Wisconsin vs. Alabama? Talk about stepping your game up in the scheduling department, huh? What was a long rumored event or even a possible home and home turned into a neutral site game as the University of Wisconsin athletic department announced via Facebook that it will be Wisconsin vs. Alabama on Sept. 5, 2015 at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, TX. 

“As a league we decided that we needed to upgrade our non-conference schedule,” UW Director of Athletics Barry Alvarez said in a press release. “We understand that strength of schedule will be a factor in determining which teams earn the right to participate in the new four-team playoff system and we want to be in that mix. There’s no better way to do that than by playing the defending national champions. We are thrilled to have the opportunity to play a storied program like Alabama in a terrific venue like Cowboys Stadium. It will be a great experience for our program, our players and our fans.”

The Crimson Tide could be out for revenge though as Wisconsin owns the series between these two teams, winning their only meeting by a score of 15-0..... back in 1928.

As for the coaches and players? Naturally the reaction has been positive. 

“This is a tremendous opportunity for our team to open the 2015 season against a nationally-recognized SEC opponent,” Wisconsin head coach Gary Andersen said.

No time or TV schedule has been released by the two schools, but expect this to be one heck of an event for Badger fans to attend.

Wisconsin is into the heat of spring ball and they apparently are finding out that depth at Safety is a major concern despite what has been some good play from Reggie Mitchell, who made a switch form corner to safety this offseason. Those depth concerns have led the Badgers to move two long time offensive players to safety in the hopes of making that position better, according to Badger Blitz. 

Those two players? Now former running back Kyle Zuleger and now former wide receiver Isaiah Williams. Zuleger is doing the most selfless thing possible for this team in his final season of eligibility at UW, while Williams makes the move with two years of eligibility left.

Both have been special teams players for most of their careers at Wisconsin, with Zuleger making 24 tackles and Williams making 1 (back in 2011) for their careers. 

One has to think that this staff isn't exactly in love with the likes of Michael Caputo or Michael Trotter as good options for the system they are putting in place. Sure, depth isn't great at the Safety position to begin with, but the clue comes from the fact that the report from BadgerBlitz.com notes that Zuleger suited up with the No. 2 defense at Monday's practice. 

There's nothing worse to football players than going in shells and playing two-hand touch football to open up a camp. Ask anyone who's ever played the game - they'd much rather put on the pads and start cracking heads from the get go. Alas NCAA rules dictate that that can't happen right away and so on Saturday the Badgers were finally able to put the pads on and things picked up a bit after Wednesday's practice. 

"I'm very pleased after today's practice," said head coach Gary Andersen following practice. "I thought when we came out on Wednesday we were good, we were efficient. It reminded me more of a Tuesday practice during the season - every day is not a game day and it doesn't have to be. But today I thought they came out with a little more energy and juice, which they should, you know they got to go a little bit live and they were in the pads for the first time. I'm happy with where we are at."

What else did Andersen have to say to the media following the practice? Well, here's the full video from UW Athletics so you can get caught up in full:

Who knew a pass rusher and his main target would have so much in common? However, it appears that David Gilbert and Curt Phillips have more in common than any of us could possibly imagine.

What am I talking about? Well, following Wednesday's practice it is being reported by Tom Mulhern of the Wisconsin State Journal that David Gilbert, who was supposed to be making the transition from defensive end to outside linebacker, will be out the entire spring with yet another foot injury. 

Big news after #Badgers practice, OLB David Gilbert tells me he's having foot surgery on Friday and will be out all spring.

— Tom Mulhern (@TomMulhernWSJ) March 14, 2013

It's clearly a blow to a guy that has been snake bitten with foot injuries in the past. Apparently it's the same foot he has had surgery on twice in the past and the reason why he had to redshirt the 2011 season. So, with Gilbert having surgery again the natural questions are two fold. 

The lack of production from the wide receiver position in 2012 may have had many reasons. It could've been the inconsistency of having three different quarterbacks, it could've been the inconsistency of the offensive line early on that led to a lack of time to allow players to get open. However, the most likely case is that there just was a simple lack of ability to get open on a consistent basis from anyone not named Jared Abbrederis. 

In 2013 that has to change and change quickly if the Badgers are to be successful as an offensive unit. Sure, the running game is going to be solid, but in the offense that will be installed it's just not enough to win you football games. 

Having said that, the coaching staff and the players are well aware of just how important their role will be this season. 

"Absolutely. Yeah, that's a big, big point of spring practice," said coach Gary Andersen following the teams first spring practice. "It's a point of emphasis for us as a staff. It's a point of emphasis for those kids. They want to succeed, they have a lot of want-to in them and they are excited about that opportunity."

It's been a fun trip through the roster heading into spring, but as the saying goes - we've saved the best for last. That's because we've saved the quarterbacks for last. 

No doubt we don't have to tell you about the disaster that was the quarterback position last year, right? I don't think any of us will forget what happened with Danny O'Brien, Joel Stave, and Curt Phillips all starting multiple games last year. 

All of that is in the past though and it's time to turn a new page as Andy Ludwig brings his balanced philosophy together with what Wisconsin has traditional done and what head coach Gary Andersen believes as well. That means more attention will be on the quarterback as they try to incorporate a bit of zone-read in with the down field philosophy they are looking for. 

So, how do we sort out a crowded quarterback field? Let's dive right in to the deep end, shall we? 

The defensive line in 2012 showed just how talented and deep of a unit it could be thanks to nagging injuries to just about every one of the starters on the line. Brendan Kelly was supposed to be gone, however he received an extra year of eligibility due to his injury history and will be back with the Badgers in 2013 and that makes this unit even better. 

In fact all 4 starters along the line from a year ago are back and looking to stay healthy this time around. 

Wisconsin's defensive look this season will have a lot to do with what this unit is capable of and right now that's one of about three big unknowns for this team to say the least. 

So, let's not beat around the bush, let's break down what to expect form this unit in 2013!