Darrin Charles is a complex person.

Or at least that?s how his best friend and teammate Bob Docherty describes him.

“He?s the kind of guy that he can go out to wherever you want to go at on a Friday night, and then the same night go home and have an in-depth conversation with him about anything,” said Docherty, a tight end who also played football with Charles in high school.

The complexity and dimensions of Charles? personality are evident both on and off the field. When the freshman wideout from Oshkosh, Wis., walks through the lockerroom hallway after practice, he does so very mildly. Speak to him, and he?s polite, intelligent and soft-spoken.

But then there?s another side to him, a side that?s both competitive and playful.

Ask Charles about anything on the field, and his eyes fill with intensity. He?s a competitive person, he admits, and that is what has made him an impact player after just his freshman season.

“[Competitiveness is] what it takes to play at this level,” Charles said.

This intense spirit enabled Charles a chance to see action as a true freshman last season.

“I knew there was a position that was available for somebody, whoever wanted to come in and make plays,” Charles said of the status of the wide receiving corps last fall. “I was the guy to make plays.”

Charles was rewarded for his efforts with playing time. The freshman played in all 12 games last season, recording 14 receptions for a total of 186 yards.

This experience that Charles received last season will help him increase his playing time next fall. The Badgers lost receiver Nick Davis to graduation after last season, creating an opening at the No. 2 spot in UW?s rotation. Last year Charles was slotted as the No. 3 receiver, and he is now trying to get himself up to the next level.

What will help him achieve this is the return of Lee Evans. The flanker?s presence creates veteran leadership that the younger receivers like Charles and fellow freshman Jonathon Orr can look to for guidance, something that the Oshkosh native said is needed in the unit.

“I think there?s a little bit of an inconsistency,” Charles said of the wide receiver corps. “It?s mainly the younger guys, including myself. There?s a lot of things we need to get together so we know where everybody stands.”

With Charles? competitive nature and his experience carrying over from last season, expect the 6-foot-6 receiver to make the needed adjustments to improve himself.

“From watching Darrin in high school and knowing him, he loves to compete. Loves to compete,” Docherty said. “Whether we?re playing a video game or whatever in our rooms, he?s always looking for the next step, looking for another level for him to conquer.”

That wanting to advance himself has shown in the off-season. Although he saw playing time last year, Charles says he isn?t content with his performance and knows that he has a lot of work to do to improve.

“I was able to play as a freshman but I don?t think I produced like I should have,” Charles said. “I know I am still learning a whole lot. I don?t think I?m at [a top] level yet, or think that I?m near that. So I just keep working.”

Over the winter, Charles did just that.

“Coming in last year, one of his biggest faults was he just wasn?t strong enough,” Evans said. “He?s been in the weight room all winter doing a lot of good things, making a lot of progress.”

While Charles is serious when it comes to improving himself, the playful side to his personality shows through off the field and away from the football atmosphere. This is a side Docherty has witnessed first-hand.

Last summer when the two Oshkosh North High School teammates came to UW for the Badgers? summer camp, Charles played a prank on Docherty in their apartment. While his friends were relaxing in the living room, Charles sneaked off to the convenience store across the street to purchase a squirt gun. Minutes later, the wide receiver reentered his apartment and slyly went to the faucet to fill it up. When Docherty finally noticed Charles by the sink, the 6-foot-6 freshman took the gun and started squirting everyone in the apartment.

“That?s his personality. He just does things out of the blue like that,” Docherty said. While Charles? jokes might catch Docherty off guard at times, the tight end sees no surprises in the receiver?s play on the field. After playing with Charles through high school, Docherty knows how talented Charles is, and he expected him to make an immediate impact at Wisconsin. Yet he also knows that Charles is capable of doing even more.

“I?m waiting for him to just literally jump over a kid to catch a pass,” Docherty said of his 6-foot-6 teammate. “I?m just waiting for him to do it, just sit on some guy?s shoulders and catch a pass.”

If the tall freshman receiver does accomplish this maneuver, it will only solidify Docherty?s hypothesis for Charles? career at Wisconsin.

“I think he?s going to make a lot of jaws drop,” Docherty said.

The freshman receiver still has three seasons left to accomplish this task, and whether he looks to his reserved, competitive or playful side, Charles seems to have the necessary materials to prove his friend right.