Over the course of the summer, Wisconsin’s roster preview series keeps circling back to one theme: the Badgers need grown-up bodies up front. Hammond Russell IV fits that bill as well as anyone.
The transfer defensive lineman may not jump off the page if you only glance at the numbers, but the appeal is pretty clear. He brings size, at 6-foot-4 and 314 pounds in the spring, and he brings something Wisconsin values just as much - experience. This fall will be his sixth year of college football.
That combination is exactly what defensive line coach EJ Whitlow worked with last season, and it’s the kind of profile the Badgers are hoping Russell can mirror in Madison. The staff wants him to be another sturdy, veteran run-stuffer in the mold of Ben Barten and Jay'Viar Suggs from a year ago.
Luke Fickell sounded encouraged after the first practice of spring ball.
"I think just like Suggs brought us last year, and obviously we had Ben Barten who was a sixth-year guy last year, you need some veteran experience," head coach Luke Fickell said after the first practice of the spring.
"I think Hammond, as he's come in, I wasn't quite sure. You never know when you get some of these guys.
But there's a definite veteran experience in the way he handles things, the way he understands leadership and the dynamics of the locker room. I've been impressed not just with the way he's played but with the way he's kinda handled everything."
Whitlow had a similarly strong read on Russell this spring. With four guys gone to graduation, the room needed a veteran, and Russell checked a lot of boxes.
“He’s a veteran presence to the room with us losing four guys to graduation last year. But he’s big, athletic and has extremely long arms.
So he can play with great length and separation and lock out, which is important in the trenches. So obviously, we were super fired up to have him, and what he’s done this spring as well," Whitlow said this spring.
That kind of length matters in the trenches, and Russell’s frame gives Wisconsin something to work with. He’s one of the longer defensive linemen on the roster, and there’s still room for him to add mass this summer.
The opportunity should be there, too. Russell is expected to be part of a four-man rotation up front, the same setup Whitlow leaned on successfully last fall. Given his age, his experience and the way Wisconsin has already talked about him, it’s hard to imagine him falling too far down the depth chart.
The ceiling is tied to health. Russell has dealt with injuries in the past, and that has kept his production from matching the flashes he’s shown at West Virginia. Still, even on a snap count that was well below starter level, he produced five sacks over the past two seasons.
If he stays on the field, Wisconsin has a real chance to get something useful - and maybe more - out of him. In a best-case scenario, he could end up as one of the top two defensive linemen on the defense by the time fall arrives.
This isn’t about projecting Russell into an all-conference star. It’s about getting a dependable, physical season from a veteran who can help preserve what was largely a stout run defense last year. If he gives the Badgers that, the fit will have been worth it.
A reasonable stat line would be 15-20 tackles and a handful of sacks.
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