After years of success with a core group of players including Anthony Davis, Jim Leonhard and Dan Buenning, this season’s Wisconsin football squad has a decidedly new look.

Gone are seven starters on defense — including all four starting defensive lineman — and five offensive starters from last year’s 9-3 squad.

“We lost a great front,” defensive line coach John Palermo said of last season’s starting defensive line, which included first-round draft pick Erasmus James.

But with the change comes a fresh start, as new players and coaches look to regroup after ending last season with a three-game losing streak.

One new face the spotlight will fall hardest on is junior running back Brian Calhoun. Though a new addition to the Wisconsin program Calhoun, who was named preseason Big Ten newcomer of the year by The Sporting News, is far from new to the college game.

Before transferring to Wisconsin, Calhoun spent two years at Colorado, amassing 1,108 rushing yards and scoring five touchdowns while sharing time in a backfield that once boasted Bobby Purify, Marcus Houston and Tennessee Titans running back Chris Brown.

With the graduation of long-time starter Anthony Davis, and with questions surrounding Booker Stanley’s playing time following an altercation in May, the multi-dimensional Calhoun stands poised to be next in a long line of great Wisconsin running backs.

What makes Calhoun different than his recent predecessors is his ability to catch the ball out of the backfield, an aspect of his game that has the coaching staff excited.

In his sophomore campaign with the Buffaloes, Calhoun was third among Big 12 running backs with 32 receptions. In comparison, Booker Stanley led all Wisconsin backs with 18 catches last season, the first time this century a Wisconsin running back or fullback recorded double-digit receptions in a year.

“I just think he’s an exceptional player,” head coach Barry Alvarez said of Calhoun during spring practice.

Another highly scrutinized new face will be that of new co-offensive coordinator Paul Chryst. Joining the team after the departure of former tight ends coach Rob Ianello, Chryst was brought in specifically to help cure Wisconsin’s anemic passing game.

The move was not without merit. In 2004 under Brian White, who will share offensive coordinator duties with Chryst this fall, Wisconsin finished last in the Big Ten and 103rd in the nation in passing offense, gaining a paltry 167.2 yards per game and scoring only nine touchdowns through the air.

In the two years prior to joining the Badgers’ staff, Chryst directed one of the most prolific passing attacks in the nation at Oregon State, where the Beavers finished in the top ten nationally in passing offense in both of his seasons calling the plays.

“I’m excited about it,” senior wide receiver Jonathon Orr said of the new timing-based passing attack implemented by Chryst this spring. “I think it will complement the running game well. It just gives guys more opportunities to do what they do best.”

Though not brand new to the Badgers’ staff, second-year defensive coordinator Bret Bielema will have his hands full trying to build on the defensive success his team experienced last season.

Bielema enjoyed tremendous success last year thanks to a stellar senior class that boasted five eventual NFL draft picks and Wisconsin’s all-time single season interceptions leader, Jim Leonhard.

But that’s not to say Bielema is not responsible for last season’s success. The former Kansas State assistant coach turned Wisconsin’s linebacker corps — considered a weakness prior to the season — into a respectable unit in less than six months, and his play-calling helped Wisconsin become one of the nation’s top ten defenses.

So far, Bielema appears to be once again molding a solid defense even without a talented senior class. With young players fighting for playing time on both the defensive line, where junior Joe Monty appears to be the oldest contributor, and in the defensive backfield, where a pair of freshman corners are fighting for consistent minutes, Bielema is out to show that he can be successful with this youthful and talented group.

“We’re getting some pretty solid play from our defensive front, I think our linebackers have improved, and I like the competition we have in the backfield,” Alvarez said. “So if they continue to improve, continue to do that during two-a-days, we have a chance to be a nice defense.”