Does any position group in America have more fun than the Wisconsin linebackers?

CHICAGO — I went to Chicago eager to get confirmation on a theory I’ve had for the last year. The theory is simple.

No position group in the country has more fun than the Wisconsin linebackers.

Take it easy, “guy who reads headlines and fires off a snarky comment before he reads the article.” I’m not saying the Badger linebackers are undoubtedly the best position group in America, though that argument could probably be made after they fueled an 11-win season last year. We’re talking about that three-letter word that’s often forgotten in the high-stakes world of college football.

F-U-N.

It’s blitzing from all angles, it’s blowing up plays in the backfield, it’s jumping around (had to). It’s loose, it’s free-flowing, it’s up-tempo. It’s smack talk, it’s in your face, it’s lights out. It’s mohawks, it’s mullets, it’s beards.

It’s high-fiving the ref after a sack:

It’s everything a college defense should be. Well, at least it is from my perspective.

So at B1G Media Days, I shared my theory with the Badgers; No position group in America has more fun than the Wisconsin linebackers, right?

“I’d have to agree with you,” Wisconsin linebacker T.J. Edwards said with a laugh. “We do a lot of crazy stuff with a lotta guys moving around. Just always being the talk of being good linebackers is something we hold ourselves accountable for. It’s definitely a good time to be on the field.”

See, I’m not crazy.

I obviously haven’t watched other position groups across the country as closely as I watched the Wisconsin linebackers. Jack Cichy made the same point, but added that “he’d definitely put the Badger linebackers name in the hat for funnest position.”

RELATED: Why Wisconsin’s defense can still rank among its best ever with first-year coordinator

I offered up my theory to someone that had an outside perspective, but also saw the group every day.

“Yeah, I think you’re about right. I think they do have the most fun,” Wisconsin tight end Troy Fumagalli said. “They’re always jumping around, doing something. I think that’s just their mentality. They keep it loose and they’re energetic. They fly around, they’re gonna be in your face yellin’ at you, screamin’.

“That’s just the brand that’s been built and the way they play.”

To understand the nature of a Wisconsin linebacker, one must go back to the recruiting process. The Badgers signed one four-star linebacker in the last five years. That was Vince Biegel, who is fittingly a rookie with the Green Bay Packers. But spend five minutes talking to the Wisconsin Rapids (Wisconsin) native and you’ll think he had to earn his scholarship every year.

The Badgers don’t sign the self-righteous recruits, especially not at linebacker. They go after high-motor players that have something to prove. They’re more likely to land undersized guys like Cichy, who came to Madison as a 185-pound walk-on because it appealed to him more than FCS Holy Cross.

The Badgers get the recruits like Chris Orr, who didn’t get the big-time offers from in-state Texas schools because he didn’t look like a plug-and-play guy.

Wisconsin isn’t afraid to offer two-star athletes like Edwards, who are billed as “guys without a position.” Edwards, who was a bulldozing high school quarterback in Illinois, definitely had a college position. There was just only one Power Five school that recognized that.

“I just think the physicality of the linebacker position just kind of came to me,” Edwards said. “Being in the center of anything, where you can make a run play or you can break up a pass is something that’s really cool about linebacker. Being the vocal leader of the defense appealed to me, as well. It’s a funny change going from quarterback to linebacker, but I’m definitely glad it happened.”

And so is Wisconsin.

In his two non-redshirt years in Madison, Edwards started 25 of 26 games and led the team in tackles each of those seasons. He’s one of the conference’s most valuable returning players and already, he has NFL eyes on him. NFLDraftScout.com has Edwards rated as the No. 3 inside linebacker in the 2019 class.

You can go up and down the line and find future NFL draft picks. Cichy is rated as the No. 4 inside linebacker in the 2018 class and Ryan Connelly (another former walk-on) is the No. 12 inside linebacker in the 2019 class, according to NFLdraftscout.com. None of them were ranked among the top 1,000 recruits in America.

Biegel was the only one of Wisconsin’s four drafted linebackers (Chris Borland, Joe Schobert and T.J. Watt) in the last four years that ranked among the top 900 players nationally in his recruiting class. The Badgers could easily have six linebackers drafted in a six-year stretch that all ranked outside of the top 900 recruits in their respective classes.

No wonder these guys enjoy themselves so much.

Guys don’t come to Madison with egos or massive expectations to live up to. Instead, they usually sit a year or two to get bigger and learn the 3-4 scheme. It’s not easy. Edwards said that when he first started as a redshirt freshman, he was thinking too much. Now, it’s all reactions.

Part of knowing the 3-4 is recognizing which defensive linemen are taking on double teams. They don’t get the glory. In Wisconsin’s 3-4, they’re like what the fullback is to the offense. The Badgers wouldn’t be able to dial up creative blitz packages if they weren’t willing to occupy that role.

“All they want is for the team to succeed,” Cichy said of the Wisconsin defensive linemen. “Whatever that may be, whether it might be taking that double team on. When they do that, it makes our life a lot easier and it allows us to flow freely, which is what makes it so fun.”

Cichy said that defensive line coach Inoke Breckterfield is the unsung hero of the linebackers’ success. He’s been one of the steadying forces since Paul Chryst came to Wisconsin in 2015.

In that same timeframe, the Badgers have had a new defensive coordinator every year. When Dave Aranda left for LSU after the 2015 season, many expected Wisconsin’s defensive production to take a hit under Justin Wilcox, especially with that gauntlet schedule.

These were Wisconsin’s defensive numbers last year:

• 22 interceptions (2nd in FBS)
• 15.6 points allowed per game (4th in FBS)
• 27.9% third-down conversions allowed (4th in FBS)
• 301.4 yards allowed per game (7th in FBS)

Wilcox didn’t have to re-invent the wheel. He did make tweaks that paid big dividends. Jim Leonhard will try to follow in those footsteps.

Will that fun, high-energy identity change with Leonhard making the calls?

“Not really, to be honest with you,” Edwards said. “We’re more laid-back when we’re not doing football activities just being with Coach Leonhard. When we get on the field, everyone is so attentive. The schemes that he’s gonna bring are gonna be great. He’s gonna do some of the same things, but he’s gonna have his own twist, as well.

“It’s gonna be fun.”

The unit will have a little bit of a different vibe without Biegel. The mullet-rocking, cranberry-farming linebacker was a staple of the Badger defense during his five years in Madison. Cichy and Edwards both bust out the mohawk on occasion, so the Wisconsin linebackers won’t lose that all-important element of their personality.

In terms of on-the-field presence, the Badgers have capable replacements for Biegel.

Garret Dooley developed into the leader of the outside linebackers. The senior leads the post-practice individual drills. Cichy said the improvement seen in senior Leon Jacobs is “night and day” since the start of spring camp. That was after he switched back to linebacker following a season at fullback.

Dooley and Jacobs might not have Biegel’s same rah-rah demeanor, but as usual with the Badger linebackers, that shouldn’t matter.

“From the on-field perspective, it’ll be the same,” Fumagalli said of Dooley and Jacobs. “It’ll be the intensity, the physicality…it’ll all be the same.”

By now, we should know that it takes a lot more than the loss of one or two players to change the Badger linebackers.

It’s a system. It takes a half-dozen of the right guys to make it work. It requires selflessness and a non-stop motor. Contrary to what it sometimes looks like on TV, it isn’t a free-for-all pursuit to the quarterback.

The consistent success of the Badger linebackers — despite their revolving door of coordinators — is among the more-impressive accomplishments in college football in the last few years. So do they have more fun than any position group in America?

It sure as hell looks like it.