With the season opener vs. Nevada Las Vegas barely more than week away, Wisconsin head coach Bret Bielema has a very low tolerance for sloppy play.
The Badgers’ practices are no longer open to the media, but Bielema spoke to reporters Tuesday and expressed dismay with the level of his team’s play.
“Today was one of our more physical practices,” he said. “I just wasn’t happy with the way we were. I don’t think we were very clean. So we’re going to give a little bit of time, tonight off. Bring them back tomorrow afternoon for a meeting; tomorrow night, we’ll have a mock game under the lights.”
Bielema said the Badgers will practice close to every situation imaginable in the mock game Wednesday night, including onsides kicks, blocked punts and field goals, fake punts and field goals. For UNLV, Bielema said the Badgers will begin normal game preparation seven days before the Sept. 1 opener, on Thursday.
Quarterback picture muddied by Budmayr’s issues
Bielema didn’t address too many specific injury situations Tuesday, though he did add the team is seeing several players get healthy after an intense fall camp. QB Jon Budmayr will see a specialist Thursday to determine if he needs surgery to repair issues with the ulnar nerve in his right arm.
With Budmayr currently out of the picture at quarterback, redshirt freshman Joe Brennan and true freshman Joel Stave are the most likely options to step up in the situation Russell Wilson is injured. In a perfect world, Bielema said, the team would be able to redshirt Stave and rely on Budmayr to add stability as the backup QB.
“But also, understanding last year, kind of like I think it was the fifth or sixth game of the year when we pulled the redshirt off of James McGuire at snapper,” Bielema said. “There’s probably about a half a dozen freshmen right now on the board where, ‘Hey, you’re one guy away from having to play. If we can travel you and redshirt you like we did with Sherard Cadogan a year ago, then we’ll kind of move forward.’ But otherwise, they’ve got to do what’s good.”
While Budmayr’s absence from camp has certainly heightened the concern regarding the quarterbacks, Bielema is remaining optimistic about the depth behind Wilson.
“Depending on how the game is and where the game is, Nate [Tice] can get you in and out of some situations,” Bielema said. “And then between Joey Brennan and Joel Stave — one of the benefits of Jon’s bad situation is they’ve gotten a lot of quality reps and have improved a great deal. I’m really excited about both of them. I think if we had to play a game tomorrow, we’d probably go more with Joey Brennan and see where he’s at with the idea that both of them have to be ready to play.”
Badger kick returners potentially dangerous
When Bielema released the team’s first depth chart Monday, very few surprises came with it. At kick returner, running back James White got the nod with wide receiver Jared Abbrederis behind him. Neither player is a surprise, as White has taken most of the reps at the spot in fall camp, while Abbrederis will be the team’s punt returner and is typically a reliable option at either return position. Additionally, Bielema said in looking at the Badgers’ special teams play in 2010, some lessons were gleaned.
“What we learned last year, too, especially after the Ohio State and Iowa games, they started kicking away from [former kick returner] David [Gilreath] a lot,” Bielema said. “What we’d like to do is get two guys back there that can field the ball. Equally important, I think, is who our two ends are back there, two guys that can at least field the ball cleanly. If it’s a pooch kick on the 35 or something, we’ll take the ball every time.”
Bielema looking for more consistency from receivers
With wide receiver Nick Toon finally back on the practice field after sitting out much of fall camp with foot issues, the Badgers are finally seeing what their first-string offense looks like on the field. Behind Toon and Abbrederis, though, the No. 3 wide receiver position (and beyond) are wide open.
Behind Toon and Abbrederis, the team’s first depth chart lists redshirt sophomore Jeff Duckworth and true freshman Kenzel Doe as next in line. Both players saw plenty of No. 3 receiver reps in fall camp, though neither really made a strong push to solidify it. For Duckworth, it was a matter of consistency.
“I’d love to be able to classify him as that,” Bielema said when asked if Duckworth was consistent enough. “Not quite yet. He’s a little bit inconsistsnt maybe with some of the details, sometimes catching the ball. Also just where he needs to be, esepcailly in red zone situations.
“But I know this, he’s a great kid, works very hard and is consceientious. So I think once he can tastes it a little bit — he hasn’t played a great deal — if he was all of a sudden involved in a touchdown catch or a game-winning play, that confidience could go through the roof.”
Even Toon and Abbrederis themselves need work, though their spots are not in danger. The team has been excited about receiver Manasseh Garner for a while, but the sophomore recently underwent surgery to repair a hernia and it’s unknown how soon he’ll return.
“I really think Manasseh has a chance at maybe practicing as early as next week, the beginning of the week, so there is an outside chance for him to play in the game,” Bielema said.
Aside from Doe, Bielema listed redshirt sophomore Jordan Frederick and redshirt freshman Isaiah Williams and Connor Cummins as possibilities to be next in line for snaps at receiver.
“All those guys are in this little basket of availability,” Bielema said. “I’m waiting for one of them to kind of shoot to the top.”