[media-credit name=’Derek Montgomery’ align=’alignnone’ width=’648′][/media-credit]The Badgers line up near midfield on third down, trailing Arizona by a single point. Third and 10 leaves them little room for error with only minutes remaining. Drenched Arizona fans and even some from UW stare down with anticipation.

Quarterback John Stocco takes the snap and fires a pass across the middle to 6-foot-6 senior wideout Darrin Charles. The Wisconsin tall man makes the catch and uses his lanky figure to lay out and barely pick up the crucial first down.

So the story typically goes with Charles — making difficult plays at opportune times. Former Wisconsin quarterback Jim Sorgi even dubbed Charles “Primetime” as a freshman.

Although Darrin may not share Deion’s spotlight, his knack for making late-down catches at the right time may just give the nickname new meaning.

“We’re very confident in him,” said junior teammate and fellow wide receiver Jonathan Orr. “Every time we’ve thrown it to him he’s come up with some really big plays.”

It all started during his freshman year when the now 215-pound Charles, then weighing in at 190, made his first collegiate catch — a 13-yard touchdown grab against No. 7-ranked Oregon.

An injury-plagued sophomore season followed his promising freshman output, delaying his development. In the 2002 Alamo Bowl, Charles entered the game healthy for the first time all season and with a chip on his shoulder. He used his size to his advantage, leaping for a fourth down jump ball on the goal line with time running out. The Badgers went on to tie the game and win in overtime.

“It was the culmination of a difficult season,” Charles said. “I was just working my butt off the entire game to make plays. It was exciting to make that catch after what I had been through all season long.”

With Lee Evans out for the entire 2002 season, Charles’ impressive spring game performance — in which he caught eight balls for 148 yards and a touchdown — led many to believe the sophomore would take over the top spot in the receiver corps.

Yet, by the end of the season Charles had a one-word description for his second year — “frustration.” Only toward the end of the fall campaign did Charles begin to return to form.

“I don’t look at any game as a turning point by any means,” Charles said. “But it’s something to build off of emotionally.”

With Evans’ return in 2003, Charles only needed to contribute, not star. He seemed to find a niche right away, catching five balls over the first four games — each one a third down conversion.

“I think I’ve developed a level of trust in there in those situations,” Charles said. “If I’m that third down go-to guy, I’m fine. I just want to make plays.”

Off the field Charles seems subtle, yet among closer company he isn’t afraid to show his true self. The Badger wideout even talked about getting a Rose Bowl tattoo with his mother and another player a couple of years back, should the team ever win the vaunted prize.

“He appears to be a pretty quiet guy, but once you get to know him he opens up,” Orr said. “He’s a bit of a jokester.”

When Charles is asked if he ever wishes he could get a few more touches, he will tell you that it’s a group effort. The fact that he doesn’t get eight to 10 looks a game doesn’t faze him.

“I guess I don’t really look at it like that,” Charles said. “Just missing a crucial catch or something alone those lines — that’s what frustrates me most.”

With the Badgers’ current offensive situation, that attitude may best serve the team. In each of the first four games, no wide receiver made more than three catches. Only sophomore running back Booker Stanley accomplished that, making five in the season opener.

“We’ve got the field spread pretty good,” wide receivers coach Henry Mason said. “It’s hard for other teams to bet on where the ball is going or who it’s going to.”

On critical long downs, Stocco increasingly makes that look towards Charles.

Stocco was just a young pup thrown to the wolves last November when he made his Camp Randall debut. Trailing Iowa in the final quarter, the third-stringer put together the first real drive of his collegiate career. Marching the field on third down, Stocco tossed one down the sideline and Charles came down with the jump ball.

So far this season, Stocco to Charles has not been a frequent connection, but still an important one. Of the six times Stocco has thrown at Charles this season, two went for first downs on scoring drives and one went for a score itself — a five yard touchdown against UNLV.

“He’s got great ball skills and great hand-eye coordination,” Mason said. “You have a little bit of a comfort level because you know what you’re going to get.”

Over the course of his Wisconsin career, Charles has proved consistently deadly on slants. According to Mason, he excels at shielding players from the ball and using his height to grab balls up on the sidelines. Overall, he gives headaches to college defenders, many of whom he lives eight inches above.

While Charles may not garner “Primetime” coverage on ESPN, Charles stands as a model for the 2004 Wisconsin offense to date. Like that offense, the stats may not be flashy, but he makes big plays when the Badgers call on him. That’s what matters most to Charles.

“I really would like people to remember that I was a big-play guy and brought excitement to the stadium and the fans themselves,” Charles said.

With this year’s 4-0 start, Badger fans might hope, come spring, that they also remember him as the guy with the Rose Bowl tattoo.