In the wake of four missed field goals in the first two games of this young season, the Wisconsin Badgers tried their best Saturday to put the “special” back into their special-teams unit against the West Virginia Mountaineers.

Scott Campbell missed a 32-yard field goal, but the rest of the Badger special teams were nearly flawless in UW’s 34-17 victory. Campbell, who handled all the kicking duties after focusing on kickoffs in the two previous games, nailed four extra points and allowed the Mountaineers only three returns on six kickoffs.

While Campbell drove most of his kicks to at least the goal line, one kickoff fell short of the ten-yard line, but special-teams coach Brian Murphy said he was extremely pleased with his kicker’s performance.

“I thought it was a good [performance by Campbell],” Murphy said. “The one [kickoff] that fell short, the ball was falling off the tee, and that is why it was miss-hit. Outside of that I couldn’t be more happy. The ball sailing through the back of the end zone is alright with me.”

Wisconsin’s play in the punting game probably widened Murphy’s smile even more. Punter R.J. Morse punted seven times, consistently rocketing the ball skyward with long, spiraling kicks. Morse’s strong leg, combined with exceptional downfield coverage from the punt team, forced the Mountaineers to repeatedly make fair catches. On Morse’s seven punts, no returns were made, and the sophomore rocketed one punt 70 yards downfield.

“Other than the missed field goal, I thought the special teams were excellent,” UW head coach Barry Alvarez said.

UW also impressed in the return phase of the game. Jerone Pettus was able to return two kickoffs and averaged 15 yards a return, but the star of the return game was Jim Leonhard, the former walk-on safety who spent the day making a name for himself as the most fearless punt returner in the conference.

Leonhard returned seven WVU punts, and despite Mountaineer punt-team players bearing down on him at high speeds each time, refused to fair-catch the ball. Several times it appeared Mountaineer defenders would level Leonhard if he didn’t call for the fair catch, but the sophomore stood his ground, caught the football and sidestepped would-be WVU tacklers before breaking off a sizeable gain.

“We haven’t put that one in yet,” Leonhard said, referring to fair-catching the ball. “It’s not in the arsenal. As long as you catch the ball you have a chance to make a big play. Just catch the ball, and get upfield as quickly as possible.”

Leonhard finished the day with 90 yards on his seven returns, an average of 12.9 yards per return, had a 24-yarder he almost broke for a touchdown. Leonhard also benefited from several poor kicks from West Virginia’s Mark Fazzolari, who drove three low, end-over-end kicks that traveled far but didn’t allow the punt team to reach Leonhard downfield.

“They were handling the sprinters [on the punt team] real well today, so I knew if I could get the return upfield quick, I could get some yards. There were definitely a lot of low punts where it gave me a chance to look at the field a little more.”

Leonhard, UW’s starting strong safety, is just one of a number of defensive starters staffing the special-teams unit.

Linebackers Jeff Mack and Alex Lewis wreaked havoc from their inside spots on the kickoff team, with Lewis usually being the first UW player to get downfield and reach the ball carrier. Starting corner B.J. Tucker lined up on the outside on the kick and punt teams and Scott Starks, Tucker’s counterpart at the other corner, also played on the wing for the kickoff team. The use of such important defensive starters on special teams reveals just how committed the Badgers are to improving the unit in any way possible.
“Jeff Mack, B.J. Tucker — those two guys play every snap of defense, yet they’ve been nails for us on special teams,” Murphy said. “They’ve bought into it, and they know how important it is. They know that if they want to turn things around special-teams wise and in turn contribute to the team, then they have to be out there, and they have to make plays for us.”