The first half of Saturday’s spring game at La Follette High School served as something of a coming out party for John Stocco.

After winning the Badgers’ starting quarterback job in a highly publicized competition, the intrasquad exhibition was Stocco’s first chance to show about 2,000 UW faithful just what he’s made of.

And from the look of it, the team is in good hands.

Stocco impressed from the first snap. His arm looked strong. His passes were crisp, and he read the field impeccably.

“He had good command of what was going on during the game,” said head coach Barry Alvarez. “He threw the ball really well. I thought he had a couple of tough throws and [got into] a nice rhythm and put the ball where it had to be.”

Stocco’s unofficial stats for the day were 12 for 18 with just over 200 yards in the air and two touchdown passes in one half.

Stocco’s first two passes in the game went to Jonathan Orr, the second being a crowd-pleasing 65-yard touchdown toss. But for Stocco, the highlight came on a 23-yard lob, thrown with perfect touch over two defenders to Jeff Holzbauer to set up a score.

Although Alvarez had already decided that Stocco would take the snaps as the Badgers’ starting quarterback this fall, it was reassuring to watch such an impressive performance.

“He’s shown so much composure anytime he’s been put in that position,” Alvarez said. “I think he has all the makings ? has what it takes to be an outstanding quarterback in this league. First of all you have to be tough ? physically and mentally ? to have a chance to be a good quarterback. He has to be the toughest guy on the field. I think he’s a good decision-maker. There’s no question about his physical ability; he has a strong arm, he has good feet, he can run and physically he can take a hit.”

All four UW quarterbacks in camp saw playing time in the contest, but other than Stocco, none showed Alvarez anything he hadn’t been seeing in practices all spring. Alvarez said that Stocco’s confidence and composure during game-type situations is what has separated him from the pack.

“He just went out and took the position,” Alvarez explained. “I feel very confident with John Stocco.”

Stocco said that this game was a good chance for him to judge where he’s at and how his game is progressing. Last year Stocco failed to impress in the spring game, and he seized the opportunity to rebound this time around.

“I felt like I did a lot of things this game that I set out to do, whereas last year I [struggled],” Stocco said. “I’ve still got a lot of work to do, but I’m very confident”

Stocco continued to say that his solid early play helped build his confidence, making the game all the more comfortable for him.

“One of the things you want to do in this game is get into a rhythm and get off to a fast start,” Stocco explained.

But as good as he looked, Stocco was quick to deflect credit from himself to his coaches and teammates, and jokingly to dismiss praise.

“Our receivers have just been playing awesome,” Stocco said. “I would have thrown it deep every time. I guess we have offensive coordinators for a reason.”