[media-credit name=’JEFF SCHORFHEIDE/Herald photo’ align=’alignright’ width=’336′][/media-credit]

Following UW?s 21-17 loss in the Outback Bowl, UW first team, all-Big Ten cornerback Jack Ikegwuonu said he would need to receive a fairly high grade from the NFL?s underclassman scouting services if he were to forego his senior season and enter the NFL draft.

?I think I would be selling myself short if I didn?t come back, if I was graded anything less than the first couple rounds,? Ikegwuonu said. ?I think my coaches and my teammates and people around me that care about me told me I?d be selling myself short if I didn?t have confidence in my abilities.?

Ikegwuonu must have liked what he heard from the NFL, because the junior decided to make himself eligible for the draft in early January.

In a very brief statement issued by the UW Athletic Communications office, head coach Bret Bielema acknowledged the situation.

?I can confirm that Jack Ikegwuonu, who just completed his fourth year with our program, has informed me that he will forgo his senior year and make himself available for the 2008 National Football League Draft,?
Bielema said in the statement.

Ikegwuonu?s agent, Drew Rosenhaus, did not return requests for comment.

A Madison native, Ikegwuonu spent 2004 ? his first year on campus ? as a redshirt in the program. Ikegwuonu started his career off fast as a second-year freshman, earning first-team freshman All-American honors from The Sporting News, and tying for the team lead in interceptions with three.

As a full-time starter the following season, Ikegwuonu was named first-team All-Big Ten by the conference coaches after intercepting two passes and registering 50 tackles.

Ikegwuonu?s numbers fell sharply in 2007 (one interception, 24 tackles), in large part because opposing offenses tended to not even throw in his direction. Despite the statistical drop-off, Ikegwuonu was a consensus all-conference selection by both the coaches and media.

Ikegwuonu?s early departure will leave the Wisconsin cornerback position almost completely up for grabs when spring practice opens in March. Both Allen Langford and Aaron Henry ? corners who started opposite Ikegwuonu for the regular season ? suffered serious knee injuries late in the year, and how much, if any, they will play next fall is still unknown. Sophomore Josh Nettles would seem to have the inside track on one of the starting spots, and redshirt freshmen Mario Goins and Niles Brinkley could both challenge for time as well.

Based on his previous comments regarding where he would need to be drafted to leave school early and numerous draft analyses done by close talent evaluators, Ikegwuonu is likely a second or third-round draft prospect.

Coaching staff loses two

In addition to reshuffling his defensive backfield, Bielema will also have some shuffling to do with his coaching staff.

Following the 21-17 defeat in the Outback Bowl, offensive line coach Bob Palcic left UW to take the same position under newly-hired UCLA head coach Rick Neuheisel.

Bielema didn?t wait long to fill Palcic?s position, promoting former tight ends coach Bob Bostad to the newly vacated post.

Following a season in which the UW defense failed to live up to preseason expectations, Bielema relieved defensive coordinator Mike Hankwitz of his duties and promoted co-defensive coordinator, linebackers coach and recruiting coordinator Dave Doeren. Hankwitz quickly landed on his feet, signing on for the same capacity at Northwestern.

Returning eight starters from a defense ranked third in the nation both in points and yards allowed, the Badgers plummeted to 35th and 38th, respectively, in 2007. The defense also struggled mightily to defend spread offenses, an emerging tactic across the conference.

“Dave Doeren and Bob Bostad have earned these promotions through hard work and their ability to handle additional responsibilities with our program,” Bielema said in an Athletic Communications release. “I hired them both originally with the thought that they could both eventually move into these new positions at some point, so I’m pleased that is happening.?

Chryst staying put

For the second consecutive year, offensive coordinator Paul Chryst was rumored to be leaving Wisconsin.

In the days following the Outback Bowl, there were whispers that Chryst would move to Purdue to become offensive coordinator and head coach in waiting.

That move never came to fruition, and Chryst stayed put.

Last winter, Chryst was pursued by the Dallas Cowboys to become their quarterbacks coach. Chryst eventually withdrew from consideration and signed a five-year, $1.75 million extension with UW.