We'll have much more to come tonight and throughout the coming days, but here is our own Nate Woelfel with his instant reaction following the 2013 Badgers Spring Game.

In an increasing effort to up the ante on their non-conference schedule the University of Wisconsin athletic department announced the football team has agreed to a home-and-home series with USF (University of South Florida) that will see the Badgers hosting in 2014 and the return trip to Tampa take place in the the 2017 season. 

The date of the 2014 game in Camp Randall will be Sept. 27th and the 2017 game will be Sept. 16th at Raymond James Stadium (or whatever it'll be called at that point). No doubt this game will only help Wisconsin to plant a flag in the south and in a state that the Badgers have had a presence in for some time. 

“We obviously recruit a lot in the state of Florida and these games will be great for our exposure down there,” UW head coach Gary Andersen said in a statement released by the school. “USF is traditionally a strong program so it’s exciting to get a quality opponent on the schedule for our players and the fans.”

On the history front this two game series will be the first ever meetings between the schools. USF is a member of the newly minted American Athletic Conference, following the breakup of the Big East as we knew it. They are coached by first year head coach Willie Taggart, who took over for the fired Skip Holtz. 

We're just 24 hours or so away from the 2013 spring game and the first big chance to see the Gary Andersen's squad in action and all this week we've been breaking down the biggest storylines and the most important players to watch come Saturday. Today we wrap up "Spring Game Week" with perhaps the most intriguing position group not named QB for the Cardinal and White. 

Before we get there, let's remind you of the other stories that we've covered here on "Spring Game Week:"

 - Who will step up at wide receiver?

- How aggressive will the new defense be?

- Will someone emerge as clear frontrunner at QB?

Today, in our final feature of our week long look at the Badgers spring game there has been a clear frontrunner for story of the spring - the defensive backfield - and for reasons we should all know, but if not let's lay that out for you in simple terms. Three-quarters of the defensive backs that will take the field on Aug. 31st against UMass will be brand new - as in never have started a game at the collegiate level. 

John Ramage, the two year captain of the Wisconsin Badgers hockey program was a draft pick of the Calgary Flames back in 2010 (4th round, 103rd overall) but, instead of leaving then or a year early he stayed and finished his eligibility as a Badger. Today his NHL journey begins as the Flames announced the signing of Ramage. 

According to the release Ramage will be on a two year entry level contract with a base salary of $600,000 in each season (2013-14 and 2014-15) and an AAV of $900,000 (including entry level performance bonuses).

Ramage had 20 points this past season on 8 goals and 12 assists and finished his career with 53 points on 14 goals and 39 assists. His 2012-13 numbers were career highs for him, besting previous highs of 12 points, 3 goals, and 10 assists. 

Wisconsin has just four verbal commits to the it's name in the 2014 class to date, but it's already garnering a lot of attention for the quality of the players that have committed. Chalk up another one in the category of reasons to be excited as UW has one committed player in the prestigious and just released 2014 ESPN 150. 

That player is OT Jaden Gault (Monona Grove, WI),who comes in at 117th on the first 150 list for this class. Gault is quickly picking up steam as the No. 1 recruit in the state as those rankings become more readily available throughout the spring. 

Last year the Badgers had one member of the ESPN Top 150 and that was running back Corey Clement who came in at No. 149. Those are the only two players to make the list to commit to Wisconsin in this current five year cycle (2010-2014). 

We continue our week long look at the main storylines and players we will be looking at on Saturday as we switch back to the offensive side of the ball following our look at the new aggressive nature of the defense that we could all see for the first time on Saturday. 

Chances are as you fire up the grills and head into Camp Randall on what's supposed to actually be a sunny Saturday there may only be one main storyline on your mind and that's what's up at quarterback. It's a fair question to say the least as there are a ton of QB's with limited experience on the roster and no one starter who blew us out of the water in 2012. 

