconsin wide receiver and the brother of former NFL wide receiver Antwaan Randle El, was convicted on two counts of first-degree homicide and sentenced to two consecutive life sentences Wednesday, per Madison Williams of Sports Illustrated.

Prosecutors said Randle El fatally shot Seairaha Winchester out of fear she would tell police he was dealing drugs and then fatally shot Brittany McAdory because she was a witness to the first killing.

The shootings happened in February 2020.

Kylie Balk-Yaatenen of GazetteXtra noted Randle El is eligible for parole in 60 years.

Balk-Yaatenen cited a criminal complaint filed in Rock County Circuit Court that revealed witnesses said Randle El sold drugs in Wisconsin and previously threatened Winchester because she owed him money.

Randle El played for the Badgers from 2004-07. He started his collegiate career as a quarterback and switched to wide receiver.

His brother played in the NFL from 2002 to 2010 for the Pittsburgh Steelers and Washington. He won a Super Bowl during the 2005 campaign with the Steelers.

HEIGHT: 6'1"

WEIGHT: 203

HAND: 9 3/4"

ARM: 30 1/4"

WINGSPAN: 74 3/4"

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40-YARD DASH: 4.90

3-CONE: 7.26

SHUTTLE: 4.33

VERTICAL: 32 1/2"

BROAD: 9'3"

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POSITIVES

— Good football IQ. Shows understanding of how he's being attacked and is generally in the right spot.

— Physical player who plays best in the box and close to the line of scrimmage.

— Strong player with good aggression to take on and discard blockers. Also takes good angles in the run game.

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NEGATIVES

— Struggles in man coverage. Lacks reactionary skills and top-end speed to run with receivers.

— Inconsistent tackler. Can have his angles erased and occasionally melts off tackles.

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2022 STATISTICS

— 13 G, 55 TOT, 3 TFL, 1 SK, 5 INT, 6 PD

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NOTES

— 16 Starts

— 2022 first-team All-Big Ten (Media)

— Former walk-on

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OVERALL

John Torchio is a bigger, physical safety who was a former walk-on for Wisconsin. He relies on his football IQ and strength to be in the correct positions. His athletic limitations keep him from being a box player who will also perform on special teams.

When playing the run, Torchio does a good job of diagnosing the run and triggering downhill. He generally takes good angles to the ball-carrier but can occasionally have it erased by quicker, more elite athletes.

When taking on blockers, Torchio uses his hands to shock and discard them. When tackling, he fronts the ball-carriers and drives his feet through the tackle, but he can occasionally melt off ball-carriers whom he doesn't have the speed to reach.

When defending the pass, Torchio often struggles when in man coverage. He lacks the top-end speed to carry receivers deep and doesn't have the short-area quickness to cover underneath routes. As a primarily box defender, he has the intelligence and savvy to cover running backs out from the backfield, but only on limited routes.

Ultimately, Torchio lacks the overall athletic ability to be a starting NFL safety. His intelligence and skill set should help him stick around by contributing to special teams, and he'll add depth to the defensive backs room. A position change to linebacker isn't completely out of the question, but he may lack the overall movement skills he'd need for that switch.

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GRADE: 5.7 (Backup or Draftable/Rounds 6-7)

OVERALL RANK: 234

POSITION RANK: S19

PRO COMPARISON: Reed Blankenship

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Written by B/R NFL Scout Cory Giddings

HEIGHT: 6'2"

WEIGHT: 240

HAND: 9 1/4"

ARM: 31 1/4"

WINGSPAN: TBD

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40-YARD DASH: 4.65

3-CONE: 7.25

SHUTTLE: 4.35

VERTICAL: 34"

BROAD: 9'6"

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POSITIVES

– Good athlete with impressive movement skills that should help him make the transition to an off-ball linebacker.

– Quick to key and diagnose blocking schemes against the run and read pass against play action.

– Takes on blocks with his hands and has good placement on the chest of the blocker. Also has more strength than his lean frame would suggest; he can set the edge and hold his ground against tight ends.

– Showed flashes of using his quickness and agility to make offensive linemen miss.

– Has the speed to line up on the line of scrimmage and still get to his landmark when spot-dropping.

– Solid at reading the quarterback's eyes to take away throwing lanes when playing the underneath areas in zone coverage.

– Good acceleration to click and close on short routes.

– Flashed some decent ball skills to get PBUs for someone who didn't drop in coverage much.

– He has a handful of pass-rushing moves that he can win with as a blitzer: i.e., chop-rip, stab-to-rip and an inside spin. And has good bend to turn tight corners at the top of the rush.

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NEGATIVES

– Limited experience dropping in coverage, having primarily played as an edge in college.

– Doesn't force reroutes when playing the underneath areas in zone coverage.

