[media-credit name=’BEN CLASSON/Herald photo’ align=’alignright’ width=’336′][/media-credit]When Jamal Cooper was kicked off the UW football team one week before the opening game against Washington State, it left a gaping hole at the defensive end position. Cooper was slated to start and his backup, Kurt Ware, still recovering from knee surgery, was not quite healthy.

In stepped Mike Newkirk, a redshirt junior who pushed hard for a starting defensive tackle spot during spring camp before he was sidelined with a broken foot. After recovering from the foot injury, Newkirk had a solid fall camp but still found himself without a starting position, listed on the depth chart as the backup at both defensive tackle positions.

"When it first happened it was unfortunate," Newkirk said of his spring injury. "I had just been starting to get some first-team time, and it was starting to go real well, and you kind of have a bump in the road.

"I think when any player gets injured, there’s two ways to go. You can either see it as an obstacle or an opportunity. By the time I limped off the field that day, I knew which one it was going to be."

Newkirk’s time as a reserve didn’t last too long. A beneficiary of circumstance and his own hard work, Newkirk eagerly took the opportunity to play end.

"With the loss of Cooper and with Ware’s injury, he’s become very instrumental in our defense," UW defensive coordinator Mike Hankwitz said.

Since Newkirk was inserted as a defensive tackle, he has thrived. Against Washington State, he primarily played end, but also moved around on the inside of the line and ended up making four tackles.

More impressive than simply making tackles, UW head coach Bret Bielema mentioned earlier this week that Newkirk didn’t make a mental mistake the entire game despite switching between three positions.

"That was something I really feel good about," Newkirk said. "It was something I really worked hard on. I put a lot of time in with the coaches and studying the different positions; it’s just trying to stay calm during the game."

"He takes pride in being a football player and he really studied extra, came in and watched extra film because he didn’t want to make a mistake. It says a lot about him that he would do that," Hankwitz added.

Newkirk spent a lot of time this past summer working on his strength and conditioning and is now in "phenomenal" shape.

"I took a lot of reps Saturday, and I really didn’t feel winded at all," Newkirk said. "That’s a big confidence booster. When guys get tired is when they start making mistakes, mental errors. I really feel confident now."

Newkirk’s efforts in preparation and on the field are not lost on his linemates.

"Mike Newkirk is a really competitive guy," defensive tackle Jason Chapman said. "I feel that for him to play inside and outside, it really elevates his play on the field."

Playing defensive end is not a completely new experience for Newkirk. When the Badgers made the trip to Hawaii at the end of the 2005 season, he practiced at end.

While he’s always improving at defensive end, he still is a ways away from feeling as comfortable there as he is in the middle.

"Defensive end is starting to come around a little bit," Newkirk said. "The more and more I get comfortable with it, the more I like it. It’s frustrating at first, some of the changes, especially on pass rushing. I was starting to get pretty decent in the middle."

The move to end is not permanent, however. Hankwitz said that Newkirk will likely still float between end and tackle for a while. Once Ware regains his preinjury form, Newkirk may return to his role along the interior line. If that happens, Chapman believes Newkirk won’t have a problem with the transition.

"If he needs to go back inside, he’ll go in there and crack some heads," Chapman said. "I think he’s enjoying defensive end right now, but if he gets the call to come back inside and rotate back in, he’ll be willing to do that."