So, as we head into Saturday you can bet your bottom dollar that all eyes will be on the QB's, but what has taken place this spring and who, if at all, could have a leg up in this competition? Well, it's the million dollar question and one of the main focuses we'll have during the spring game. 

Per UW Athletics release: 

MADISON, Wis. -- Head women's basketball coach Bobbie Kelsey announced the signing of Carly Truesdale to a National Letter of Intent today. The San Antonio native joins Mikey Crall, a 6-3 post from Olathe, Kan., and Malayna Johnson, a 6-3 post from Bellwood, Ill., as members of the team in 2013-14.

A 5-9 guard, Truesdale attended Westbury Christian High School where she played for head coach Josh Bailey. Truesdale also played for coach Joe Dean as a member of the D1 Nation Super Regional Team.

Truesdale earned first-team All-State, All-Region and All-District honors, was named Newcomer of the Year in 2009 and 2011 and honored as a Texas Sports Hall of Fame All-Star.

She was a three-time Academic All-State honoree, a member of the Underclassman Honor Society and National Honor Society, and named National High School Scholar Athlete.

Footballscoop.com is a site most of you are or should be familiar with thanks to the coaching search the Badgers went through back in December that landed Gary Andersen. They were one of the best sources of information for us all and on Wednesday they visited Camp Randall stadium and Madison in general. 

With their visit they also were able to capture an inside look at the renovations to Camp Randall and the new toys that the Badgers players have at their disposal. With that we want to thank them and give them a good old fashioned hat tip as the following comes directly from the pictures they tweeted out today. 

Make sure you give @Footballscoop a follow on twitter if you are on the social media site. So, let's go into the tour they took us on today, shall we?

At Wisconsin, Gary Andersen has this message in nearly every room twitter.com/footballscoop/…

— FootballScoop Staff (@footballscoop) April 17, 2013

It's Spring Game Week here at MTB and with it means our look into some of the biggest headlines, position battles, and new things we'll be watching for come Saturday afternoon at Camp Randall. Yesterday we took a look at the wide receivers and the issue of having or not having a secondary option opposite of Jared Abbrederis.

Today, we flip sides of the ball and explore one of the biggest topics and biggest mysteries for most fans - what Dave Aranda has in store for his defense in 2013. 

One of, if not the biggest complaints about Wisconsin's defense over the past four or five years, or hell for most of the past decade or so has been a lack of imagination or a sense of an aggressive nature to it. Well, it's a new era and a new set of coaches and with it comes a lot of intrigue as to what said defense will look like. 

Saturday will be the biggest crowd to see exactly what the defense will look like to an extent and some answers could be gleaned, but what do you we know already about Wisconsin's new defense and what will be looking for on Saturday? 

Back in December the world of Wisconsin football was altered to a great degree with Bret Bielema heading to Arkansas. His move had a lot of people scrambling and that included big time in-state 2014 prospect Craig Evans, who had given his verbal pledge to the Badgers. 

When that happened Evans re-opened his recruitment, but always gave the new coaching staff a chance to win him over once again. On Monday Evans reaffirmed his commitment to the Badgers following yet another visit to the school. 

To say it's a relief to coaches, Evans, and to those fans who were in full freak out mode when Evans de-committed to the Badgers isn't doing it justice. So, what did it? According to reports a lot of it had to do with finally getting to see a Badgers practice in person. Following the practice he gave his verbal commitment to head coach Gary Andersen. 

It's safe to say that to this point this is the biggest get for the Badgers in the 2014 class, although it was always looking like Evans would stay with the Badgers. Just knowing Andersen and his staff could get the re-commitment of one of the most sought after defensive tackles in the country is a big statement in the world of recruiting.

Evans had recently visited a few other schools and had been offered by the likes of Michigan State, Ole Miss, Arkansas, Nebraska, and Pittsburgh. 

With Evans on board once again the Badgers have shot up the recruiting rankings as a team, ranking 18th by 247sports and Rivals and 13th by Scout.com.