Drained and depleted after a hard afternoon’s practice at the McClain Center, UW defensive back Scott Starks sits down on the floor of the lobby, awaiting his next interview. Quarterback Brooks Bollinger strides past Starks, only to make his way once he notices the seated defender. Bollinger leans over and slaps the him on the knee.
“[Jim] Sorgi sure gave you a little present today,” Bollinger said of the backup quarterback.
Looking up at the team captain, Starks eyes light up.
“He sure did, didn’t he?” exclaims the St. Louis native.
Sorgi’s present came during a scrimmage drill, on a short out route, which Starks read perfectly, intercepting the ball at chest height and taking it back for a touchdown. The rest of the defensive backfield circles Starks to give him congratulations and to pat the diminutive defender on his head. The loudest and most exuberant of the congratulators is UW senior cornerback BJ Tucker.
Both Starks and Tucker come into the spring season as the Badgers’ top two cornerbacks. Tucker, who started last season opposite all-Big Ten corner Mike Echols, was removed two games into the season and replaced by then-true freshman Scott Starks. Challenged every step of the way, Starks feels his baptism by fire last season was the best way for him to learn.
“I think it was better for me to learn on the field as opposed to being red-shirted as a freshman,” Starks said. “I got the on-field experience, plus they were going to throw at me every game. It was just an easier way for me to learn.”
Starks fought through the 2001 season to put up some respectable numbers, including a team-leading three interceptions along with 10 pass break ups and 64 tackles. Starks is geared and ready to improve upon his numbers from last season and feels the rest of the backfield is headed in the same direction.
“I believe everyone has stepped up their game this year, in their athletic ability and what they’re doing on the field,” Starks said. “B.J. Tucker is really emerging as our leader. He’s been here for a while, and I thinks he’s stepped up to the plate.”
Under the leadership of new defensive backs coach Ron Cooper, or “coach Coop” as the players call him, the backfield looks to take a more aggressive approach this season in hopes to produce more game-breaking turnovers that Badger fans became accustomed to when Jamar Fletcher patrolled the backfield for the Badgers.
“We’ve tried to be a little more aggressive. Tried not to play too far off the receivers, but at the same time do some things to switch some things up to give our secondary some more weapons,” Cooper said.
Coach Coop, who for the past four seasons was head coach at Alabama A&M, was a graduate assistant at Minnesota in 1984 along with UW quarterbacks coach Jeff Horton, while Jim Hueber was also in his first season as an assistant with the Gophers. Cooper has also worked under Lou Holtz at Notre Dame, where head coach Barry Alvarez worked before he was hired as the Badgers head coach in 1990. Cooper has found his transition from Alabama a smooth one.
“It’s been excellent,” Cooper said. “I have worked with a lot of the guys on staff in the past. It’s been good, it’s been fun, and I’m excited. We still have a long way to go, but I’m looking forward to making the defensive backfield better, and for the season starting in August.”
Cooper replaces former defensive backs coach Todd Bradford, and along with a more aggressive style has created a more simplified defensive scheme that prevents some of the mistakes in coverage the Badgers had last season.
“Coop’s mentality is much different — coach Bradford was a good coach, and Coop is too, but he is a more physical coach and the defense is a lot easier,” explains sophomore defensive back Brett Bell, who will back up Starks this season.
“They have two totally different coaching styles, and I really do respect Coach Cooper and what he’s doing with the program. I think he’s doing a good job. Basically, he lets us be athletes and play ball, we’re not robots on the field anymore,” Starks confidently says.
In fact, Cooper has engrained a sense of confidence in his players that will hopefully expand into a confidence for the Badgers to have in their backfield, a confidence that was sorely lacking last season.
“Yes, we have confidence. If we didn’t have confidence there would be no need to go out there,” Cooper said. “Of course we were under fire last year, the media was always on our case, but we’ve got to bounce back, start to set an example and play ball.”
If the Badger backfield does bounce back and abide by coach Coop’s aggressive schemes, the secondary may have a lot of presents coming its way in 2002.