MADISON, Wis. — Before Wisconsin began spring football practices last week, Paul Chryst wanted to make it clear to reporters that what they would watch over the ensuing weeks should come with a disclaimer of sorts. Yes, practices were going to be open. But the key to watching was understanding that coaches were trying to push their players outside their comfort zones.

That meant a play with a bad result might not actually have been bad if a player was trying something different that could be helpful down the road. It also meant a play that looked really good could be the result of an unseen mistake.

“Some of the best plays can be ones that maybe you screwed something up but you learn from it,” Chryst said. “Or you try to do something and you’re trying a new technique or you’re trying to get out of your comfort zone. Maybe you just need 10 more or 15 more reps of doing that to where it’s ready to be done. But we want to push guys out of that.”

Tuesday represented the first opportunity, in the team’s fourth spring practice, for reporters to see what coaches have been working on with their players. Although the first three practices were closed to the media, Chryst is allowing reporters to watch each of the Badgers’ last 12 spring practices, which wrap up April 22.

What follows are my observations from a shorter but eventful day of practice that provided plenty of insight into what position groups look like and who has an opportunity to make a big leap. A note to readers: I will post my practice observations each Sunday for the next four weeks rather than after every practice to offer a more big-picture look at what I’ve seen and what it means for next season. Now, let’s get to the first open practice.

1. Wisconsin has made some notable position moves on its offensive line under O-line coach Bob Bostad. The first-team offensive line during practice Tuesday consisted of Jack Nelson at left tackle, Tyler Beach at left guard, Tanor Bortolini at center, Michael Furtney at right guard and Logan Brown at right tackle. Starting center Joe Tippmann, an honorable mention All-Big Ten selection last season, did not practice, which contributed in part to the different lineup. Tippmann did not play in the Las Vegas Bowl because of an injury. It remains to be seen whether Bortolini could earn a starting job on the right side of the line when Tippmann returns.

Nelson started at right guard last season, while Beach started at left tackle and played all 827 of his snaps as a tackle, per Pro Football Focus. In fact, Beach has not played a single snap as a guard in a college game despite appearing in 47 games with 21 starts. Nelson is a natural tackle and played left tackle at Stoughton (Wis.) High School.

Furtney, who can play either left guard or right guard, appears ready for a much bigger role after appearing in 31 career games with two starts. Some fans wondered whether Brown would be able to carve out a role this season when Beach opted to return. Last season, Brown served as Beach’s backup at left tackle. Brown, a five-star Wisconsin signee in the 2019 class, has an excellent opportunity this season but needs to show more consistency. Again, it’s just one practice, but Brown was beaten on a pair of plays by outside linebacker C.J. Goetz and later by outside linebacker Darryl Peterson, both of whom would have earned sacks if live tackling of the quarterback was allowed.

Brown briefly went down with an injury during practice, and Nolan Rucci moved up with the first-team group at right tackle. During another sequence, Trey Wedig was with the top group at right tackle before Brown returned to practice. The other first-teamers on offense were quarterback Graham Mertz, running back Braelon Allen, receivers Markus Allen and Chimere Dike and tight ends Hayden Rucci and Jaylan Franklin.

Wisconsin’s second-team offensive line featured Riley Mahlman at left tackle, Dylan Barrett at left guard, Cormac Sampson at center, Wedig at right guard and Rucci at right tackle. J.P. Benzschawel also earned snaps at left guard in place of Barrett. Bostad, who moved back to the offensive line after coaching Wisconsin’s inside linebackers, clearly has a variety of options at his disposal with a talented group.

2. As has been typical during open practices, Wisconsin’s defense used multiple combinations, which makes it difficult to determine the exact rotation. But the top defensive group appeared to be defensive ends Isaiah Mullens and Rodas Johnson with nose guard Keeanu Benton, outside linebackers C.J. Goetz and Kaden Johnson, inside linebackers Maema Njongmeta and Tatum Grass, cornerbacks Jay Shaw and Ricardo Hallman and safeties John Torchio and Travian Blaylock.

