The 2001 season was a disappointing campaign that saw the Badgers fall out of the top half of the Big Ten with a 5-7 record and miss a bowl game for the first time since 1995. In 2002, the Badgers are attempting to bounce back to the top of the league once again. Much of last year’s offense remains, while the defense will be starting nearly an entirely new unit. Here is a position-by-position look at the players making up the 2002 Badgers.
Quarterback: Two 1,000-yard passers, in Brooks Bollinger and Jim Sorgi, return for the Badgers. Last season, the two players often split time during games, and head coach Barry Alvarez would attempt to go with the hotter passer. By the later stages of the season, Alvarez began to abandon that plan and play only one quarterback. Heading into this season, Bollinger remains the starter for his senior season, with Sorgi set as the No. 2 man. The change is an effort to build continuity and instill confidence in his starter. Alvarez does not plan to play both quarterbacks barring an injury. Should injury hit hard, the third string QB duties would fall to Matt Schabert, who saw very limited action last season.
Backfield: At first glance, this position is in good shape. Big Ten Freshman of the Year, Anthony Davis, returns as a pre-season All-American in several publications, after rushing for 1,466 yards a year ago. Coaches and fans alike can expect even bigger things from Davis this season, as he looks to be the 10th consecutive Wisconsin back to rush for over 1,000 yards in a season. Last year’s starting fullback Chad Kuhns is missing from this year’s team and is being replaced by his younger brother, Russ. Standing at six feet tall and 232 pounds, the senior has the tools to be effective, yet has little game experience beyond special teams. Adding to the question at FB was the loss of Eric Bickerstaff due to an academic mix-up. Bickerstaff had been highly praised by coaches as having the best spring practices of anyone on the team. Now backup FB duties will fall to freshman Matt Bernstein, who has been an impressive runner so far this season. Look for Jerone Pettus to be the primary backup at tailback, but don’t be surprised if coaches attempt to begin developing one of several highly touted recruits.
Receivers and Tight Ends: The biggest questions for the Badgers’ offense come at these positions. UW appeared set at receiver until Lee Evans tore his ACL last spring. Evans has continued to amaze despite the injury and appears on pace to reach his comeback goal of playing in the Big Ten opener against Penn State Oct. 5. How will the Badgers cope before he comes back or is not at full strength? Sophomore Darrin Charles will be called upon to fill some of the void left without Evans. Charles had 14 catches last season and is the most experienced of the Badgers starting receivers. Starting opposite of Charles is redshirt freshman Jonathon Orr. Orr, like Charles, was impressive at the spring game and has shown the speed and athleticism in camp that could turn him into a star. The Badgers will continue to use some spread offensive sets this season. When the offense goes to these formations, expect to see some combination of junior Byron Brown and freshmen Brandon White and Brandon Williams.
At tight end, the Badgers lost a consistent contributor to the NFL in Mark Anelli. Fortunately for UW, both of his replacements did see game time last season. On the downside, previous to the Fresno State game, neither sophomores Bob Docherty nor Tony Paciotti, had caught a pass in college. For now, coaches will be pleased if these two can play error-free football. Both are capable blockers with good size.
Offensive Line: Many coaches and fans say this is the most important position on the team. If that motto proves true in 2002, the Badgers should be as good as anyone in the country. Right now, the Badgers appear to have one of the best lines in the nation. All five of last year’s starters return for a group that averages over 300 pounds a person. Center Al Johnson and left tackle Ben Johnson are both on the prestigious Outland watch list. Al has also been tabbed as the best center in the nation by several publications. Right tackle Jason Jowers, a two-year starter who missed only nine snaps last season, is the other senior on the line. A pair of sophomores man the guard positions. Jonathan Clinkscale will line up at right guard, while Dan Buenning will likely hold down his left guard position, despite missing most of the preseason workouts while battling mono. The lines’ top reserve is Kalvin Barret, who started six games last season and played in 11 of 12 games. Barret could likely back up several positions if called upon. Freshman Donovan Raiola, younger brother of former Nebraska All-American lineman Dominic Raiola, is listed at No. 2 on the depth chart at the center position. The Badger line is big and experienced both as a group and individually. Anything short of domination in the running game would be disappointing for both players and coaches. Unit showed signs that it may be shaky in blitz pickup against Fresno St.
