After 25 days of a grueling fall camp, Wisconsin defensive end J.J. Watt and left tackle Gabe Carimi can sum up the football team’s attitude best.
“I am extremely excited to hit someone that’s not wearing red,” Watt, a sophomore, said with a smile. “It has been too long for me.”
“Oh, I am definitely pumped to hit somebody,” Carimi added. “You go hard against your guys in practice, but it is all out in a game.”
Opening the season against Northern Illinois — which unfortunately also sports the color red — Saturday at 6 p.m., Watt and the rest of the Badger defense won’t have to wait much longer.
Taking the field alongside Watt will be three new D-line starters, two new linebackers and both of the starting cornerbacks.
So, how does the defense answer questions about its inexperience?
“Well, they certainly will be excited,” UW defensive line coach Charles Partridge said. “Hopefully, once they get over their first-play jitters, they will use the fundamentals we have taught them and play their game.”
“We are a tough group of guys,” Watt added. “OB (O’Brien Schofield) has obviously got the name from last year, but we like coming in underneath the radar, and hopefully people will find out about us after this first game.”
One particularly fresh face who will be playing in his first game ever is starting outside linebacker Mike Taylor. A native of Ashwaubenon, Wis., Taylor rose to No. 1 on the depth chart quickly, impressing the coaches with his work ethic and aggressiveness. Despite being set to play in front of more than 80,000 at Camp Randall, the precocious linebacker isn’t feeling any nerves … yet.
“Not right now,” Taylor said Wednesday. “But I am sure as the days keep coming through I am going to get a little more nervous.
“I think that’s good, though, gets you ready for the game mentally.”
Although the first game of the season is typically reserved for a “cupcake,” the Badgers are preparing for the Huskies like a Big Ten rival.
“We definitely game plan Northern Illinois,” Watt said. “We have been looking at them for about a week-and-a-half. We know that we can’t look past them at all because they are a good football team and we are looking forward to the challenge.”
Led by head coach Jerry Kill, NIU finished 2008 with a 6-7 record, including a 5-3 record in the MAC Conference. Even though they lost both games, the Huskies proved they could hang with BCS Conference teams, losing 31-27 to Minnesota in their season opener and falling 13-9 at the hands of Tennessee.
“They are definitely real sound in their techniques and are just a tough team,” Watt said. “Their head coach preaches toughness, and a smaller school wants to come in here and prove that they can beat the big dogs.”
“They are an excellent football program with one of the best centers in the country and an outstanding quarterback that is going into their second year,” Partridge said. “Last year, they played in front of a crowd of 100,000 at Tennessee, so they are used to a big crowd. This is a very good football team.”
Aiding UW in their return to regular season action will be the Camp Randall faithful. With the Badgers playing their first four games at home, the newcomers to the starting lineup should be broken in quite nicely to the college game.
“It is going to be huge,” Watt said about starting at home. “We are going to get the home crowd into it, which will get the guys acclimated a little bit, and we are going to come in fired up. It has been a long time since we played in front of a crowd.”