The second-team defense consisted of defensive ends Isaac Townsend and James Thompson Jr. with Ben Barten at nose guard and Darryl Peterson and T.J. Bollers at outside linebacker. However, Peterson also earned reps with the top group alongside Kaden Johnson. Peterson continues to look like a physical playmaker for Wisconsin. He nearly picked off a throw from reserve quarterback Deacon Hill, dropping a bullet pass over the middle.

Wisconsin used a pair of inside linebacker tandems in the second group with Spencer Lytle and Jake Ratzlaff, as well as Jordan Turner and Jake Chaney. Lytle moved from outside linebacker to inside linebacker this offseason to have a better opportunity to play. The fourth inside linebacker group was redshirt freshman Bryan Sanborn and freshman early enrollee Aidan Vaughan. The third defensive line group had Tommy Brunner and Cade McDonald at defensive end and Mike Jarvis at nose guard.

At cornerback, Alexander Smith and Toledo transfer Justin Clark were with the second group. Safeties Hunter Wohler and Owen Arnett worked with the twos as well. But there were numerous combinations in the secondary for coaches to evaluate.

Arnett and Northern Illinois transfer Bryce Carey lined up at safety. Cornerback Avyonne Jones lined up on the outside as well as inside. One grouping featured three corners on the field with Jones, Smith and Al Ashford III with Travian Blaylock as the only true safety. Clark and Kentucky transfer Cedrick Dort Jr. were one cornerback combination, with Wohler and Blaylock as the safeties. Max Lofy earned snaps in the slot with Shaw and Clark on the outside at corner. Hallman also earned nickel corner snaps.

What is clear is that all three cornerback transfers — Shaw, Clark and Dort — have playmaking ability and are in position to help Wisconsin this season. All three have one year of eligibility remaining. Shaw, a UCLA transfer, earned second-team All-Pac 12 honors last season.

3. Wisconsin was low on tight ends, as Cam Large, Clay Cundiff and Jack Eschenbach did not practice. Large and Cundiff suffered season-ending injuries last season and Eschenbach didn’t play in the Las Vegas Bowl. As a result of those absences, the Badgers used fullback Riley Nowakowski at tight end, shuffling him all over the field. Hayden Rucci missed part of practice and appeared to be grabbing his lower back area, which left Wisconsin with four tight ends: Nowakowski, Jaylan Franklin, Cole Dakovich and Jack Pugh. Dakovich missed all of last season with a left leg injury.

4. The most notable injury news was that starting outside linebacker Nick Herbig did not practice with a left arm injury and is out indefinitely. He was on the field in street clothes with his position group and didn’t appear to be wearing a brace on his arm. The Badgers currently lack substantial outside linebacker depth with Herbig out, as well as Marty Strey and Aaron Witt. Wisconsin’s outside linebacker group featured C.J. Goetz, Kaden Johnson, Darryl Peterson, T.J. Bollers and walk-on Ross Gengler.

Witt arrived midway through practice on a scooter with his right foot wrapped. Witt played in five games as a true freshman in 2020 and recorded two tackles for loss with a sack and a forced fumble against Wake Forest in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl. But he missed last season with a right leg injury, which appears to still be giving him issues.

“With Aaron, obviously we are extremely excited of the ability he has, the focus, kind of the detail that he brings to it,” Wisconsin defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard said Friday. “We’re just trying to be smart and make sure he’s healthy. We need him next fall. That’s the No. 1 step. Whatever we can get out of him this spring, whatever we can do to help continue his progress forward as a player, that’s what we want to focus on.

“It’s frustrating. He’s more frustrated than anybody in the building right now with what he’s had to go through over the last year. We know his commitment to this place and we want to do right by just making sure to continue to progress him at the pace he needs to so he’s available in the fall. We know that he’s going to be a factor if he’s on that field and we know he can change things for us.”

Other players who did not practice included running backs Brady Schipper, Chez Mellusi and Isaac Guerendo, receivers Stephan Bracey and Jordan DiBenedetto, safety Preston Zachman and cornerback Semar Melvin. Freshman cornerback A’Khoury Lyde, who is recovering from an ACL tear in his left knee last season as a high school senior, also did not practice.

