Wednesday was a busy day for the Badgers both on and off the practice field.
When the football coaches found out that five starters would have to miss Wednesday night's practice because of conflicting exam times, the team changed the starting time from 7:30 p.m. to 6:15 a.m., ensuring a busy day for some of the players.
However, the change was not necessarily for the better, as UW head coach Bret Bielema called the practice "the worst of the spring," ripping into the team after practice, preaching the need for consistency and accusing them of "going through the motions."
"I knew that coming in early in the morning would be a little bit of a change of pace," Bielema said. "But we were just sloppy and approached everything [that way] from stretching to how we handled ourselves."
It was easy to see why Bielema was so upset, as Wednesday morning's practice wasn't nearly as crisp as others had been earlier in the spring. For the second time, UW worked out in full pads, but this session was much less physical than the first all-pad practice last Saturday.
Several players even showed up late, including running backs Dion Foster and Dywon Rowan, who didn't show up until an hour into practice.
However, Bielema was all smiles for one tardy Badger, offensive lineman Eric VandenHeuvel, who is most notable for replacing the injured Joe Thomas in the Capital One Bowl. VandenHuevel had not practiced much this spring due to a foot injury.
"VandenHeuvel got out there today, and while he was in there, I thought he made a difference," Bielema said. "We're hoping to have him a solid two weeks here at the end. … He's right on the verge. It's just a situation where we don't want to push him [too hard] because we obviously want him in the fall."
Some of the stars from Wednesday morning were junior receiver Paul Hubbard, who did drop a pass but enjoyed a very solid day otherwise. Sean Lewis and Travis Beckum, who have both changed their position to tight end, made several nice catches across the middle.
Also, defensive back Shane Carter continued to impress, knocking away one pass and almost coming up with a gorgeous interception off quarterback John Stocco, but losing the ball as he hit the turf after diving and getting full extension.
Junior defensive back Johnny White also came up with a pick during drills.
On the injury front, receiver Jarvis Minton, who is out for the remainder of the spring with an undisclosed injury suffered last week, was seen on the sidelines playing catch, wearing a black protective boot that extended up to his right knee.
