4 takeaways from Wisconsin football's 14th spring practice: E.J. Whitlow embraces change; Jay’viar Suggs visits

MADISON – E.J. Whitlow, preparing for his first season as Wisconsin’s defensive line coach, met with reporters after UW’s practice Tuesday morning.

Here are selected comments from Whitlow and observations from the next-to-last practice of the spring:

E.J. Whitlow isn’t affected by changes in scheme

During his two seasons as defensive line coach at Air Force, the Falcons’ generally ran a 3-3-5 scheme.

UW featured a lot of two-man fronts in Luke Fickell’s first season at UW and that has been the base look this spring.

Whitlow doesn’t believe he will have to adjust much if at all.

“Football is football,” he said. “The length of the field is the same. The width of the field is the same. You’re playing D-line in the trenches, you’re going to get base blocks, reach blocks (and) pass sets.

“Those are the same. How do you react to those? How do you respond to those? Again, how violent and how much edge do you play with?”

Badgers host another transfer target for the defensive line

Jay’viar Suggs, a 6-foot-3, 290-pound defensive lineman from Division II Grand Valley State, watched practice Tuesday during his visit.

The Badgers are looking to bolster the depth on the line and Suggs has two seasons of eligibility remaining.

He enjoyed his best season in 2023 when he recorded five sacks, 7 ½ tackles for loss and 21 total tackles.

Suggs played for current UW outside linebackers coach Matt Mitchell, who was head coach at Grand Valley State.

Suggs reportedly has more than three dozen offers. The schools include: Miami, Florida State, Michigan State, Nebraska, Iowa, TCU, Louisville, Kentucky, Kansas State and Arkansas.

Defensive lineman Elijah Hills pays his respects to friend, former teammate

Elijah Hills spent his first three seasons at Albany, an FCS program, before transferring to UW. The defensive lineman, who has been working on the No. 2 defense this spring, has had to deal with the loss of a friend and former teammate.

Defensive lineman A.J. Simon, who was preparing for the 2024 NFL draft, died in his sleep on April 16. He was 25.

UW officials made sure Hills was able to fly to Pennsylvania for the funeral on Monday. He was back at practice on Tuesday.

"He is doing really well and our guys, they all know this: My office is always open," said Whitlow. "My phone is always on. I’m always there for them.

"We’ve got a great relationship that he knows he can come to me and talk to me about anything and that we are here for him as a program in that time."

Reserve cornerback Michael Mack decides to transfer

UW added cornerback Michael Mack from Air Force just before camp last summer. Mack never played in 2023, however, because Air Force officials fought his request for a waiver.

Only cadets who leave Air Force before the start of their third year can do so without penalty and Mack played three seasons with the Falcons.

Mack on Tuesday announced he was again entering the transfer portal.

The 6-foot-1, 198-pound fifth-year senior had been working at nickel cornerback with the No. 3 defense all spring.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: 4 takeaways from Wisconsin football practice: Jay’viar Suggs visits