– Eye discipline and route recognition in coverage are a work in progress. He'll put himself in bad positions to defend against certain passing concepts because he doesn't recognize what the offense is trying to do. This stems from a lack of experience.

– Struggles to tackle in space. He needs to learn how/when to break down and throttle before contact, and he has a habit of lunging and not bringing his feet with him.

– Short arms limit the amount of extension he's able to get against offensive linemen.

– Will get pushed around by bigger linemen working up to the second level.

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2022 STATS

– 11 GS, 47 total tackles (32 solo), 15.5 TFL, 11 sacks, 2 PD, 2 FF

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NOTES

– A 4-star recruit in the 2020 class, No. 143 overall, No. 9 OLB, per 247Sports composite rankings

– Injuries: 2021 (left arm, missed some spring practices and still wears brace); 2022 (knee, missed 1 game)

– 31 career starts

– Brother Nate was a guard at Stanford and has played four years in the NFL with the Philadelphia Eagles and New York Jets. He recently signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

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OVERALL

While Nick Herbig collected 20 sacks in his last two years at Wisconsin, it feels like a position change is inevitable. He was listed under 230 pounds this past season, and while he weighed in at 240 pounds at the NFL Scouting Combine, it's telling that he only completed the 40-yard dash and none of the explosiveness or agility tests. And his 40-time (4.65) and 10-yard split (1.59) were underwhelming for his slender frame.

Even if Herbig's combine weight sticks, he'll still need to add size, and he doesn't have a lot of room for growth. Also, he'd have a completely different athletic profile if he were to get up to, say, 250 pounds to stay on the edge.

The Badger would be just fine sticking around the 230- to 235-pound mark and making the switch to an off-ball linebacker position. He's already shown good instincts versus the run and enough athletic traits to work with in coverage. For the latter, awareness is his biggest issue, and that can come with more time and experience at the position.

Herbig would be a good fit as a "Will" or "Sam" linebacker in even fronts. For an odd-front team, he can play in his more natural stand-up linebacker position but needs to be lined up outside a tight end or over the slot receiver with safety help over the top, as he's going to struggle to hold his ground against offensive tackles as a run defender.

He and whatever team drafts him will need to be patient as he makes the transition off the ball, which could take a year or two. In the interim, he can contribute on special teams, having played there some in college, and be used as a third-down rusher. Once he gets his bearings as an off-ball backer, he can be really effective when blitzing as well.

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GRADE: 6.7 (Potential Role Player/Round 4)

OVERALL RANK: 115

POSITION RANK: LB7

PRO COMPARISON: Jerome Baker

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Written by B/R NFL Draft Scout Matt Holder

HEIGHT: 6'6"

WEIGHT: 313

HAND: 10¾"

ARM: 32¾"

WINGSPAN: 80⅜

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40-YARD DASH: TBD

3-CONE: TBD

SHUTTLE: TBD

VERTICAL: TBD

BROAD: TBD

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POSITIVES

— Very good athletic ability, burst and change of direction.

— Excellent when pulling, wrapping and lining up targets on pin-pull.

— Efficiently works zone combo blocks; can adjust aiming points mid-play to account for post-snap movement, cover up the first level on overtakes and ricochet up to the second level to intercept linebackers on releases.

— Casts a wide net with his wingspan and frame with active feet to wall off and steer interior run-defenders on wide zone runs.

— Pops out of his stance to create space off the line in his pass set.

— Effortlessly redirects to cover adjacent gaps when uncovered and picks up late loopers.

— Quarterbacks the line pre-snap by making the calls and "Mike" points and is an active communicator on film.

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NEGATIVES

— Plays with an exposed, open chest and a persistent forward lean that stout run-defenders gain easy control over.

— Wide, looping hand placement leads to "catching" blocks with marginal grip strength, sustain and control.

— Falls off too many blocks and is shed to the ground a few times per game.

— Needs to refit and releverage himself on first-level blocks sooner to boost his ability to stay attached.

— Inconsistent set points with a tendency to drift and overset or underset rushers, which leads to getting edged too easily.

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2022 STATISTICS

— 12 starts at center

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NOTES

— 4-star offensive tackle recruit in 2019, per 247Sports' composite list, out of Bishop Dwenger High School in Fort Wayne, Indiana

— 22 career starts, all at center

— Three-time Academic All-Big Ten selection

— Will turn 22 years old March 24

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OVERALL

Joe Tippmann is a two-year starter in Wisconsin's zone-based run scheme that features extensive pin-pull and wide zone with gap concepts sprinkled in. Tippmann is tall with a well-proportioned, muscular build, adequate arm length and excellent movement skills.

Tippmann is a weapon as a puller and when releasing to the second level off zone combo blocks while using his big frame with excellent burst, quickness and redirection skills to line up and erase smaller targets.

