[media-credit name=’MATTHEW KUTZ/Herald photo’ align=’alignright’ width=’336′][/media-credit]After watching the first two games of Wisconsin's 2005 season, it's hard to believe senior Brandon Williams hasn't been returning punts his whole career.

"Brandon gives us someone who has speed, who likes to be there, who likes the challenge," Wisconsin head coach Barry Alvarez said. "Brandon wants the ball in his hands and has been a playmaker for us ever since we've had him. Hopefully he can continue."

Williams has made the most of his opportunities this year, translating five punt returns into 124 yards in the two contests and a 66-yard score in last Saturday's win over Temple. The St. Louis, Mo., native's performance against the Owls was also good enough to earn him Big Ten co-special teams player of the week honors. All this from a guy who had yet to field a punt in his previous three years of college entering this season.

"You've just got to kind of find [the football], you've got to have that vision to just get there," Williams said. "I think that's just a natural thing that I have. I really haven't tried to work on changing anything. It's just finding a crease and hitting it and just being explosive. It's just something that you do."

Williams' success on special teams hasn't been limited to punt returns. The senior wide receiver has also seen his average on kick returns jump from 19.0 yards a season ago to 61.5 yards this year. Though he has only returned two kicks due to a pop-up kickoff strategy utilized by Bowling Green in University of Wisconsin's season opener and Temple's inability to score a point in Saturday's lopsided affair, Williams has shown an explosiveness that wasn't present in the kick return game in 2004.

"I think it's a combination of things," Williams said of the improvement thus far. "[Special teams coach Brian Murphy] has been hitting us real hard with the scheme and everything and everybody's really buying into it. It's just opening up; it's opening up real good. I just think that's really the key for kick returning, being able to hit it quick, find a seam, no hesitation."

As a team, Wisconsin has been extremely efficient and effective with its special teams. Sophomore kicker Taylor Mehlhaff connected on his only field goal attempt of the season and has made 16 of his 17 extra point attempts. Mehlhaff's greatest value, though, may be on kickoffs, where he has posted touchbacks (10) on half of his chances (20).

"The kicking game sets up or determines field position," Alvarez said. "Last week as an example, our average field position was the 50-yard line. [Temple's] was the 19. Now, how many times we had possession as compared to theirs, now that's a huge advantage."

Behind Mehlhaff's strong left leg the Badgers are currently limiting opponents to an average of 18.3 yards per kick return. For the season, Wisconsin's average starting field position is its own 45.5-yard line. By contrast, their opponents have averaged starting on their own 21. That field position advantage has, in part, helped Wisconsin's offense to average 60.5 points per game, which is tops in the nation.

"Some of our real good teams, if you go back and study the 1999 (Rose Bowl) team, we had a 15-yard difference in where we took the ball over as compared to our opponent, times how many possessions you have during the game is the hidden yardage that no one takes account of," Alvarez said. "That particular year we didn't throw the ball well, or we didn't throw it a lot, but we made that difference up in the kicking game."

Alvarez is banking on the improved special teams' play to carry over to Saturday's contest at North Carolina, a team that scorched Wisconsin for 246 yards and a touchdown on six kick returns in the two teams' last meeting during the 2003 season.

"Well, obviously, if you drill it deep they won't return it," Alvarez said. "So that is a considerable help. They executed it well, since that day we made some adjustments in our kickoff team and how we kick and some of the things we do."