The past couple of weeks have been pretty slow as far as UW recruiting news is concerned. Aside from the commitment of defensive end Warren Herring, a Kansas State de-commit, there has not been much to report. But that all changed earlier this week when three prospects committed to UW in a matter of hours.

I'm actually writing this entry from my room in London where I will be spending the next three weeks. There aren't too many Badger fans out here but I'm doing my best to change that.�

Anyway, back to the recruiting news. UW added three more names to its class of 2010 when Michael Trotter, Jeff Lewis, and Cody Byers gave verbal commitments to the Badger coaching staff earlier this week.�

Trotter is a 6-foot, 200-pound, safety prospect from Milwaukee who is regarded as one of the top players in the state. He has a twin brother, Marcus, who plays linebacker and many thought that the two brothers wanted to play together at the collegiate level. Michael has made his decision to play for UW, but Marcus has yet to receive an offer from the Badgers.�

The future of the safety position looks to be in great shape with Trotter and Frank Tamakloe entering the program. Both prospects are athletic, physical safeties that should be able to make an impact early on in their respective careers.�

Jeff Lewis, a 6-foot-2, 197-pound running back from Brookfield WI., will probably be the only running back taken in this class. UW is usually able to bring in top talent at the running back position, but Lewis is only a two star prospect according to rivals.com. The staff sees a lot of potential in Lewis, and with talented runners like Eric Smith and Montee Ball already in the fold, the coaches can afford to take a chance.�

The final commitment came from Cody Byers, a prospect from Centerville, OH. The 6-foot-3 safety will play outside linebacker at UW despite his history as a defensive back. The staff likes his frame and Byers appears more than willing to make the position switch.�

Aside from these three commitments, some other news surfaced about another highly touted Ohio prospect. Alex Smith, a 6-foot-5, 230-pound tight end, was in Madison for a campus visit. The Cincinnati native had given a soft verbal to play for the Cincinnati Bearcats, but apparently he is re-thinking his decision. UW has a proud history of tight ends and Smith, a 4-star prospect, would be a perfect fit. Keep your fingers crossed.�

When trying to assess the overall ability of a football team you have to look for the strengths and weaknesses. For Wisconsin, the quarterback play has always been the biggest question mark surrounding the program. It's simple really, good teams almost always have good quarterbacks, and bad teams usually have bad ones. UW teams of the past have won Rose Bowls without stud quarterbacks but we Badger fans have always wondered what this program could accomplish if a prolific passer was added to a strong rushing attack. For years the Badgers have taken the field with "game managers" under center but that mentality finally appears to be on its way out.

In 2008 it was Curt Phillips, a four-star, dual threat quarterback from Tennessee who committed to UW and got everyone all excited. Fans saw glimpses of Phillips' potential at the 2009 spring game and his rare combination of size and athletic ability energized Badger nation. Many thought Phillips would be the sure-fire QB of the future, but in the 2009 recruiting class the Badgers reeled in another elite passer. This time it was Jon Budmayr, a strong-armed, fluid pocket passer from Illinois who committed to UW. Budmayr had an offer from Notre Dame, his childhood dream school, but he felt the Badgers were a perfect fit.

In back to back years the Wisconsin coaching staff was able to bring in elite QB prospects, and a position that was once considered void of any talent now has some promising young signal callers listed on the depth chart. The coaching staff sees a lot of potential in both Phillips and Budmayr and both have bright futures ahead of them. But despite the recent influx of talent, UW has added yet another top-flight QB prospect to the roster.

The staff only planned on signing one QB for the class of 2010 and they got the kid that was No. 1 one their board. Joseph Brennan, a 6-foot-4, 178-pound prospect from Cherry Hill NJ., recently gave a verbal commitment to the Wisconsin staff. That is now three years in a row of exceptional recruits at the QB position. Not bad for a fan base that has been starving for a multi-year starter at quarterback.

Brennan is a tall pocket passer who has a rocket arm and coaches say he has been a great leader throughout his high school career. He can make all the throws and the thing that really impressed me in his film was his pocket mobility. Brennan isn't the fastest guy, but he is athletic enough to avoid the rush while keeping his eyes downfield.

The New Jersey native had notable offers from Rutgers, Pittsburgh, and Miami, but he became a Badger in the end. I am actually from New Jersey and I know that everyone loves to rip on the garden state, but now every Badger fan can honestly say that Jersey is good for something - me and Joseph Brennan. Next time you take a stab at New Jersey keep in mind that that very state has now given UW an enthusiastic young sports writer and a talented pocket passer. Just throwing it out there.

In all seriousness, Brennan is a huge recruit for UW as he was the quarterback that the staff targeted early on. The east coast is home to plenty of exceptional high school football players and a return to that area would be a big step for the program. Barry Alvarez always had a strong connection to the northeast and he was able to bring in solid football players from that part of the country year after year. Bret Bielema is beginning to widen his recruiting scope and it's clearly paying off.

In the current era of college football one thing has become quite clear - speed kills. Offenses are transforming into a variety of spread formations to allow for as much speed and athleticism on the field as possible. To counter the speed on offense, defensive players must be able to compete with that athleticism by running down backs and receivers in coverage.