He is twitchy out of his stance, can line up three techniques on back blocks with solid play strength to steer interior defensive linemen further than they want to go and create lateral displacement in the zone run game.

While Tippmann gets into good initial position and has success on combination blocks, his wide hand placement and exposed chest lead to stalemates on drive and base blocks with marginal grip strength, control and sustainability. This causes him to fall off blocks and get shed to the ground a few times per game.

In pass protection, Tippmann has very good initial quickness to create space out of his stance with loose hips and light feet to mirror and redirect, leading to an impressive ability to cover adjacent gaps when uncovered and pick up late loopers.

He is an active communicator pre-snap, handling all of the points, calls and adjustments. Tippmann has the movement skills and mobility to improve his anchor and develop into a more reliable pass protector but plays with marginal pad level, posture and hand placement that leads to a lack of power and control.

Overall, Tippmann is a young, tall, impressively built center with outstanding movement skills, and is an adept zone run-blocker and quick processor. His strengths should allow him to win a job during his rookie year in a zone-heavy scheme, but his inconsistent leverage, posture and hand placement will pose issues with anchoring and sustaining on drive/base blocks.

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GRADE: 7.4 (Potential starter)

OVERALL RANK: 58

POSITION RANK: IOL7

PRO COMPARISON: Josh Myers

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Written by B/R NFL Scout Brandon Thorn

HEIGHT: 6'4"

WEIGHT: 309

HAND: 9 3/4"

ARM: 33 7/8"

WINGSPAN: 81 3/4"

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40-YARD DASH: 5.08

3-CONE: 7.34

SHUTTLE: 4.65

VERTICAL: 29.5"

BROAD: 9'3"

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POSITIVES

— Uses short and powerful steps off the ball to keep his base underneath him.

— Takes on blocks with a wide base, solid pad level and has the upper body strength to get extension against/lock out offensive linemen, he's hard to move one-on-one with his base and strength.

— When he does see/anticipate the second blocker coming on a double team, he's solid at holding his ground.

— Decent at moving his feet against reach blocks to stay in his gap. He can also close the gap with the man if he does get reached.

— Has the lower body strength and base to fight back against pressure if slanting puts him out of position as a run defender.

— Decent swim move/arm over that he can use to get off blocks as a run defender and can win with as a pass-rusher.

— Good club-by move when pass rushing, he gets his inside hand under the offensive lineman's armpit and has plenty of strength to get them off-balance with enough hip mobility to clear his lower half.

— Gets his hands up when he doesn't hit home as a pass-rusher to bat passes at the line of scrimmage.

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NEGATIVES

— Slow off the ball, he doesn't generate much momentum with his get-off.

— Slightly wide hand placement as a run defender which makes it more difficult to shed blocks.

— More often than not, he struggles to anticipate the second blocker coming against combo blocks and double teams and will get kicked out of his gap.

— Not a violent block shedder overall, he struggles to disengage from blocks if he can't do it with a swim move.

— Has a habit of lunging and leaving his feet when tackling which leads to misses.

— Late hands as a pass rusher, offensive linemen typically make first significant contact which diminishes his ability to win when bull rushing.

— Lacks the quickness and overall athleticism to develop much of a pass-rush arsenal beyond power moves.

— Seems to rush without a plan and isn't a high-motor guy who's going to get coverage sacks.

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2022 STATISTICS

— 12 GM, 35 TOT, 10 TFL, 4.5 SK, 2 PBU

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NOTES

— A 3-Star recruit in the 2019 class, No. 1,238 overall, No. 85 DT, per 247Sports composite rankings

— 36 career starts

— 2022 Honors: Third-Team All-Big 10 (coaches)

— 2021 Honors: Second-Team All-Big 10 (coaches), Honorable mention All-Big 10 (media)

— 2020 Honors: Academic All-Big 10

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OVERALL

Keeanu Benton will be a good case study for how much weight to place on the Senior Bowl for NFL Draft prospects. In Mobile, he dominated as a pass-rusher with a lethal club-by move that he only showed flashes of at Wisconsin. He was also playing a lot more as a 3-technique than he did as a Badger, so his role could be expanded at the next level as well.

The latter makes his scheme fit a little difficult to pin down. On film, Benton looks more like a nose tackle or 2-technique defensive tackle, however, that might be more indicative of the system at Wisconsin than his true skill set. In other words, he might have some untapped potential and could be more versatile than what he showed in college.

Overall, Benton is a large defensive tackle who can be a space-eater as a run defender. He doesn't make a ton of plays, but he certainly can plug up gaps and there's a role for that type of player on any defense.

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GRADE: 7.2 (High-level Backup/Potential Starter, 3rd Round)

OVERALL RANK: 68

POSITION RANK: DL9

PRO COMPARISON: Grover Stewart

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Written by B/R NFL Draft Scout Matt Holder