[media-credit name=’JEFF SCHORFHEIDE/Herald photo’ align=’alignnone’ width=’648′][/media-credit]

In the final practice of the spring, the Cardinal defeated
the White squad 28-3 in the annual spring game in front of 22,000 fans at Camp
Randall Stadium.

And the best news coming out of the game was that the team
— which had been depleted with injuries all spring, especially on defense —
left the field without suffering any major injuries.

“Another big thing that we wanted to do was to get out
of the game relatively injury-free,” UW head coach Bret Bielema said.
“The only guy that suffered anything was Zach Brown. The X-rays have
already come back negative, so he just has a bruise on his outside shin.”

The Cardinal squad got things going right away on the first
drive when quarterback Allan Evridge connected with tight end Lance Kendricks
on a 40-yard pass. However, in what would become the story of the game, the
drive stalled at the 5-yard line and the first-team offense had to settle for a
Phillip Welch 22-yard field goal.

Missing seven starters to injuries, including the entire
defensive line, the defense for both squads only allowed two touchdowns all day
despite giving up a combined 512 yards of offense between the two sides.

“I think it showed a sign of toughness,”
linebacker DeAndre Levy said of the defense’s performance. “We’re
responsive, and we were able to hold it together despite missing so many guys.
[The offense] drove down a couple of times, but the big thing is we stopped
them from scoring.”

The defense was able to stall the offense by intercepting
the quarterback three times. Chris Maragos made a nice play on a ball intended
for David Gilreath on the Cardinal’s second drive to pick off Evridge. Niles
Brinkley stepped in front of a pass from Scott Tolzien and retuned it 25 yards.

But sophomore Jay Valai made the most athletic interception
of the day. With the White squad moving the ball down the field to start the
second half, Valai made a one-handed pick in mid-air to end the White scoring
threat.

“I saw the ball. I jumped and I got it,” Valai
said about his interception. “It’s fun being out there and making one
pick. You’ve got to have at least one play for the spring game.”

Even Gilreath, who finished the game with three catches for
79 yards, including a 35-yard over-the-shoulder catch from Evridge, had to give
the defense credit for their performance Saturday.

“They played tremendous,” Gilreath said. “I
didn’t know how they were going to do because they have some injuries and
first-time players out there, and they did well.”

Even though the defense played well, the running game, as
expected, showed why it will be a strength come fall.

None of the four backs made it easier for the coaches to
decide how to get everyone playing time, as all four played well Saturday.
Starter P.J. Hill looked good in limited action, carrying the ball seven times
for 33 yards. Zach Brown was able to break a few tackles before being sidelined
with a shin bruise. Lance Smith showed his quickness and agility in leading the
team in rushing with 98 yards on 17 carries and a touchdown running the ball
for both sides.

Newcomer John Clay also showed why he was highly recruited
out of high school. Carrying the ball for the White squad, Clay ran 19 times
for 90 yards and had a few runs in which he carried defenders on his back while
picking up a few extra yards.

“Everybody wanted to see [Clay],” Bielema said.
“What we wanted John to do was be consistent. … If you look at those
plays, they were very similar plays called over and over. We wanted to teach
the principle of what we want to get done. I thought he got better as the game
went on and that’s what we are trying to get out of them.”

Clay was also happy with his performance in his first time
playing in front of the Wisconsin faithful.

“It felt pretty good,” Clay said. “They
wanted me to work on my footwork, so they just kept giving me the ball and I
kept doing what I was supposed to do.”

While the running game was a strong area during the spring
game, special teams left much to be desired.

The White squad got on the board during the two rapid-fire
kicking sessions. During the first session before the start of the second
quarter, Welch and Matt Fischer attempted four field goals from different
lengths. Welch, kicking for the Cardinal, made three of four from the left
hash. Fischer got the White squad on the board making two of four field goal
attempts.

Wisconsin continued the rapid fire between the third and
fourth quarters, with neither kicker faring as well as the first time around.
The two combined to go 3-8 during the second session.

“That’s what we do every day in practice,” Bielema
said of the rapid-fire kicking. “I wanted those kickers to kick in live
situation. I was trying to create as much game simulation as possible. It was
the first time all eyes were on them. Ironically, I think the first segment went
better than the second. I don’t know if they had more time to think about it.
There were a couple snap issues as well.”

The punting game wasn’t much better. Brad DeBauche, who
punted for both squads, had five punts for an average of 35.4 yards per punt.
The net average would have been even lower had Bielema allowed his players to
return the punts.

Overall, Bielema was happy with his team’s performance in
their final spring practice.

“Out there on the field today, the one thing we wanted
to stress to our guys was to keep moving forward with what we are doing–on
offense, defense and special teams,” Bielema said. “There were
certain things that we said at the beginning of the spring we wanted to
accomplish with these 15 workouts. I think a lot of kids took a positive step
in the right direction. There weren’t a lot of negative things out there.”