The Badgers lost two very athletic linebackers to the NFL in Jonathan Casillas and DeAndre Levy, but they have wasted no time bringing in a potential replacement for the class of 2010. Cameron Ontko, an outside linebacker prospect from Cuyahoga Falls Ohio, recently gave a verbal commitment to the Wisconsin coaching staff.

Ontko has one thing on his resume that has brought him plenty of attention - a 4.41 forty time. The 6-foot, 211-pound prospect who played running back and linebacker in high school, recieved offers from UW and Georgia Tech, but the Ohio native camped at Ohio State and wanted to see if an offer would come from coach Tressel.

Badger nation had reason to be nervous when Ontko performed at Ohio State's camp, for it seems like almost every Ohio native that receives an offer from Ohio Sate ends up wearing the scarlet and gray. Luckily for Badger fans, Ontko decided he no longer wanted to wait for the Buckeyes and he committed to the school that always sat atop his list. Ontko will get a chance to play early at UW, something he is very excited about, and something that would not be offered to him at Ohio Sate.

I am pleased that the Badgers were able to grab a talented Ohio prospect, but I'm not entirely sold on Ontko. He is clearly extremely athletic and lightning fast, but I am much more concerned with a linebacker's tackling ability than his shuttle time. Tackling has seemed like a lost art here at UW, and the poor tackling that has taken place over the past few years has crippled the Badger defense.

Casillas and Levy gave UW a couple solid seasons but both of them had their issues in the tackling department. They were two of the quickest linebackers in the Big Ten and it was great to watch them chase down backs from behind, but the tackling was just too inconsistent and it led to a number of big plays. I just worry that the coaching staff is looking too far into 40 times and cone drills when it should be looking for hard-nosed tacklers.

I would much rather have a linebacker with a slower 40 time that could effectively tackle than one with blazing speed that can't wrap-up consistently. It would be ideal to have lightning-fast guys who can tackle - the nation's best defenses are certainly loaded with that kind of talent. We will have to wait and see what kind of tackler Ontko becomes and I am certainly willing to give him a chance. But its not the sideline-to-sideline speed that I'll be watching. I'll be looking for the simple third down tackle that gets his offense back on the field.

If you're an avid ESPN watcher like I am you've probably stumbled across the 50 states tour on College Football Live, and if you're a devout Badger fan like I am, you probably now despise Mark May.

It seems like Wisconsin either gets way too much love or way too little love from the media each year. Last year's team was ranked No.13 in the preseason poll and was always mentioned as a strong candidate to compete for the Big Ten title when the year started. As we all know, that didn't exactly happen. And back in 2006, the team that finished 12-1 started the year unranked and unnoticed.

The Badgers seem to perform better without high media expectations and I believe this program relishes the "we don't get any respect" mentality. Well, the Badgers will now have that chip firmly placed on their shoulders as ESPN, and in particular, Mark May, have drastically lowered their expectations of this year's squad.

Mr. May has always been a bit of a Badger-basher, but his latest analysis on College Football Live's state tour reached a new level. May looked at UW's schedule and said that he saw four winnable games for the Badgers. This includes wins against top-notch programs like Northern Illinois and Wofford. May said the Badgers will also escape with a win against Purdue and manage to steal a game somewhere else.

Wow, just wow. I knew the media expectations would be lower, but this is really, really low. I get that UW has a lot of question marks in the front seven and I get that the QB play has been poor, but four wins? At first glance, the Badgers 2009 schedule is extremely favorable and I personally see them winning eight or nine games. I don't think this year's team is anywhere near BCS caliber but I do think that the combination of an experienced offensive unit, some promising fresh faces on defense, and a soft schedule will allow for the Badgers to finish with a respectable record.

Let's assume that the Badgers take care of their weak nonconference opponents (Northern Illinois, Fresno State, Wofford, and Hawaii) and beat up on Purdue and Indiana. That's six wins right there. Ohio State is too good and the Badgers are looking at a loss in Columbus, but the rest of the schedule sets up nicely. You won't see Penn State or Illinois which makes life much easier for the Badgers and I think UW is certainly capable of beating Northwestern on the road, Michigan at home, and a Ringer-less Michigan State at home. All those games probably won't be wins, but I think it's fair to say UW can muster two out of the three.

Iowa should be a pretty strong team and this match-up seems like a toss-up, but the Hawkeyes lost running back Shonn Greene to the NFL and his replacement, Jewel Hampton, already has a knee injury. And another thing - Ricky Stanzi just isn't that good. I know our QB isn't much better but we have John Clay and Zach Brown in the backfield while Iowa must rely on the injured Hampton and a bunch of other inexperienced backs. Also, this year's battle for the Heartland Trophy will be taking place at Camp Randall Stadium, a big advantage for the Badgers. Lastly, the battle for the axe will be a tough game in Minnesota's brand new stadium, but remember that the Badgers have beaten the Gophers five times in a row.

Like I said before, UW thrives in this underdog role and I'm actually glad Mark May decided to rip into the Badgers and provide some bulletin board material. I fully expect the Badgers to have a strong bounce back season in a year where the media expectations have dropped considerably. I'm thinking the Badgers finish with eight or nine wins, while Mark May is predicting just four. I'll gladly take on Mr. May, but let's hope for all of our sakes I'm the one who ends up being right.