With the return of Lee Evans up in the air as the Arizona Wildcats visit Camp Randall next Saturday, the answer to many other looming questions is sure to surface. The focus this week around the football team is to gain ground where the running game has lacked.
Many fans and media have been down on Anthony Davis this season, arguing that he is not playing up to the expectations anticipated from a preseason Doak Walker candidate. The volume of those complaints has increased since Saturday’s squeaker over Northern Illinois. Davis now has three consecutive games under 100 yards rushing and just two rushing touchdowns in four games, and critics are also pointing out his inability to pick up the blitz.
Head coach Barry Alvarez insists Davis must have patience for his blocks to develop.
“I’ve seen times where there haven’t been holes; I’ve seen times where [Davis] has been impatient and made cuts before the read has actually shown up, or he’s jumped it outside when there might be something inside. Things happen so fast, and so much of it is intuitive and just getting reps and seeing,” Alvarez said.
Fans are comparing Davis’s mediocre start to the only precedent they know of him — his incredible season last year. Davis led the Big Ten in rushing, had 10 games over 100 yards rushing and ran for 11 touchdowns. But those impressive credentials accumulated when Davis was a sleeper and opposing defenses weren’t aware of his capabilities. Teams were unsure how to prepare for him effectively, but this season scouts are getting the idea to pinpoint Davis as the marked man.
“After you establish yourself as a player, teams are going to start coming after you more,” Davis said. “I think I’m doing a good job of reading the blocks and finding the holes, but I think I can work on being more patient, to wait for some holes to open up.”
With the Badgers greatest receiving threat Lee Evans out of the lineup so far this season, teams have been able to focus on Davis and the running game with nine- or 10- man fronts.
“Unless you spread people out wide, everyone crowds the line of scrimmage,” Alvarez said. “If you get in the old two-back offense with two wides, people crowd the line of scrimmage. On a run down, they’re going to have the capability of getting nine people running downhill with the ball.”
For Davis, numerous crowded formations are not frustrating him, although he is looking forward to Lee Evans’ return. Even though Jonathon Orr and Brandon Williams have filled in nicely at receiver, once Evans returns, respect for the passing game should also.
“Teams are definitely trying to stop the run; their whole game plan centers around our running attack; we see a lot on nine- and 10-man fronts. Last year, teams couldn’t do that with Lee around. They had to double cover him,” Davis said.
Although Davis’ numbers this season are nothing stellar, they are not anything to shed tears about either. Davis averages 4.4 yards per carry, nearly 100 rushing yards per game and his touchdown last Saturday was instrumental to UW’s nail-biting victory over the Huskies.
Great performances are encouraging, and Davis certainly looks forward to brighter days, but primarily because it should help the team.
“It’s definitely something I’m looking forward to, but at the same time, I’m going to be patient. When it comes, it comes, and I just have to trust the fact that it’s going to come.”
While some collegiate athletes keep a close eye on their statistics whether they are winning or losing, Davis has one clear goal in mind: winning.
“Of course I’d like to perform a little better each week,” Davis said, “but we’re winning games, so I’m not complaining. I definitely think I can perform better, but it’s not frustrating as long as we’re winning ball games. I’m a team player.”
