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Freshman kicker Philip Welch has kicked his Wisconsin career off with a bang. Following an illustrious high school career in Fort Collins, Colo., during which he was named first team EA Sports All-American and second-team All-American according to USA Today, Welch was able to beat out upperclassman Matt Fischer for the starting job.

“I was just trying to relax, and as it got closer towards the season, I started to pick it up and bit and started to focus more,” Welch said.

Welch hasn’t looked back since. In a season of ups and downs for the Badgers, Welch has been a dependable asset to the team. In 14 field goal attempts, Welch has converted on all but two of them. Not only has he been extremely accurate with his kicks, he has also shown his leg strength by kicking a 50-yarder at Fresno State and adding a 52-yarder at Michigan. Welch’s four field goals at Michigan tied a school record for field goals in a game.

The freshman kicker was named the University of Wisconsin’s co-special teams player of week following this past weekend’s game against Iowa. Welch hit three field goals, a 42-yarder, a 40-yarder and a 35-yarder. Welch also had a stellar average of 70 yards per kickoff and connected on his one PAT attempt.

While Welch has proven he can come through in many situations and many different places on the field, he thinks it is very important to be kicking more PATs and fewer field goals.

“It would definitely be better if I was kicking more extra points,” Welch said. “Like the Michigan game or the Ohio State game — if we had turned those into touchdowns, then we would have won those games.”

Defensive standout Chris Maragos also realizes the importance of finishing drives but understands the significance of having such a talented kicker.

“Any time you’re an offensive player, obviously you want to score a touchdown, but I think what’s great about having a guy like him is that when we’re not in a position to score a touchdown, we have a great field goal kicker that can get us points,” Maragos said. “When the opportunity arises for a field goal, it’s great to have a great field goal kicker.”

Welch redshirted last season, as the Badgers were fortunate enough to have future NFL kicker Taylor Mehlhaff, but the young kicker was able to pick up a few things in his redshirt season.

“Definitely being behind him taught me a lot, like how to handle the pressures of college football,” Welch said. “Seeing him do well and hearing people compare myself to him is pretty awesome.”

Before Welch is put on the same level as Mehlhaff, he and his teammates know there is always room for improvement.

“Of course, I mean, he can always improve in all areas,” Fischer said. “He’s doing an especially good job with the field goals this year, but I’m sure he’d tell you the same thing — that he can still improve in all areas.”

Being a freshman starting in one of the most pressure-packed positions in all of football, Welch is still able to be a great teammate and leader. Freshman punter Brad Nortman has found Welch to be a great teammate, leader and friend.

“He’s doing great as a leader,” Nortman said. “He was here for a whole year when I came in, so he let me know how everything went. He’s been a great friend to me, and I’ve been able to learn a lot of things from him, and he’s really taken me in as a good teammate.”

The season has not gone exactly how the Badgers would have pictured it to be, but Welch has remained focused on the bigger picture.

“Hopefully we can go undefeated the rest of the year and make it to a bowl game,” said Welch. “And for myself, I just have to keep making all of my kicks.”

As much as he may want to, Welch cannot control much of what goes on the field. He does know if the Badgers hope to turn things around he needs to keep doing his job.

“I don’t talk much,” Welch said. “But by kicking well and doing what I need to, hopefully I can motivate the team.”