In the current era of college football one thing has become quite clear – speed kills. Offenses are transforming into a variety of spread formations to allow for as much speed and athleticism on the field as possible. To counter the speed on offense, defensive players must be able to compete with that athleticism by running down backs and receivers in coverage.

The Badgers lost two very athletic linebackers to the NFL in Jonathan Casillas and DeAndre Levy, but they have wasted no time bringing in a potential replacement for the class of 2010. Cameron Ontko, an outside linebacker prospect from Cuyahoga Falls Ohio, recently gave a verbal commitment to the Wisconsin coaching staff.

Ontko has one thing on his resume that has brought him plenty of attention – a 4.41 forty time. The 6-foot, 211-pound prospect who played running back and linebacker in high school, recieved offers from UW and Georgia Tech, but the Ohio native camped at Ohio State and wanted to see if an offer would come from coach Tressel.

Badger nation had reason to be nervous when Ontko performed at Ohio State’s camp, for it seems like almost every Ohio native that receives an offer from Ohio Sate ends up wearing the scarlet and gray. Luckily for Badger fans, Ontko decided he no longer wanted to wait for the Buckeyes and he committed to the school that always sat atop his list. Ontko will get a chance to play early at UW, something he is very excited about, and something that would not be offered to him at Ohio Sate.

I am pleased that the Badgers were able to grab a talented Ohio prospect, but I’m not entirely sold on Ontko. He is clearly extremely athletic and lightning fast, but I am much more concerned with a linebacker’s tackling ability than his shuttle time. Tackling has seemed like a lost art here at UW, and the poor tackling that has taken place over the past few years has crippled the Badger defense.

Casillas and Levy gave UW a couple solid seasons but both of them had their issues in the tackling department. They were two of the quickest linebackers in the Big Ten and it was great to watch them chase down backs from behind, but the tackling was just too inconsistent and it led to a number of big plays. I just worry that the coaching staff is looking too far into 40 times and cone drills when it should be looking for hard-nosed tacklers.

I would much rather have a linebacker with a slower 40 time that could effectively tackle than one with blazing speed that can’t wrap-up consistently. It would be ideal to have lightning-fast guys who can tackle – the nation’s best defenses are certainly loaded with that kind of talent. We will have to wait and see what kind of tackler Ontko becomes and I am certainly willing to give him a chance. But its not the sideline-to-sideline speed that I’ll be watching. I’ll be looking for the simple third down tackle that gets his offense back on the field.