A quarterback with 16 touchdown passes, 12 interceptions and five career starts isn’t supposed to enter a season with much confidence. Add the fact that he’s inheriting the starting position on the 20th-ranked team in the nation, and you would assume he would be burdened with pressure.

The fact is, Jim Sorgi isn’t your average quarterback. Entering his senior season, the 6-foot-5 captain of the Badgers has all the confidence in the world behind his arm, mind and leadership ability.

“It’s my team in the fact that I am the starting quarterback now, and I’ll take full advantage of that,” Sorgi said. “I’ll do the best I can when I’m out there, and I’ll do whatever it takes to win.”

After an outstanding freshman season in which he completed nearly 67 percent of his passes, Sorgi started the 2001 campaign by leading UW to a comeback victory over Virginia. He was then thrust into a starting role for the injured Brooks Bollinger in back-to-back games against Oregon and Fresno State. All was well as the sophomore filled in nicely, and when Bollinger returned to the field, Sorgi’s name could be heard bellowing from the student section.

He threw for 527 yards in those three non-conference games with five touchdowns and three interceptions, but two interceptions in 12 pass attempts against Western Kentucky had Sorgi sitting on the sidelines once again.

Last season Sorgi started only one game (against Illinois) and was 13-23 with 162 yards in the Badgers 37-20 loss. Seeing limited playing time, Sorgi was tentative on the field and was unable to find a comfortable throwing rhythm.

“I wasn’t really rattled last year. There were situations where I got in there, and I was just trying not to hurt the team,” Sorgi said. “I knew Brooks was the starter, and I knew that we needed to win football games … I just didn’t want to go in there and throw an interception and hurt the team.”

Sorgi ended his junior season with just one touchdown and two interceptions in an injury-plagued year. In his best performance, Sorgi went 7-15 with 137 yards against the eventual National Champion Ohio State Buckeyes. His performance, with one touchdown pass and one interception, caught the eye of quarterbacks coach Jeff Horton and earned Sorgi some playing time against Michigan State the next week. Unfortunately for Sorgi, he injured his right wrist while holding on a PAT and was unable to throw comfortably for the next month.

“You know you’re not 100 percent, but you don’t want to be that guy that doesn’t play because of injuries,” Sorgi said. “Nobody expects Brooks to get hurt [against Iowa], but I told Coach I’m ready to go … and I’m in there throwing lame ducks on corner routes, but it was my call. I wanted to play.”

In his first action at quarterback after expecting to play at Michigan State, Sorgi chipped a bone in his left wrist against Iowa. Playing injured and with the wrong attitude, Sorgi started his only game of the season in Wisconsin’s 17-point loss to Illinois.

In 2003 all eyes will be on Sorgi as he takes the field as the Badgers’ only experienced quarterback.

“It always comes back to the quarterback, but it’s supposed to because we know the offense better than anybody out there,” Sorgi said. “As a quarterback, you got to know your wide receivers, you got to know your running backs, where they’re going to be, what their tendencies are, so you can kind of play to that.”

Sorgi’s biggest boost of confidence heading into this season may be the return of All-American receiver Lee Evans. In 2001, Evans and Sorgi hooked up for 10 passes of 30 yards or more, including five touchdowns. Sorgi is counting on Evans’ presence on the field to free up his other receiving targets while using him as a big play threat.

“It’s been something that’s clicked ever since we got here,” Sorgi said. “It’s just been kind of that feeling, like we’re in each other’s heads. We just give each other that look and we know what’s going on, what the other one is thinking, what the other one is doing.”

Sorgi has talked of Evans’ comeback as the return of a man who doesn’t seem mortal. Making one-handed catches in practice, Evans has become the man every defensive back wants to go against, because they know he will make them better.

Sorgi has also had the opportunity to build a relationship with members of this season’s young receiving corps, as he worked out with them in practice last season and had the opportunity to talk to them for Bollinger during games.

“I’m glad I have that relationship with the young guys where I can yell at them, and I can tell them they did something wrong and know that they’re not going to take it personal,” Sorgi said.

This season, Sorgi will be throwing the ball to sophomores Brandon Williams and Jonathan Orr and junior Darrin Charles along with Evans. Together, Orr and Williams caught more than 100 passes in 2002, while Charles was plagued by an ankle injury for much of last season. Sorgi knows the big play potential of his receivers but knows that it is his job to keep their egos grounded.

“They can make big plays, but they can’t make plays unless the whole line blocks, unless I throw the ball, unless the other receivers are running their routes to take the other [defensive backs] and safeties away,” Sorgi said. “I’m just hoping that their success at such a young age doesn’t make them too cocky about themselves … because they’re still young, and there’s still a lot to learn.”

Sorgi understands this isn’t his team; he knows that senior leadership will pave the way for the 2003 season and that the captains will help mold the younger guys into Big Ten football players. He also understands that he is all of these things and that it is his job to help instill within the team the winning attitude and the mentality that helped them defeat Colorado in the Alamo Bowl.

“It’s a great feeling that everybody feels that my play will determine how well this team does,” Sorgi said. “You know you don’t want [anything] else, you want the pressure to be on you as the quarterback, you want to make the right decisions … I’m ready.”