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There's something cleansing about the start of spring ball. For Wisconsin, it means wiping away the four consecutive losses that started last year's Big Ten campaign and razed extremely high hopes in Madison. It means wiping away the four consecutive touchdowns that Florida State scored (in just an eight-minute span) to hand the Badgers a 42-13 Champs Sports Bowl loss on Dec. 27.

But since Wisconsin also lost six linemen, two linebackers and a handful of other starters from its 7-6 team, it means Bret Bielema and his staff must maximize their opportunity to identify lots of new contributors and make sure they're good enough to reverse the Badgers' slide down the Big Ten standings.

"There is no hiding the fact we're not happy with a 7-6 season," Bielema said to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

And there's no hiding the fact that the Badgers are looking for more from their most scrutinized position. Senior-to-be Dustin Sherer started the final 7 games last fall after initial starter Allan Evridge was demoted, but he wasn't consistent enough to earn the job without a fight.

For the third year in a row, the Badgers are hosting a quarterback derby that doesn't figure to have a winner until midway through fall camp. Sherer has three teammates with whom he'll share snaps this spring: Fourth-year junior Scott Tolzien, who has thrown 8 career passes, redshirt freshman Curt Phillips and true freshman Jon Budmayr. The latter, just as Phillips did a year ago, enrolled at Wisconsin a semester early to get a jump-start.

Of course, it won't necessarily matter which quarterback earns the job if Wisconsin can't find capable offensive linemen to replace the three graduating seniors who combined for 121 career starts. Guys like prep All-American Josh Oglesby, who made three starts as a redshirt freshman, need to come to the fore.

Then there's the massive renovation on defense, where the Badgers must replace six starters who each started for at least three seasons. The biggest challenge will on the line, where the Badgers didn't have enough depth even before losing Matt Shaughnessy, Mike Newkirk and Jason Chapman.

SPRING OBJECTIVES (Outline the key position battles, storylines and clear goals -- stated or otherwise -- for spring session)

When it comes to identifying a quarterback, Wisconsin coach Bret Bielema and offensive coordinator Paul Chryst like it when every snap and every minute of every meeting means something. In the previous two years, that meant they had to sort out a two-man quarterback battle to find their starter.

But this spring, it means a four-way free-for-all between senior Dustin Sherer (seven career starts), junior Scott Tolzien (eight career pass attempts), highly touted redshirt freshman Curt Phillips and intriguing true freshman Jon Budmayr. Phillips and Budmayr are premier two-way threats who won't be dismissed just because of their inexperience.

Wisconsin also needs to find three new starting linemen on each side of the ball, as well as two outside linebackers to replace long-time stalwarts Jonathan Casillas and DeAndre Levy. Actually, the Badgers need to find a "Mike" and an outside guy because Jaevery McFadden, last year's MLB, is shifting back to the outside. That figures to make room for junior Culmer St. Jean, who started in the middle against Florida State in the Champs Sports bowl.

It'll also be interesting to see how Wisconsin sorts out its secondary. All-Big Ten corner Allen Langford is the only departee, but there are several candidates for his job including sophomore Aaron Henry, who established himself as a starter in 2007 before missing a season-plus with a knee injury.

BUILDING BLOCKS: Since Wisconsin lost half of its starters from last season's 7-6 squad, it's too soon to tell which side of the ball will carry the Badgers through their pre-conference schedule. When that's in doubt, it's probably best to remember the Badgers always are able to run the ball. Though three-year starter P.J. Hill took his nearly 4,000 career yards to the NFL a year early, sophomore bulldozer John Clay (884 yards, nine TDs) and junior slasher Zach Brown (305 yards, three TDs) lead a deep corps of runners. Wisconsin also retains five of its top six pass-catchers.

QUOTE TO NOTE: "When you watch him, it's what it's supposed to look like. He's throwing to open guys. When it's not there he is making something happen. I watched him on film and what I saw live matched the film." -- Wisconsin offensive coordinator Paul Chryst telling the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel about true freshman QB Jon Budmayr, who enrolled at UW a semester early after missing nearly all of his senior year at Marian Central Catholic High School in Woodstock, Ill.

STARS OF 2009: TB John Clay -- Though he received 71 fewer carries than the departed P.J. Hill last year, Clay had just 277 fewer yards. In other words, the bruising Clay was the more effective runner last fall (155 carries, 884 yards, nine TDs) and should thrive as the clear No. 1 guy this year.

TE Garrett Graham -- Equally effective as a blocker and receiver, the senior led the Badgers last season in catches (40), yardage (540) and TDs (five) despite missing more than two full games due to injury. He'll be the go-to guy in the middle of the field.

SS Jay Valai -- In his first year as a starter, the hard-hitting junior earned second-team all-Big Ten honors after racking up 57 tackles and forcing three fumbles. Two of his forces came against league champ Ohio State.

TOP NEWCOMERS: QB Curt Phillips -- The Tennessee native enrolled early last year and showed marked progress throughout 2008, even though he spent much of the fall running the scout team (and earning scout team MVP honors). He'll get a full opportunity to grab the starting job from senior Dustin Sherer.

OL Peter Konz -- This 6-foot-6, 300-pound redshirt freshman will battle classmates Jake Current and Kevin Zeitler for the wide-open spot at left guard. Current and Zeitler both played as true freshmen, though Current appeared briefly in 5 games while Zeitler saw limited action in three.

FB Dex Jones -- Wisconsin graduated both of its fullbacks after last season, so this explosive redshirt freshman has a golden opportunity to fill the void.

ROSTER REPORT:

--RB P.J. Hill decided to forego his final year of eligibility and declared for the NFL draft. Hill rushed for 3,942 yards and 42 scores during his 37-game career.

--QB James Stallons, who seemed to be stuck on a lower rung of the depth chart, elected to transfer. According to a report in the Grand Rapids Press, he showed up at Div. II Grand Valley State after finishing the spring semester at UW.

--LB Elijah Hodge, who started throughout the 2007 season had one more year of eligibility, and WR Xavier Harris, who suffered a back injury that prohibited his return, are off the Badgers' roster. Hodge apparently will graduate and get on with life.

--Wisconsin has four true freshmen involved in spring ball: QB Jon Budmayr, DE Dennis Gilbert, DE Shelby Harris and DT Jordan Kohout.

Previous Report: 02/06/2009