BadgerBlitz: Wisconsin Badgers Football & Basketball Recruiting - Breaking down every position on Western Michigan's two-deep (2024)

Redshirt senior Hayden Wolff is the Broncos' starter, and he's coming off an unspectacular season in which he tossed for 1,505 yards, eight touchdowns and five interceptions while completing 65.5 percent of his passes. A journeyman who began his career at Old Dominion, Wolff wasn't the Broncos' consistent starter until midway through the 2024 campaign. He'll aim for a career year in his final season of eligibility.

Broc Lowery is his backup, a redshirt freshman who spent the 2023 season with Indiana. The former low three-star recruit completed one pass for eight yards last season. Wolff has the requisite experience to feel comfortable with, but if something were to happen to the starter, the Broncos could be in trouble.

Tailback Jalen Buckley is likely the best player on the team. He's coming off a 1,003-yard rushing season, and he can also do damage as a receiver, an element of his game he began to implement as his breakout 2023 campaign wore on.

Western Michigan's backups aren't slouches either. Zahir Abdus-Salaam amassed over 500 all-purpose yards last season, and he should see the field plenty. While Buckley averaged 17.2 carries each game, Abdus-Salaam tallied 10.3. That's a healthy split with a clear lead back, although new offensive coordinator Walt Bell is a noted proponent of the committee backfield.

Meanwhile, Jaden Nixon also joins the party after spending three seasons with Oklahoma State. He's logged 110 carries over three seasons, so while he's never been a featured back, Nixon has plenty of experience and moxie. This is an seasoned backfield that should be able to roll players with little drop-off.

The good news for Western Michigan is that it returns three receivers with legitimate experience and (in theory) a rapport with the starting gunslinger Wolff. Kenny Womack, Anthony Sambucci and Malique Dieudonne are the top three at the position, and they combined for 1,218 receiving yards last fall, with Womack leading the way with 691.

Womack in particular is a high-volume receiver. He lines up almost exclusively in the slot and dominates the target share — remind you of anyone? He may not be Will Pauling, but he's remarkably efficient. Womack reeled in 76 of his 101 targets last fall, which indicates that like Pauling, he too has a knack for getting open.

Past the top three, a name to keep an eye on his Devaughn "Bugs" Mortimer. The UL-Monroe transfer is also almost exclusively a slot threat, and he's coming off a career year with the Warhawks. This should be a good test for the Badgers' nickel defenders, namely Max Lofy, RJ Delancy and perhaps Owen Arnett.

Blake Bosma returns at tight end after leading this room last season. The Broncos' didn't necessarily feature their tight ends last season, and that shouldn't change much under the new play-caller Bell. Before he was fired seven games into Indiana's season last fall, Bell's tight ends caught just 13 passes.

Behind Bosma on the two-deep is Chris Toudle, a North Carolina State transfer. He caught 19 balls for 190 yards and four scores in 2022, but his production took a dip last season before he sought a change of scenery.

The Broncos' offensive line returns four starters who played at least 400 snaps last fall, including their center/right guard combo of Jacob Gideon and Addison West, both of whom played nearly every single snap last season. The right side of the line is particularly experienced.

The fifth starter is Notre Dame transfer Quinn Murphy. All-in-all, this is a very solid top five for Western Michigan. It returns plenty of experience and plugged the lone hole in the starting five with a Power Four transfer.

This defensive line returns two starters in Corey Walker and Mason Nelson, as well as a player who played in all 12 games in Tyson Lee. Walker and Nelson combined for 63 tackles and 5.5 sacks, while Nelson also batted down four passes at the line of scrimmage. That's nothing special, but returning experience is extremely valuable in college football, especially in the trenches.

One of the top backups to keep an eye on is Louisville transfer and candidate for the all-name team Popeye Williams. A former top-160 prospect, he's looking to revitalize his career in the MAC.

Western Michigan returns its starting MIKE and WILL linebackers, Jake Wahlberg and Donald Willis. Those two dominated the snaps last fall and combined for 105 tackles. They Broncos' defense also allows them to roam and make plays, as they also each recorded multiple sacks and pass breakups.

Damari Roberson also returns to hold down the SAM spot, and he was productive in 2023 as well with 68 tackles, a sack, an interception, six pass breakups, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery. Ultimately, this is an impressive group of inside backers for a MAC defense, and their returning chemistry should help them stay productive.

The Broncos must replace their top cornerback from a season ago, Keni-H Lovely. His presence as a ballhawk — two interceptions and three forced fumbles — will be missed. However, Bilhal Kone, who played 462 snaps last fall, returns and will man a spot on the outside. He led Western Michigan last season with eight pass breakups and allowed a respectable reception percentage of 54.2.

The other starting spot on the outside goes to Nyquann Washington, a transfer from FCS Tennessee Tech. He played in 24 games across three seasons for the Golden Eagles, but is now about to get tossed into the fire that is FBS football.

Western Michigan is pretty thin at cornerback depth, and that doesn't bode particularly well considering how Phil Longo likes to stretch the field with three and four wide receivers. For instance, one of the Broncos' top backups DaShon Bussell was picked on in coverage last fall before his season-ending injury, allowing a reception on 14 of the 19 times quarterbacks targeted his man in coverage.

One of the first things that stands out about Western Michigan's safeties is that they liked to use them as slot defenders last season, although that could change under new defensive coordinator Scott Power. Nonetheless, Tate Hallock, the top player at the position in 2023, returns to run it back alongside Aaron Wofford. Both players logged at least 700 snaps last season.

Hallock is a tackling machine, leading the team last season with 75. He also picked off two balls and swatted four passes. He's one of the key cogs on the Broncos defense. He spends most of his time around the line of scrimmage and in the slot, but again, nothing is certain with a new defensive system in Kalamazoo.

The starters are some of the strongest on Western Michigan's roster, but the backups are less promising. FAU transfer Armani Adams did next to nothing in 2023, but did record 69 tackles the year prior. Lorenzo Williams Jr., meanwhile, took a redshirt year in 2023 but now finds himself squarely in the two-deep and in line for snaps.

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