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Wisconsin Football Adds Australian Punter, New 2024 Commit, More

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Wisconsin Badgers Football Stadium: Camp Randall
Sep 3, 2022; Madison, Wisconsin, USA; General view of Camp Randall Stadium prior to the game between the Illinois State Redbirds and Wisconsin Badgers. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports

It’s been a busy couple of days for the Wisconsin football program, ladies and gents, but fear not because BadgerNotes can help get you back up to speed with a roundup of some important Badgers news you may have missed.

Wisconsin Badgers Address Their Special Teams Need

Exiting spring practice, Wisconsin football head coach Luke Fickell voiced his concern about the Badgers’ punting situation.

“I’m a little bit concerned we’ve got to figure some things out probably in the punting situation,” Fickell said after the final spring practice. “I know it’s a tougher time, but we don’t get outside nearly as much to see those guys have an opportunity to punt the ball and for us to return it as well.”

Thankfully, that issue was addressed with Wisconsin landing a commitment from Atticus Bertrams, a native of Melbourne, Australia, who will be on scholarship in 2023.

Bertrams had previously committed to USC in 2021 but didn’t enroll. Instead, he spent his time training at Prokick, an academy in Australia that has produced six Ray Guy Award-winning punters.

He immediately slots in as Wisconsin’s top punter ahead of Jack Van Dyke and Gavin Meyers, who left something to be desired during spring practice. Bertrams has some big shoes to fill following the departure of Andy Vujnovich.

Wisconsin Football Lands Commitment From 3-Star Florida CB 

Following an official visit to Madison, the Wisconsin football coaching staff added their first cornerback prospect of the 2024 cycle in three-star cornerback Vernon Woodward, out of Winter Park, Florida.

According to the industry-generated composite rankings, he is the No. 74 cornerback in the 2024 recruiting class and the No. 128 player in Florida.

Woodward chose UW over scholarship offers from Ole Miss, Illinois, Cincinnati, Missouri, Purdue, UCF, Virginia, West Virginia, Louisville, Georgia Tech, and several others.

As a junior, the 6-foot-2 cornerback registered 57 tackles, three forced fumbles, and two fumble recoveries. But perhaps the most telling stat from Woodward’s junior season is that he was targeted only twice all year, which speaks volumes about his ability to blanket WRs at that level. 

You can watch his HUDL film here.

Vernon Woodward is commitment No. 9 for the Wisconsin football program in the 2024 recruiting cycle, joining Mabrey Mettauer, Grant Stec, Robert Booker, Derek Jensen, Thomas Heiberger, Landon Gauthier, Kyan Berry-Johnson, and Kahmir Prescott. 

Other Wisconsin Football News

According to a report from Bruce Feldman of The Athletic, the Wisconsin football team is adding a senior defensive analyst to the coaching staff. 

UW is adding Rhode Island defensive coordinator and defensive backs coach Jack Cooper as a senior defensive analyst next season after serving in his previous role since 2020. He also served as a quality control coach for Nebraska for two seasons. 

Coach Cooper helped lead Rhode Island to a top-50 defensive unit in 2021 and a 7-4 record overall, their highest win total in two decades. 

This addition is precisely the kind of coaching hire top-tier programs are making nowadays because they don’t count against the allowed amount of paid assistants. The beauty in adding an experienced coach like Jack Cooper is that you have an internal candidate you’re comfortable with should someone on your staff move on. 


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Dillon Graff is a Substack Newsletter Best Selling Author and the Owner of BadgerNotes.com, your go-to source for in-depth coverage of the Wisconsin Badgers. His work has been featured in top media publications like USA Today, Bleacher Report, Verbal Commits, B5Q, Saturday Blitz, and Fansided.

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