After what was arguably the greatest season by a walk-on athlete in UW history, free safety Jim Leonhard returns to lead a Badger secondary that is looking to prove itself in 2003.

Under the guidance of new secondary coach Ron Lee, the Badgers have shaken up a defense that gave up some big plays at bad times last season. Without the height to match up against the Big Ten’s top receivers, the Badger defense will be counting on speed and experience to match last year’s takeaway total of 35 while bettering their pass coverage.

The biggest adjustment the secondary has to make this season will be the change of All-American Jim Leonhard from his strong safety position to free safety. As a strong safety in 2002, Leonhard led the nation with 11 interceptions. As a free safety, the junior co-captain made an immediate impact this season, recording 10 tackles in the team’s first action against West Virginia.

With Leonhard’s move to free safety, senior defensive back Ryan Aiello has assumed the starting strong safety position. In his first action against West Virginia, Aiello recorded six tackles, and against Akron last weekend, he added 11 to his season total.

Rounding out the Badger secondary is a bevy of players looking to gain respect and to solidify themselves as Wisconsin defensive backs. Starting cornerback Brett Bell, who is infamously remembered on the UW campus for a fumble he made against Michigan in a game two seasons ago, is trying to win back the Badger fan base with his outstanding play. In week one, the junior played well enough to impress the coaching staff as they named him the defensive player of the game.

Backing Bell up is sophomore Levonne Rowan, who saw some extensive playing time in last week’s game against Akron due to some cramps that Bell had.

“They knew the new guy was in that at corner, and they went at him,” head coach Barry Alvarez said of Rowan’s play. “He was [in] man-to man coverage and [in] good position. I thought he did some good things.”

Along with Rowan in backup roles are juniors Robert Brooks, who has recorded four tackles this season; Chuckie Cowans, who played in 10 games a year ago; and redshirt freshman Joe Stellmacher, who made his way up the depth chart with a solid showing in fall practice.

Junior cornerback Scott Starks, who often receives much of the criticism about the UW secondary, has started 26 straight games for the Badgers and has registered 11 tackles so far this season. Against Akron, Starks and the rest of the secondary gave up the short underneath passing route and were picked apart by Akron’s Charlie Frye.

“I don’t think I did as well as I should have,” Starks said of his performance against the Zips. “I made a couple of plays down the stretch, but I gave up some early, which made it harder on the team … so I can’t do that in the future.”

Through two weeks of the season, the Badger secondary is still not playing up to its ability, according to coaches and players alike. Alvarez has admitted that his players have made some obvious mistakes on defense this season, and co-captain Jim Leonhard has put the burden on the shoulders of the secondary to step up their play.

“Everyone saw; there’s no secret. We didn’t play very well, and we’ve got to get a lot better,” Leonhard said after the Badger game with Akron.

Leonhard and Aiello have begun to lead the Badger secondary by example. In last Saturday’s game, Aiello intercepted his first pass as a collegiate player on a tipped ball by Leonhard. The interception broke up Charlie Frye’s streak of 106 consecutive pass attempts streak without a pickoff. Later in the game, it was Leonhard’s turn to intercept Frye — his first interception of the season, which helped preserve the Badger win.

“I just saw that we were in cover one [and] I was the deep safety,” Leonhard said. “I knew I had to start cheating that way a little bit, and he got a little pressure and kind of put a little too much air under it, and I got there and got the pick.”

When playing up to their potential, the Badgers’ nickel defense is able to overcome their lack of height with solid teamwork. The addition of graduate student assistant coach Robert Wimberly, who played wide receiver at Alabama A&M, should help the secondary gain even more insight into an offensive mentality — a mentality they are still trying to learn heading into week three.

“We could have done a lot better,” Bell said of the secondary’s play. “It [was] the second game of the season and we’ve got a long way to go, and I think that will change.”

The leaders of this secondary unit know they can get better, and with solid bench play the Badgers are hoping to solidify their defensive presence heading into conference play.

“We just got to step it up a little bit more,” Starks said. “I got to step up my play more, really.”

There is not one defensive back on the Badgers who feels he has played up to his ability this season. After getting scorched by Charlie Frye for 372 yards, the Badgers will have a week to prepare and prove themselves against UNLV.