Youthful contributors stepping up has become a recurring theme this season for the Wisconsin defense. Ten players, designated as either true or redshirt freshmen, have already started games for defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard’s unit.
With senior nose tackle Olive Sagapolu out the rest of the season after suffering a right arm injury against Northwestern, true freshman Bryson Williams became one of those 10 to start and now finds himself in an even bigger role. That adds more pressure to a player who just a year ago was a standout lineman at Lincoln Southeast in Nebraska, but he believes that is not necessarily a bad thing.