As Wisconsin heads into their game Saturday with 13th-ranked Michigan, it doesn't surprise much that head coach Bret Bielema isn't saying a ton about his injured players.There are a number of key Badgers who are either out or questionable for Saturday's game, and Bielema has been careful not to give out too much information.
Heading the list of banged-up Badgers is running back P.J. Hill, who was said to have suffered a bruised left leg in the Indiana game two weeks ago. He left that game in the first half and hasn't played since. At the time, the thought was that Hill would be available for the Ohio State game, but that didn't materialize.
Now, he's a serious question mark for the Michigan game. Bielema:
"P.J. could walk in tomorrow and be able to run and move and do the things we ask him to do. (Or) he may not be able to do it until the bowl game or whatever. You've just got to live in the moment."That doesn't sound promising to me. I'm not one for accusing teams of hiding the truth when it comes to players' injury status, because I know it's sometimes tough to decide what information to give out and what to sit on.
However, I'm starting to doubt the chances of Hill returning before the bowl game. I don't know the extent of his injury, but if it's bad enough to hold him out of games against Ohio State and Michigan that will go a long way toward determining Wisconsin's bowl fate, it must be pretty bad.
(UPDATE: Hill is out, according to Jeff Potrykus of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. That leaves freshman Zach Brown and sophomore Lance Smith to carry the running game Saturday. Read more about the Badgers' injury situation after the jump.)
Defensive tackle Jason Chapman and cornerback Allen Langford are out for the year. Both have knee surgery in their futures. Chapman will be replaced in the starting lineup by Mike Newkirk, who has been playing end this year in the wake of Jamal Cooper's preseason dismissal. Langford's spot will be filled by freshman Aaron Henry, who has served as Wisconsin's nickel corner for much of the season.
Offensive tackle Eric Vanden Heuvel still tops Wisconsin's depth chart. However, he suffered some sort of foot or leg injury in the Ohio State game and didn't finish it. Jake Bscherer filled in and gave a very shaky performance, and the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel cites Bielema as saying senior Danny Kaye could see time there if Vanden Heuvel can't go.
Guard Andy Kemp has missed three games, but should return this week. Hey, that's good news! Hopefully, Kemp's presence offsets Vanden Heuvel's potential absence, and the line is able to keep quarterback Tyler Donovan upright. After tOSU burned them for ten sacks last week, I'm left to hope Michigan didn't get that game tape.
Wisconsin hasn't been decimated by injuries, but the Chapman and Langford injuries are particularly troublesome. Defensive line depth was attacked in the offseason when tackle Justin Ostrowski was forced to quit football and end Cooper couldn't behave himself. The depth in the secondary was really non-existent from the get go. Langford played rather terribly, but at least he had experience and could make some plays. Henry being forced to start leaves Ben Strickland as the nickel corner, and Strickland has never struck me as anything more than a solid special-teams contributor.
