With significant talent returning on both sides of the ball, the No. 21 Badgers enter the 2004 campaign primed to make a run at their first conference title since 1999.

“There’s definitely no reason we shouldn’t contend this year,” safety Jim Leonhard said. “With the experience and just the guys in this locker room, we feel like we have all the pieces we need. We’ve been able to lean on our youth as kind of a fall back, but we have no excuses now. It’s all on us this year.”

After an injury-plagued 2003 campaign, preseason All-America selection Anthony Davis returns to lead a potent rushing attack. Davis compiled more yardage than any back in the nation over his first two seasons (3,021) and posted an impressive 5.9 yards per carry last year despite missing five games to injury. The senior tailback was one of 40 players nationwide named to the preseason watch list for the 2004 Walter Camp award, which is given to the top college player in the country.

“If he stays healthy, he’ll have as good a year as any back that has ever played here,” offensive coordinator Brian White said.

Davis will run behind an experienced offensive line that returns every starter from last season. Two members of the UW offensive line, left guard Dan Buenning and center Donovan Raiola, were named to the 2004 Outland Trophy watch list, which honors the nation’s top interior lineman. The Badgers’ offensive line enters the season as the only unit in the Big Ten with multiple Outland watch-list selections.

“They’re a pretty veteran group,” wide receiver Jonathan Orr said. “I personally think they’re one of the best offensive lines, if not the best, in the country. They show it week in, week out. They’re consistent and they’re also leaders on this team.”

Joining veterans Jonathan Clinkscale, Morgan Davis, Mike Lorenz, Buenning and Raiola is promising sophomore Joe Thomas. Last season, Thomas broke into the lineup as a blocking tight end and distinguished himself as the first true freshman to see playing time on the offensive line in the Alvarez era. After a strong showing in preseason workouts, Thomas may win the starting job at left tackle.

“Before he leaves here, he has a chance to be one of the better linemen that we’ve ever had,” head coach Barry Alvarez said. “I certainly think he’s ready this year.”

The talented offensive line will take some pressure off of sophomore John Stocco, who should have ample time in the pocket in his first season as the Badgers’ starting quarterback.

“I know I’m going to have time back there,” Stocco said. “I know I’m going to be protected.”

Though he saw action in just three games last season and has yet to make his first collegiate start, Stocco dazzled the coaching staff in the spring workouts and has continued to impress throughout preseason camp. With the season nearly underway, the talented sophomore seems poised to emerge as a leader under center.

“I feel great about him,” White said. “I think he’s going to be an outstanding quarterback and he’ll be an outstanding player this year.”

Stocco will have plenty of options among the receiving corps, with juniors Brandon Williams and Jonathan Orr headlining a talented group that includes senior Darrin Charles and junior Brandon White. With a capable receiver at tight end in Owen Daniels, who will cause matchup problems for opposing defenses, the receiving corps should have the depth to replace the departed Lee Evans.

“I don’t think any one player is going to replace a player of the caliber of Lee Evans,” White said. “But collectively, I think they will all make it a very productive group. There is a lot of very talented players and a lot of them with game experience. We need to take advantage of that this year.”

After taking a back seat to Evans last season, Williams and Orr will look to reemerge as the centerpieces of the UW aerial attack. The duo dominated the passing game as freshmen in 2002 in the absence of the injured Evans, with Orr setting a UW freshman record with 842 receiving yards and Williams eclipsing the UW freshman mark in receptions (52).

“It’s completely different now,” Orr said. “We were young back then. It’s a lot more mature and the experience we’ve gained over the last two years is going to pay off tremendously. I think we’ll see the results of it this year.”

On the defensive side, the Badgers will turn to a new defensive coordinator, Bielema, to replace veteran Kevin Cosgrove, who led the UW defensive corps for 10 seasons. Though Bielema was just 12 years old when Cosgrove earned his first Big Ten coaching job, Bielema has proven himself as an elite coordinator with a pair of impressive seasons at Kansas State.

Bielema’s defenses ranked in the national top 10 in points and yardage allowed in both seasons at Kansas State. In his first year with the Wildcats, Bielema’s unit led the nation in scoring defense (11.8 points per game) and ranked second in total yards allowed (249 yards per game).

This season, Bielema will lead an experienced Badger defense that features a strong defensive line, led by preseason All-American Anttaj Hawthorne. Named to a number of preseason watch lists, including the Bronko Nagurski list, which honors the top defensive player in the nation, Hawthorne is a dominant force in the Badger defensive corps.

“First off, he’s got strength,” Bielema said. “But in addition to that he’s got a lot of speed and agility. By that I mean he’s able to get himself out of tough situations. A lot of guys can play off a block, but when they get out of balance, they continue to go one way. He can reverse his balance so fast, he can get himself in on a lot of plays that most people can’t.”

Joining Hawthorne on the defensive line are seniors Jason Jefferson and Jonathan Welsh and sophomore Joe Monty. The Badgers will also welcome the return of senior Erasmus James, who started 13 games and led the team with 17 hurries in 2002 before an injury sidelined him for the entire 2003 season.

“The big thing that you like about him is that he’s a guy that has played before, he’s just got to get back in the flow,” Bielema said. “But those other guys during his absence have really been able to come along.”

Led by seniors Jim Leonhard and Scott Starks, the UW secondary enters the season as one of the more talented units in the conference. Leonhard, who needs just three interceptions to match Jamar Fletcher’s school record (21), has led the Big Ten in interceptions in each of the past two seasons.

“It starts with Jimmy (Leonhard),” Bielema said. “I think Jimmy is a phenomenal football player. He’s played a lot of ball here at Wisconsin. He has great leadership skills, but more importantly, he’s a great person. He leads by example in everything we ask him to do.”

The main question mark defensively will be the play of an untested set of linebackers, which enters the season after earning a combined total of just three starts in 2003.

“Anybody who starts that first ball game, it’s going to be a new position for him as far as [his] first collegiate start,” Bielema said. “We’ve got strength up front, strength in the back, so linebackers as far as experience would be a concern.”

However, the young group, led by juniors Dontez Sanders and LaMarr Watkins and sophomores Reggie Cribbs and Mark Zalewski, is eager to silence the critics and make an impact in 2004.

“I think our guys are hungry,” Bielema said. “I think they really have heard enough that they might be the weak link, and I think they want to prove themselves and excel in a difficult situation.”

After failing to earn a conference title in the past four seasons, the longest draught in the Alvarez era, the Badgers seem poised to return to title contention. With a healthy Anthony Davis running behind one of the strongest offensive lines in the conference, the offense will be tough to stop. If the defense can overcome its inexperience at linebacker, it could be a big year for the cardinal and white.