Arguably UW's biggest weakness this past season was the lack of depth at defensive tackle and it is an area that needs to improve if the Badgers want to get their defense off the field. It has become quite clear that the most successful defenses are the ones that are able to rotate players along the D-line, keep the guys in the trenches fresh, and coach Bielema has put a lot of emphasis on recruiting a high number of defensive linemen.

The past couple classes have brought in a large number of defensive ends, but aside from 4-star prospect Jordan Kohout we have not seen UW have much success bringing in defensive tackles. On Saturday the Badgers added some much needed depth at the DT position by receiving a verbal commitment from Bryce Gilbert, a 285-pound prospect from Brookfield, Wis. Gilbert is one of only five players from the state of Wisconsin to receive an offer from the Badgers and he becomes the third commit in the 2010 class.

Like many Wisconsin prospects, Gilbert has flown under the radar and is not getting a lot of national attention. He has offers from some small schools and Minnesota and Iowa were beginning to show interest. The UW coaching staff likes Gilbert's size (he should be able to get close to 300 pounds in a few years) and his upside. Defensive line coach Charlie Partridge will undeniably welcome the addition of a run-stuffing tackle that has good size and strength and the staff will certainly look to add at least one more defensive tackle to this class.

Last season it was an under-sized Mike Newkirk and injury-riddled Jason Chapman that played practically every down for the Badgers. By the fourth quarter, these guys just didn't have much left and it showed. When these two desperately needed a breather, the guys who stepped in were painfully ineffective. UW needs more big bodies to take some snaps at the tackle position and with the addition of Kohout last year, the emergence of versatile transfer J.J. Watt, and now with Gilbert, the future of the Wisconsin D-line is certainly looking bigger and hopefully a bit brighter.

The 2009 Stanley Cup fiinals will feature a rematch of last year's final with Detroit and Pittsburgh squaring off once again. I don't really mind the fact that these two teams will meet since thier is so much exciting talent on both squads, but it would have been nice to see some different teams vying for Lord Stanley's cup. I, for one, would have enjoyed watching the Chicago Blackhawks (a team I predicted would make the finals back in October) represent the Western conference, but they ran into a loaded Detroit team. The Hawks have a plethora of young stars and any hockey fan with a brain knows that Chicago's best years are ahead of them.

For Badger fans, there is one reason in particular to jump on the overcrowded Blackhawk bandwagon: Adam Burish. In 2006, Burish captained the Wisconsin hockey team and led them all the way to a National Championship. The Madison native assisted on both goals in the championship game against Boston College and was the epitome of a leader over the course of his collegiate career.

Burish had enourmous success with UW, but the ninth round draft pick knew what his role would be at the next level. He is your typical "glue-guy", a scrappy, high energy player who sacrifices his body and simply out-wills opponenents. Burish has accepted his role as a checker and sometimes even an agitator (just ask Jarome Iginla) and has fit in nicely with the Blackhawks. He was never the type of player to win any skills competitions anyway.

Simply put, Burish is a winner. He knows what it takes to win and although he may not score 30 goals anytime soon, he is the kind of guy you need to win a championship. Toews and Kane will continue to get all the attention and guys like Burish will continue to score timely goals while wearing opponents down. Burish is a true Badger who brought UW an unforgetable national championship and he has made Badger fans proud with the hard work he has shown in the pros. I encourage Badger fans to keep an eye on Burish because I just get the feeling that he has another championship in him. He just better be ready to hoist a slightly heavier trophy.

Wisconsin's 2009 football recruiting class is in the books. All of the new Badgers will join the team for fall camp as the coaching staff looks to get everyone ready for the highly-anticipated season. The 2009 recruiting class was a deep one, with a lot of talent on both ends of the ball, and Bielema will look to put together a similar class for 2010. Bielema has gotten off to a quick start in the next recruiting cycle by bringing in two intriguing prospects. Here is a look at the first commits in the 2010 class:

Interestingly enough, UW's first verbal commitment in the 2010 class came from a former Minnesota commit. Konrad Zagzebski, widely considered one of the top defensive players from the state of Wisconsin, chose to de-commit from the Gophers and remain in-state for his collegiate career.

A linebacker from Schofield, Wis., Zagzebski has expressed a desire to play linebacker in college, but the Badger coaching staff sees him as a defensive end. In an effort to nab a highly touted Wisconsin prospect, Minnesota offered Zagzebski a scholarship and was willing to let the 6-foot-3, 225-pound prospect play linebacker. Zagzebski committed to Gophers, but after the Badgers finally made an offer, Zagzebski came around and appears willing to switch to the defensive line to play for UW.