5. Wisconsin used just two kickers during the field goal portion early in practice, and the starting job appears to be a battle between Nate Van Zelst and Vito Calvaruso. Van Zelst took the first reps and made an extra point, followed by a made 40-yard field goal. Calvaruso connected on both kicks from the same distance, burying the 40-yarder with plenty of room to spare. Van Zelst then made a 45-yard field goal, with Calvaruso missing wide right.

Van Zelst is a redshirt freshman walk-on from Glenview, Ill. Calvaruso transferred on scholarship after spending two seasons at Arkansas, where he was the team’s kickoff specialist and backup kicker. He transferred to Wisconsin because he wanted to be at a school where he could potentially earn the starting kicker role. Calvaruso — who said he once made a 64-yard field goal in front of the team at Arkansas — has a tremendously strong leg but will only win the job if he is more consistent.

6. There weren’t a ton of big passing plays during the limited 11-on-11 team reps. But quarterback Graham Mertz delivered the play of the day when he connected with receiver Keontez Lewis for a touchdown pass of about 50 yards down the right sideline. Mertz dropped in a perfect throw that hit Lewis in stride just in front of the end zone and behind cornerback Amaun Williams. Lewis, a UCLA transfer, is among several receivers vying for a spot in the rotation.

Another receiver who could help this season is former cornerback Dean Engram. Engram, who moved positions this offseason, looks comfortable in his new role. He made a great diving catch on a low throw from quarterback Chase Wolf over the middle and caught another pass over the middle from Mertz during skeleton drills.

It was no surprise that Chimere Dike was Mertz’s primary target during drills Tuesday. Mertz completed a long pass to Dike down the seam in skeleton drills and went back to Dike for a nice completion later in the drill. With Danny Davis and Kendric Pryor moving on, Dike is in position to become Wisconsin’s No. 1 receiver.

Mertz looked confident and in command as he enters his third year as the team’s starter. Wolf took the second quarterback reps, with Deacon Hill third and freshman early enrollee Myles Burkett earning just a handful of snaps as the fourth quarterback. Hill missed on a couple of throws, including a rollout into the right flat intended for Dike that sailed out of bounds, and also had a snap exchange issue with Bortolini.

7. A number of players handled kickoff return duties during a brief special teams session. That group consisted of Dean Engram, Chimere Dike, Skyler Bell, Amaun Williams, Alexander Smith, Markus Allen, Alex Moeller and Grover Bortolotti. Wisconsin’s three punters in drills were Andy Vujnovich, Jack Van Dyke and Gavin Meyers.

Engram was Wisconsin’s top punt returner last season, returning 15 punts for 76 yards. Stephan Bracey, who didn’t practice Tuesday, led the team with six kick returns for 193 yards and a touchdown. Dike recorded four kick returns for 77 yards.

8. Wisconsin being down three running backs meant more opportunities for Julius Davis, who was the second tailback during practice behind Braelon Allen. Davis earned the majority of the carries and looked smooth and powerful, breaking multiple runs for long gains, although there wasn’t live tackling.

Last spring, Davis sustained a left knee injury during practices and slightly tore his meniscus, which prevented him from making big offseason gains. He finished the season with 21 carries for 109 yards rushing. Given the injuries at the position right now, Davis could show new running backs coach Al Johnson that he deserves a more significant look next season.

“It’s a huge opportunity for me and my development as a player,” Davis said. “I can work on my game, I can get the playbook down, I can get these reps and different looks where back then I didn’t really have the reps and I wasn’t able to feel comfortable within everything just because I was working with scout, I was doing other things. I wasn’t able to focus on our playbook and everything. Being able to have this spring and actually get the live reps and doing everything, I think it’s going to help a lot.”

Walk-on Grover Bortolotti earned most of the other running back carries. Jackson Acker, who carried six times for 34 yards with a touchdown last season, was Wisconsin’s primary fullback Tuesday.

“He’s learning the halfback plays and the routes and all that, but he’s also learning fullback,” Johnson said of Acker. “So I think he’s a guy that can probably have a chance if he keeps growing and doing that sort of thing to be able to help us in multiple different areas, a lot like Alec Ingold did. There were a lot of games where Alec early in his career was the premier halfback. And I see him that he could do that same thing if things keep progressing that way.”

(Top photo courtesy of Wisconsin Athletic Communications)