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Too much of a good thing?

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Also by Derek Zetlin:

Too much of a good thing? (April 16, 2008)
Madison in need of baseball team (April 16, 2008)
Keys to Badgers' football success (April 9, 2008)
Injured starters give chance to reserves (April 7, 2008)

by Derek Zetlin

Wednesday, April 16, 2008

Good recruiting typically leads to depth on any team’s roster. The 2008 Badgers can go four deep at the running back position, an asset few teams can proudly boast. Whether or not that number is too large will be determined in the near future, starting with Saturday’s spring game.

The backfield is led by junior P.J. Hill, the 2006 National Freshman of the Year. The East Elmhurst, N.Y. native rushed for 1,569 yards during his redshirt freshman campaign and, despite being nagged by injuries last season, Hill was still able to accumulate more than 1,200 yards on the ground.

Injuries have been a chronic issue for Hill since arriving in Madison, but the junior feels as healthy as he’s ever felt physically and hopes that can carry over into the fall.

“Every day I’m just going out there, working hard. I’m not in the training room anymore, and I’m pretty proud of it,” Hill said. “I’m doing things right in the weight room, I’m taking care of my body, stretching a lot, eating right, getting some things in my body that I need.”

Hill’s hard work and perseverance have paid off over this offseason, as his newfound health has equated to added quickness on the field, something both he and the Wisconsin coaching staff have noticed this spring.

“P.J. is the guy right now that’s playing as good as he can play,” said running backs coach John Settle. “He’s physical, and right now he’s showing a lot of burst at the line of scrimmage, which is something that he showed flashes of last year. But now he looks quicker. He’s trusting things to happen, and he believes what he sees.”

Hill’s talent, experience and understanding of the game are duly noted by his coaches, which ultimately gives him the edge over the other candidates vying for touches in the crowded Badger backfield.

“P.J.’s probably the most complete back with having the most reps under his belt, but also being conscientious understanding protections and being our style back,” offensive line coach and run game coordinator Bob Bostad explained. “He puts his shoulder down and gets you extra yards, yet is elusive enough and sudden enough to make that next man miss in the box.”

Close behind Hill on the UW depth chart is junior Lance Smith. Smith showed flashes of greatness last season, but was only able to play in home games after an off-field altercation involving him and his girlfriend. After being given two alternatives of serving his suspension, Smith opted to sit out the Badgers’ five road games as opposed to their first five games on the schedule, a decision he wishes he could have back.

“I suggested that the away games would be best because the first game of the season, you need a reliable back at running back, so that’s how that situation went down,” Smith explained. “I really wanted to play in the first game. But if I could go back in time, I’d pick the first five games because I believe my team needed me in Illinois and against [Ohio] State.”

The Badgers lost both games away from home last season.

Of the four backs, Smith is the most versatile of the bunch, which has given offensive coordinator Paul Chryst some options with which to play.

“You’ll see me in a lot of different looks (next season),” Smith said. “Hopefully, I’ll be able to be successful out of those looks and help the team out.”

This spring, Smith has lined up at wide receiver, both out wide and in the slot, and has run some of the spread offense with a few of the UW quarterbacks. Because of his array of skills, Smith isn’t worried about a lack of touches come fall.

“Last year, I feel like I showed that I have the ability to do a lot of special things,” Smith said. “I’m just so anxious to have a full season and show the coaching staff and the fans what I can do with a full season. Honestly, I feel like Coach Chryst will find a way to get the ball in my hands, so I’m not worried about how many touches I get. I have my own plays and my own sets, so me being on the field won’t be a problem.”

According to Settle, an increase in Smith’s touches couldn’t hurt the Badgers’ offensive production.

“You do not want to have Lance Smith one-on-one,” Settle said. “If you can get him into one-on-one situations, you’ve got to feel pretty good as a coach. He’s elusive, he has the ability to make you miss, and he can catch the ball from the backfield and we can spread him out wide.”

With Hill’s injury and Smith’s suspension last season, a window of opportunity opened for then-freshman Zach Brown, one that he took full advantage of. The Royal Palm, Fla., native rushed for 568 yards last season, including 250 in the regular season finale against Minnesota.

Brown has all the tools to become a great Wisconsin running back, something that his coaches keep stressing.

“Zach Brown’s probably our all-around guy,” Settle said. “He can play first and second down, he can play third down because he understands the pass protection. If he ends up being a third-down guy, we’ll play him in that role. We have no problem getting different guys on the field if it’s going to help us win. Zach has shown that he has an all-around game. He runs the ball well between the tackles and has enough speed to get into the secondary.”

Bostad couldn’t agree more.