On film, Zagzebski displays a great motor and shows real playmaking ability at DE. With some weight added to his frame, Zagzebski will be a solid multi-year contributor and could definitely grow into a leader for the Wisconsin defense. Zagzebski is a 3-star prospect according to Rivals.com and is ranked as the No. 8 inside-linebacker.

The second prospect to commit to UW was Marquis Mason, a wide receiver from Madison. I am very excited about Mason who will give the Wisconsin more size at the WR position. Mason is 6-feet-5 inches and although he has only played football for a couple years, he has great speed (4.5 40-yard dash time) and height, things you just cannot teach. He is an excellent athlete who will also have the opportunity to walk on to the Badger Basketball team.

Mason was an all-state selection in basketball and is good enough to play both sports at the Division I level. One thing is for sure, Mason will no doubt be very busy once he gets on campus. Mason is 3-star WR prospect according to Rivals.com.

The spring semester may have just come to an end, but for college coaches recruiting efforts are nowhere close to being finished. Actually, come to think of it, recruiting never really stops. UW's head coaches and their respective assistants are constantly evaluating film, sending letters to prospects, and making visits across the country in attempt to convince talented high school prospects that Badger red is their color. Recruiting is absolutely essential to the success of any program and I'll be posting blog entries over the course of the summer to update Badger fans on all the biggest news.

I was hoping my first entry would be a positive one, but sadly that is just not the case. As Jonah stated in the previous post, Vander Blue, a promising point guard from Madison Memorial high school, looked primed and ready to be the next great Badger baller, but that all took a dramatic turn in the last week. On May 11th, Blue met with coach Ryan, his AAU coaches, and a bunch of advisors on the UW campus to discuss his basketball future.

Long story short, reports surfaced hinting that the relationship between Blue and the Badgers appeared to be pretty rocky for a number of unconfirmed reasons. To add more intrigue to the situation, Ryan extended a scholarship offer to 2010 prospect Cameron Wright almost immediately after the meeting. This offer was all the more suspicious due to the fact that both the 2010 incoming roster spots were already filled with the verbal commitments of Blue and Evan Anderson. Bo would only extend another offer if a spot came available and sure enough on Tuesday Blue announced that he was re-opening his recruitment.

The Badgers went through a number of heartbreaking defeats this past season, but the loss of Vander Blue could end up hurting the Badger basketball program for years to come. Adding insult to injury, it looks like the early leaders to gain Blue's services are Marquette and Minnesota. What a miserable turn of events. I was all ready for Blue to become the next Devin Harris, but that dream appears to have vanished.

Blue's de-commitment is utterly devastating to Badger hoops. The UW recruiting strategy has always been centered around signing the top in-state players while looking to add some quality talent here and there from states where UW has built some connections. Frankly, every competitive school wants to build a fence around their state, but since the state of Wisconsin produces very few Division I basketball players, it becomes increasingly important to keep the Wisconsin prospects in their home state.

The thing is, every once in a while a truly special player comes along that can totally change a team, and for UW, Vander Blue was potentially that player. He has remarkable athletic ability (something the Badgers and the rest of the Big Ten have seemed to lack) and the tools to completely take over a game. Blue has said that he has not removed UW from his list of possible college destinations, but it looks as though that bridge has been effectively burned. If the Badger basketball program wants to return to the final four anytime soon, dynamic players like Blue are going to need to be the ones leading the way.

The fundamentally sound, under-the-radar prospects have served UW well over the years, but it is time for the Badgers to take the next step, and advance further in the NCAA tournament. It's hard to find top of the line prospects who are seriously interested in UW and unfortunately the Badger coaching staff let one slip right through their fingers.

With Blue out of the picture its time to think about plan B. I'll be sure to let everyone know when the gritty 2-star with upside commits to UW, because in all honesty, it's just a matter of time.

Madison Memorial High School star Vander Blue announced May 19 in a press conference that he will be retracting his verbal commitment to UW. The decommitment comes just after Memorial won the state championship. This past season, Blue averaged 17 points and 5.5 rebounds per game.

While he announced his decommitment, he also said he is not ruling out a career at Wisconsin. He said that he wants to see what his other options are, and that he wants to be fair to both himself and the university.