Just in time for a New Year’s Day date with an SEC foe, Wisconsin should have one if its top players on the defensive side of the ball healthy and back on the playing field.
In a Nov. 16 win over Indiana, Michael Caputo suffered a head injury. While the sophomore safety played -- and played well -- in a win over Minnesota a week later, he began to experience symptoms of a concussion shortly thereafter that ultimately kept him out of the regular-season finale against Penn State.
Caputo returned to practice in the run-up to the Jan. 1 Capital One Bowl game against South Carolina, but did so in non-contact mode. Updating the playmaker’s staus, Jeff Potrykus of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported Saturday night that Caputo is still expected to be medically cleared and play in the postseason game against the Gamecocks.
His availability would be a boon for the Badgers’ defense.
“Caputo has worked himself into a fixture on our team,” defensive coordinator Dave Aranda said according to the Journal Sentinel. “People look to him to make plays.”
Entering the postseason, Caputo is second on the team in tackles with 62.