I think it's pretty fair to say that Russell Wilson had a good run as Wisconsin's starting quarterback. His stat line says it all: a 72.8 completion percentage, 10.28 yards per attempt, 33 touchdowns and just four interceptions. Wilson gave the Badgers everything they needed out of the quarterback position, plus a little more. But as much as the Badgers might wish Wilson could return for an encore, he's exhausted his eligibility and is on to potentially greener pastures in the NFL.

So what do the Badgers do for 2012? They caught lightning in a bottle with Wilson, but they now have impossibly big shoes to fill. Today we'll take an entirely-too-early look at the candidates to replace Wilson for next season. The quarterback situation is sure to change over the next few months, as we find out who's hurt and for how long, but for right now we'll look at the potential candidates and where they stand.

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MADISON, Wis. - Bret Bielema's wedding just got a little more interesting. After three Wisconsin assistants left for new jobs at Pittsburgh with now-Panthers head coach Paul Chryst, it was Bielema's turn to lure an assistant away. This time it's former Wisconsin running back Eddie Faulkner, who rounds out the Wisconsin coaching staff as the Badgers' new tight ends coach.

Faulkner, 34, was briefly hired in January as Pitt's new running backs coach after spending a year with Dave Doeren and Matt Canada at Northern Illinois. Faulkner also was the special teams coordinator for the Huskies during his brief tenure at NIU. So when Bielema and his former employees get together for his upcoming nuptials, there's sure to be some interesting conversations.

"I'm excited to be able to bring Eddie back to Madison," Bielema said in a statement. "It's always special to be able to hire a former letterwinner. In addition to coaching our tight ends, Eddie brings great experience coaching special teams and has tremendous talents as a recruiter. He's obviously worked with Matt and he is highly-respected among the coaches on our staff."

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MADISON, Wis. -- It's something that Wisconsin head coach Bret Bielema has said before: coaches lose more friendships in recruiting than they do on the field.

So it's probably fair to say that Bielema's relationship with new Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer is frosty at best.

During his signing day press conference, Bielema was asked about how Meyer will affect recruiting in the Big Ten. The Buckeyes pulled in one of the top signing classes this season, ranking first in the Big Ten and sixth overall by ESPN. Bielema mentioned that he had a discussion with Meyer about some of his recruiting tactics sometime after he joined the conference in November.

"I hope (recruiting) doesn't change, I think the potential to change has been there," Bielema said Wednesday. "There was a few things that happened early on, that I made people aware of that I didn't want to see in this league, that I had seen take place in other leagues. Other recruiting tactics, other recruiting practices that are illegal.

"I was very up front and was very pointed to the fact, actually reached out to coach Meyer and shared my thoughts and concerns with him. The situation got rectified."

And now Matt Hayes at The Sporting News is reporting that Wisconsin Athletic Director Barry Alvarez will speak with Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany about Meyer's recruiting style.

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MADISON, Wis. -- Change is uncomfortable. That's what the Wisconsin Badgers found out first hand when six assistant coaches left for different jobs after winning their second consecutive Big Ten Championship, and it's what new wide receivers coach Zach Azzanni stressed after the Badgers introduced their 2012 signing class.

"Change is uncomfortable for people," Azzanni said. "Change involves risk. I think players, coaches, everybody, you have a tendency when you have success to lose your edge. Not that anyone has ... but they're certainly not going to now."

Certainly not. If change keeps people sharp, then bringing in a completely revamped coaching staff should work wonders for the Badgers. As of now, the Badgers have hired four new assistants: Azzanni, offensive coordinator Matt Canada, linebackers coach Andy Buh, and offensive line coach Mike Markuson. Ben Strickland was promoted to safeties coach after serving as a graduate assistant, and the Badgers are still in the market for a new tight ends coach.

It'll be quite a different look for the Badgers, but that doesn't mean they'll get away from what made them successful.

"I think it's a rebirth of Wisconsin football," Bielema said. "It may have a few tweaks, a few alterations. But what we've known and had success with here isn't going to change."

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MADISON, Wis. -- Like it or not, recruiting is a major part of college football. Programs need talented players if they want to compete for conference or national championships, and teams need to recruit well if they want to bring talented kids into the fold. The Badgers might never haul in the No. 1-ranked recruiting class, but they still need to find the right players for their system if they want to keep up their winning ways.

So on National Signing Day, the Badgers officially introduced their 2012 recruiting class. Head coach Bret Bielema sat down for a press conference Wednesday afternoon to discuss his latest band of signees and walk-ons, all of which will be on campus for fall camp in August.

