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UW begins spring football schedule

MADISON — Sophomore cornerback Aaron Henry could barely contain his excitement to get back on the field for spring football, and after the first of 15 spring practices—concluding with the annual spring game on April 18—had a proclamation for the University of Wisconsin’s response to a disappointing 2008.

“This year, expect old Badger football,” Henry said. “Rough, tough, in your face, talking smack. Just old school (football).”

Minus the smack part, this year’s UW football team looks primed to match that description, especially if the Badgers want to improve on that 7-6 mark from a season ago.

It’ll all start with Wisconsin’s new No. 1 running back—sophomore John Clay, who had an outstanding rookie season (884 yards, nine touchdowns) and has become “The Man” with P.J. Hill’s defection to the NFL.

“I’m real excited to fight for the starting job with (junior) Zach Brown,” Clay said. “I’ve just got to be consistent, knowing my keys, picking up all the schemes and just studying the playbook.”

UW running backs coach John Settle was more adamant about that last task.

“Knowing the playbook is the biggest thing,” Settle said. “That’s the one thing that keeps freshmen off the field is not knowing the schemes, but John … sunk his teeth into a couple things (last year).

“But that’s when we had the luxury of P.J. With P.J. gone, John’s workload goes up dramatically. He’s got to prove to us this spring that he can handle it.”

The Badgers also are experiencing their annual rite of spring—finding their starting quarterback.

This year’s top candidate, senior Dustin Sherer, seems to have a stronger hold on the job, thanks to his six starts in 2008. But junior Scott Tolzien and hyped freshman Curt Phillips— and even newcomer Jon Budmayr, who like Phillips has enrolled a semester early to experience spring football—will take aim at Sherer’s position.

“The quarterback position is wide open,” UW head coach Bret Bielema said. “Obviously, Dustin will have the biggest amount of experience coming into (spring), but ... we’re excited to watch it. We’ll know more at the end of spring ball.”

Henry missed the entire 2008 season with a knee injury but expects to lead UW’s secondary, the most experienced defensive group. The front seven, for a change, is extremely young, having lost five starters to graduation.

“We’re going to look for the younger guys cultivating and see what they can do,” linebackers coach Randall McCray said. “These guys just want to get on the field and make plays for us.”

One of the reasons for Wisconsin’s underachieving 2008 seemed to be a lack of discipline on the field, and Bielema announced that he’s taking a hard line with his players, starting with their actions off the field.

Safety Shane Carter and cornerback Mario Goins were academically ineligible for the bowl game, and Bielema said that players will be pressured by the coaches to keep their school business in shape.

“I’ve seen the accountability factor carry over to the football field. Our players are referencing it,” Bielema said. “That has to be a staple in what we are and how we get things done.”

Senior linebacker Jaevery McFadden emphasized that the players have gotten the coaches’ message.

“You look at last year. There’s a lot of stuff that we got away with,” McFadden said. “There’d be a 3 o’clock meeting, and people would come right at 3 o’clock instead of being five minutes early, ready to go.

“The first meeting we had after the bowl game, everybody was there, and we started five minutes early,” McFadden said. “There’s definitely a discipline factor that Coach has put in our heads, but it didn’t have to exactly be hammered in (there) because we could figure it out on our own.”