Still basking in the after glow of that 13-1 season the Wisconsin Badgers posted? The one that pretty much came out of nowhere and ended with a nice, solid beating of "THE U" -- the University of Miami Hurricanes?
It's not too early to look down the road to the fall of 2018. And it will be a huge task for the Badgers to come close to repeating that success, there's no reason to think that Wisconsin won't be in the chase again this year.
This is a team that has the potential to light up the scoreboard on a regular basis. Now that the (entering the NFL draft) smoke has cleared, it looks like the Badgers will return 10 of 11 starters on the offensive side of the ball. They will loose TE Troy Fumagalli, who pulled in 46 passes for 547 yards and four TDs. For his career, Fumagalli played in 47 games, caught 135 passes for 1,627 yards and seven scores.
Down the stretch, it seemed as though Fumagalli disappeared, either due to defenses or injuries. While he will be missed, it's next man up and they should be fine at that position.
The departure I think Paul Chryst's staff may miss the most is not one most fans would notice. To me, the graduation of Austin Ramesh, the pride of Land O' Lakes, Wisconsin (as well as Northland Pines High School in Eagle River). This 6-1, 255-pound fullback posted rather modest career stats: 34 carries for 147 yards (4.3 average) and five touchdowns, 13 catches for 130 yards and a score; appeared in 25 games in his career, 21 the past two seasons.
Ramesh was a blocking stud at fullback, clearing the way and doing the dirty work. When called upon to tote the rock, he did so with quiet efficiency.
I content that his spot will be harder to fill than Fumagalli's.
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