“Zach Brown has been a great utility back for us,” Bostad said. “The more reps he gets, the more he’s going to step into that role of a starter someday. He’s an extremely conscientious kid when it comes to pass protection. He’s a patient runner; he runs the ball well to the outside and he understands the scheme a little bit better. He’s a better perimeter runner than some of the other guys because he understands blocking schemes and has natural vision.”

Freshman John Clay rounds out the depth chart for the Wisconsin running corps. But just because he currently sits at No. 4 doesn’t mean Clay won’t see the field this fall.

“He’s beginning to learn the system and put everything together,” Settle said of Clay. “We’re working on consistency with him. We want him to be able to string five perfect reps together so we can develop some confidence in him. He’s had some really good days, but we’d like to see it in scrimmage situations.”

If running the football was based solely on physical abilities, the 6-foot-2, 231-pound Clay would have no trouble finding playing time on any football team. However, the mental aspects of the game have given Clay some challenges this spring.

“John Clay is a guy who doesn’t fully understand protections as well as we want, but he’s a hard-nosed, downhill runner who will surprise you with how fast he is and how sudden he is,” Bostad said. “He’s certainly got a tremendous amount of upside. The sky is the limit for him.”

Clay is aware of the necessity for him to improve mentally, and is eager to continue trying and learning.

“My time’s going to come,” Clay said. “I need to be patient, know my assignments and make sure I study the playbook. In high school, I didn’t have to pick up blitzes as much, so I’m learning how to do that better.”

With all the competition and fighting for playing time, it would be easy for these four backs to be at each other’s throats. But instead, they remain friendly and continue to help each other improve.

“We all get along,” Smith said. “It’s not like, ‘I hate somebody’ or ‘he hates me.’ If somebody does something bad at practice, we’ll all go up to each other and be like, ‘You need to do it like this.’ It’s more like a friendly competition. On the field you’re competing, but off the field it’s friendly.”

Brown feels the same way.

“It’s funny because there’s no animosity,” Brown said. “We’re all cool; it’s like a brotherhood, and we’re all out there trying to help each other. We’re obviously fighting for one position, but we know that we can help each other out.”

The brotherhood is part of the reason why each of these four decided to come to Wisconsin in the first place.

“That’s one of the reasons why I came here,” Hill said. “This school is known for breeding great running backs, so when I came here, I was like, ‘I want to be the best running back I can be.’ You’ve got Ron Dayne, (Brian) Calhoun and I could be next in line to come out of the University of Wisconsin playing for the Badgers. So, right now, I’m very proud of my decision.”

He’s also had some help along the way.

“I’m pretty close with Ron Dayne,” Hill continued. “He has my number, and we keep in contact. He told me if I need any advice to talk to him, and I have no problem talking to him because he’s a very open-minded guy, a guy that you can really talk to.”

Like Hill, Smith enjoys the tradition of great backs that exists in Camp Randall Stadium.

“It means a lot, that’s honestly why I came here,” Smith said. “Just being able to watch them on TV and be productive on the field; it’s something I’ve always wanted to do since I started watching them in eighth grade, so I wanted to come here and be successful, too.”

For a coach, having too much depth is never an issue. But for a player, depth can certainly affect one’s playing time. All four of these talented backs are aware of the current situation, but none have shown any signs of concern or discouragement — even Hill, who’s likely to see his carries decrease from the previous two seasons.

“I know those guys can do the job,” Hill said. “I’ll cheer them on; those are my teammates. They have to win the game. I’m on the same team, so I want to win with them.”

Brown, too, is enjoying the competition.

“I look at it as a good scenario,” Brown said. “We’re all talented and we all push each other. Challenge brings the best out of everybody. Everything is going to work out, so we’re just looking forward to see what’s going to happen.”

That said, playing time is still very much up for grabs, according to the entire UW coaching staff.

“[Playing time will] take care of itself,” Settle said. “They understand that there’s stiff competition. They understand that the guys that compete and produce, those are the guys that are going to play. We play in the Big Ten; it’s a physical conference, so there’s always a chance for injury, so we have to prepare all four guys expecting the opportunity to play. There’s going to be a time where all of them are going to be forced to play.”

Being the running backs coach, it’s also Settle’s job to make sure that each of his four backs stay fresh at all times.

“We tell them to make sure that they’re ready,” Settle said. “If you get five opportunities, you’ve got five opportunities to make something happen. It’s not about counting the reps; it’s about making the reps count. We’re not dumb as coaches; if there’s a guy that’s hot, we’ll ride him and they know that.”

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Anonymous (April 17, 2008 @ 12:19pm):

So what your actually saying is A) when one of them steals a moped B) steals an xbox or C) abuses his girlfriend....we are still ok?

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