Wisconsin football 2020 returnee profile: Collin Wilder

During the summer doldrums of sports news, many college football fans are starved for news and information regarding their favorite teams.

With that in mind, we at B5Q have decided to take a more detailed look at each walk-on contributor and scholarship player on the Wisconsin Badgers football roster for 2020 in a running feature, our 2020 returnee profiles.

Each weekday we will breakdown one player on the football roster to look back at their recruiting process, their career as a Badger to this juncture and lastly preview their potential contribution to the team in 2020 and beyond.

Up next in our player profile series, Collin Wilder

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Name: Collin Wilder

Position: safety

2020 eligibility: redshirt senior

Recruiting info out of HS: 247 Composite 3-star, No. 44 safety, Katy, Texas

2106 Recruitment: Wilder decided to stay close to home in 2016 when he chose the Houston Cougars over offers from Boston College, Duke, Minnesota, Northwestern, Mizzou, Iowa State, Texas Tech, Tennessee and Wisconsin. However, after his sophomore season at Houston, in which he only played two games due to injury, Wilder decided to enter the transfer portal and picked Wisconsin. He had to sit out the 2018 season due to NCAA transfer rules, but debuted for the Badgers last year.

Career statistics: 30 tackles, 2.5 for loss, one sack, one interception, six passes defended; 10 punt returns for 40 yards

2019 statistics: 19 tackles, 2.5 for loss, one sack, one interception, six passes defended

Player overview: Wilder received a healthy amount of playing time in 2019, appearing in all 14 games, due to the early season injury to starting safety Scott Nelson and defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard’s propensity to have three safeties on the field at the same time. While he was never the starter, Wilder still was second on the team in passes defended (six) showing a nose for the ball that is imperative to have as a B1G safety.

Best case scenario for 2020: Wilder shines in his backup safety role, spelling Reggie Pearson when needed and being squarely in the rotation for playing time every weekend. He records 25-30 tackles, picks up another sack, another interception and defends nine passes while forcing a fumble. Hopefully he, and the rest of the safeties tbqh, improve on their open field tackling and prevent big plays.

Likely role on team in 2020: Honestly, his “likely” role and his “best case scenario” seem to be almost identical to me. As long as Wilder stays healthy I think he’ll be able to reach the statistical benchmarks laid out for him above. Wilder’s final season in Madison should be a good one.