Defensive Line: While All-American defensive tackle Wendell Bryant has left for the NFL, Badger coaches swear up and down that this will be a much-improved unit. They say the reason for the improvement will be an increased depth, speed and size from last year’s unit. The unit is short on players that started last season. The group had only six starts among them last season, but six of the top eight have seen game action. Senior Jake Sprague will be the top left end after redshirting last season due to injury. Sprague is an experienced player that started in the ’99 Rose Bowl. Jonathan Welsh is listed second on the depth chart at left end and brings good speed to the rush end position in passing situations. The center of the defensive line may once again be the team’s strength this season. Starting defensive tackles are sophomores Anttaj Hawthorne and Jason Jefferson. Both players stand 6-foot-3-inches tall and tip the scales at over 300 pounds. That much beef in the middle should jam up any middle running attack from opponents. Their backups, Mike Kleber and Nick Cochart, are nearly as big and will be counted upon in the line’s rotation. At right end, the team is rich in talented athletes. Erasmus James will be the starting right end. James has a tremendous speed rush that allowed him to finish second on the team in sacks last season with six. James will be spelled by sophomore Darius Jones. Jones, originally recruited at linebacker by UW, was red-shirted last season after sustaining a season-ending in-hand injury. He brings size, athleticism and nearly 300 pounds to the right end position. While this group is unproven at this point, it is considered to have the athletic ability to become one of the strengths of the team.
Linebackers: Junior Jeff Mack heads a group of athletic but inexperienced linebackers for UW this fall. Mack, a second-generation Badger, started at an outside linebacker position last fall. This spring, Mack was moved back to his more natural inside run-stuffing position. At 250 pounds, he will be another piece of what should be a strong interior defense for UW. Kyle McCorison is listed second on the depth chart after sitting out last season because of his transfer for Northern Iowa. The strong-side linebacker position is being held down by sophomore Kareem Timbers. Timbers is representative of the type of outside linebackers the Badgers are trying to use in their defense. Timbers, only 212 pounds, is a rangy player that has the speed to stay with the opposition’s backs and receivers and should be strong against the pass. Converted freshman running back LaMarr Watkins will back up Timbers at strong side linebacker, but an injury to Timbers would leave the Badgers very thin and inexperienced. The weak side linebacker position has been one of the most highly watched competitions all camp. Former tailback Broderick Williams continues to hold onto the position over JUCO transfer Alex Lewis. Both players are fast, athletic and have impressed coaches this past spring. Lewis may still be learning all of the intricacies of the defense. Williams will get the nod to begin the season, but Lewis, one of the most gifted athletes on the defense, could later surpass him. Regardless, both players should see significant playing time according to coaches. This group is much faster than last year’s team and the increasing speed of this unit has been a top priority over the last offseason.
Secondary: UW’s secondary was torched early and often last season. Fans became accustomed to seeing the defensive backfield picked apart while the powerful UW offense helplessly watched games slip away. The offseason saw the dismissal of secondary coach Todd Bradford and the hiring of Ron Cooper. Schemes have been changed while old and new players alike have been given a chance to earn a spot in the secondary. The results can’t be seen yet, but it couldn’t be worse than last season. Scott Starks will start at left corner, as he did last year for 10 games as a true freshmen. Although Starks is only a sophomore, he is one of the most experienced of players in the UW secondary. Opposite Starks is senior B.J. Tucker, who has earned another chance to show his ability in the starting lineup. Tucker has blazing speed but has seemed lost in the past. Still, Tucker has been credited by coaches as being the best corner in the Badgers’ camp throughout spring and preseason practices. When opponents go to spread offenses versus UW, all eyes will be on Starks, including the oppositions’ quarterbacks. Junior Ryan Aiello has worked his way into a starting role at the wide-open free-safety position. Aiello saw a good deal of action for UW two seasons ago before getting buried on the depth chart last season. Sophomore Brett Bell stands poised if Aiello should falter. At strong safety, former walk-on Jim Leonhard has earned the starting spot. Super athlete has been the description of this sophomore. Leonhard has impressed all in camp and has earned some fame for his incredible leaping ability, following camp with an incredible performance against Fresno in which he had two interceptions. Sophomore Robert Brooks played in 11 of 12 games last season. Brooks will likely be utilized in some dime-and-nickel packages.
Special Teams: The Badger special teams were anything but special last season. Kicking, punting, returns and coverage were all continued thorns in the Badgers’ side. This year the Badgers understand that they have to play better if they hope to get back into the top half of the Big Ten. New special teams coach, Brian Murphy, has been charged with the job of returning the Badgers special teams to the level that made them some of the best in the country just several seasons ago. After suffering through a poor season last year, sophomore Mike Allen has handled his place-kicking duties well so far this camp and is slotted to handle the kicking despite a strong challenge from Scott Campbell, a JUCO transfer who had been expected to beat out Allen. This job will still be won in game situations, and nothing is set in stone. Campbell is set to handle kickoffs and is also listed as the backup punter behind sophomore R.J. Morse. Morse has punted well in camp and spring. Last season he had six punts of 50 yards or longer. Handling both kick and punt return duties is starting strong safety, Jim Leonhard. Leonhard is athletic and sure-handed. Coaches believe that he can be the return man to start the Badger offense in good field position consistently. The Badgers most likely cannot be expected to dominate anyone on special teams this season, but if they can eliminate some of the needless errors that plagued them last season, they should be able to avoid losing games for UW. In short, coaches would be happy with a draw in this department most Saturdays this fall.
