After the University of Wisconsin lost four of its top five defensive ends from last season, at least one of the Badgers' young players at the position had to step in to a hefty increase of reps this spring.
Not many predicted the prime candidate for that role to be Aaron Vopal, the 6-foot-6, 299-pound redshirt freshman from De Pere. With Garrett Rand (back) out since the second practice of the spring, Vopal has slotted into a first-team defense that must replace seven starters overall.
"At the end of bowl prep and during winter workouts, it started clicking for me," Vopal said.