Vince Biegel - LB - Wisconsin Rapids, Wis.

Biegel, a 6-foot-3, 225 lb. linebacker from Lincoln High School, is a four-star recruit according to ESPN, Rivals, and Scout. He's ranked as the top Wisconsin product for this year's class, and was named the Gatorade Wisconsin Player of the Year.

"What you’re going to see is great instincts, he’s got the ability to flow to the ball, has a little bit of aggression when he gets there," Bielema said. "(A) big, rangy kid that can probably play inside (or) outside. Just moves really well. High motor. Great kid. A guy that we’re very impressed with."

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MADISON, Wis. -- There are some new faces in the Wisconsin football program. In addition to adding five new assistant coaches to his staff, Wisconsin head coach Bret Bielema introduced his three newest players on signing day. Dan Voltz, Vonte Jackson, and Hugs Etienne all met with the media for the first time on Wednesday, having already enrolled in spring classes and signed their national letters of intent.

"We are excited ... to have the three freshmen join us (for) this semester," Bielema said during his signing day press conference. "They did a great job, Hugs, Dan, and Vonte. You don't just decide your senior year that you're going to graduate. They planned this thing out in advance, did a lot of extra academic work to get to where they are, and now they really get a bonus semester of college football."

"Those three guys will all have a distinct advantage."

By enrolling in school a semester early, the three newest Badgers can participate in winter conditioning and spring football, giving them an extra semester to get adjusted to the next level of competition. In addition, they can use the semester to get acclimated to the college workload, so they aren't overwhelmed when fall camp rolls around in August.

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MADISON, Wis. -- It's Wednesday, February 1st, and that means it's National Signing Day. High school prospects are able to sign their national letters of intent today, making them officially part of their respective teams. The Badgers have about 12 verbal commitments this year, with three players already enrolled in classes. This page will be updated as news breaks, so be sure to keep checking throughout the day.

Head coach Bret Bielema will hold a press conference today at 3:00 p.m., and I'll be there to get his thoughts on the newest Badgers, as well as to speak with the new assistant coaches and the early enrollees.

2:55 PM: Bart Houston's signing was officially announced by the athletic department this afternoon, rounding out the Badgers' 2012 signing class for the moment. I'm at Camp Randall for Bret Bielema's press conference, so there will be much more on signing day later this evening.

12:33 PM: Tacoma, Wash., offensive lineman Walker Williams has signed his letter of intent, and is officially listed by the Athletic Department on their list of signees. Still waiting on Bart Houston's signing to become official.

In addition, the Badgers lost out on Cleveland Heights offensive lineman Kyle Dodson, who signed with Ohio State. Dodson had been verbally committed to Wisconsin, but reopened his recruitment after Urban Meyer took over for his home state Buckeyes.

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Wisconsin Athletic Director Barry Alvarez released a statement Wednesday night in the wake of the allegations of sexual assault by former senior associate athletic director John Chadima on a male student.

The word "alcohol" is notably absent in his statement and while Alvarez acknowledges he knew about "similar gatherings" in the past, he claims he didn't know about this one. How convenient.

Here's the statement with my reaction following:

I am saddened by the allegations that have resulted in the resignation of John Chadima. John worked for the University of Wisconsin Department of Athletics for 22 years, many of them under my direct supervision. He was a trusted and valued employee and someone I relied upon. To my knowledge and, as the findings of the review team show, this was an isolated allegation. That being said, it represents highly inappropriate behavior and I am disappointed in John’s conduct.

I am pleased that the review team found that our athletic department staff acted appropriately and swiftly in reporting the allegation. We have stressed to our employees the importance of reporting any allegations or incidents that involve staff members or occur in our facilities and I am glad the proper action was taken. I also commend our staff for their continued support of the individual who brought this allegation forward.

This allegation occurred during a gathering of athletic department staff. I am aware that similar gatherings have taken place in the past; however, contrary to the findings of the incident review, neither Sean Frazier nor I was aware that this year’s event had taken place until hearing about this allegation. The gathering in question was John’s way to recognize many of our staff who work behind the scenes and are not invited to other bowl-related events. I did not know that some of our student employees were involved. That is unacceptable and our staff will be educated about the inappropriateness of such behavior.

Considering the alleged presence of alcohol purchased with donor money and underage students at the party (not "gathering"), I simply can't comprehend how Alvarez -- or whoever wrote it -- released a statement without addressing this secondary issue -- you know, the issue that directly involves Alvarez.

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