It’s finally time to start thinking about next year.

Almost five months have passed since Wisconsin fans last saw the Badgers play some football, and Saturday offers the only public sneak peak until the 2012 opening kickoff against Northern Iowa on Sept. 1.

With spring camp coming to a close, the Badgers will kick off their annual spring game at 4 p.m. Saturday at Camp Randall Stadium.

According to head coach Bret Bielema, the scrimmage will feature first-string units against their second-string counterparts, with live tackling the name of the game – except when it comes to quarterbacks, of course.

With the process of replacing 13 starters and six assistant coaches already underway, here are three things to watch for in the 2012 spring game.

Filling in the blanks

With plenty of departed seniors and nicked-up returnees, Wisconsin has been forced to deal with a slight lack of depth in a few areas this spring.

The wide receiving corps has struggled mightily during camp, especially with the absence of Jared Abbrederis. The fullback position has little experience. And the competition for starting quarterback has barely even begun since Maryland-transfer Danny O’Brien won’t arrive in Madison until the summer.

Meanwhile, UW is deep at tight end and halfback.

Last year’s starter at tight end, Jacob Pedersen, missed a good portion of camp but returned recently, bolstering a group already containing the impressive efforts of Brian Wozniak and Sam Arneson.

Whereas at running back, it’s hard to justify keeping a talent like junior James White on the bench while deficiencies lay elsewhere on the offense.

That’s prompted offensive coordinator Matt Canada to frequently deploy two or three tight ends at a time and experiment with backs lining up as slot wide receivers in order to get the most talented players on the field.

“We’re playing to the strength of our talent,” Canada said. “We got a lot of tight ends who can play very well and they’re a strength on our team.”

Gordon gets his chance

Within the ranks of the running back depth chart – behind Heisman Trophy finalist Montee Ball and the experienced White – is redshirt freshman Melvin Gordon, a talented back with the potential to play his way onto the field in 2012.

But despite what stands in front of him, Gordon could arrive at the scrimmage as the Badgers’ feature back since Ball has been ruled out for Saturday as a general precaution and White, stricken with a knee injury, may or may not suit up as well.

Gordon appeared in three games last year as a freshman before sustaining a groin injury and redshirting the remainder of the year. In those appearances, which came late in games with UW’s victory already secure, Gordon ran for 98 yards on 20 carries (4.9 average) and one touchdown.

Gordon, a fleet-footed, 6-foot-1, 205-pound back, said he’s back at 100 percent and the speed of the collegiate game is beginning to slow down for him.

“At first it was going real fast and now it’s slowing down, but now it’s about working on my craft,” Gordon said. “Making a move in open space, I feel like that’s what I need to work on more as a player, and getting low and [making] contact.”

Secondary looks to take a leap

Despite losing its two most productive members of the defensive backfield – safety Aaron Henry and cornerback Antonio Fenelus – UW’s secondary seems well-suited to improve in 2011.

Of its four projected starters – three are fifth-year seniors and one is a redshirt junior – all have starting experience.

Dezmen Southward and Shelton Johnson, who shared time at one of the safety positions for a good amount of last year, will take over as the last line of defense. Devin Smith – once a starter as a sophomore – returns from injury to fill out the cornerbacks with returning starter Marcus Cromartie.

On Monday, Bielema showed his excitement for the pairing of Southward and Johnson together, saying the two could make for the “best combination at safety” since he’s been coaching at Wisconsin. Defensive coordinator and defensive backs coach Chris Ash said the two have improved “tremendously” over the course of spring camp.

Ash also said the secondary has seen a pleasant surprise in redshirt sophomore cornerback Darius Hillary, a 5-foot-11 cornerback.

“One guy that’s stood out and had a really nice spring is Darius Hillary,” Ash said. “He’s kind of been banged up here at the end of spring, but he’s made a lot of plays and really showed some signs of progress and shows he has the chance to help us next fall.”