[media-credit name=’JEFF SCHORFHEIDE/Herald photo’ align=’alignright’ width=’336′][/media-credit]After giving up 38 points to Penn State last week, the Wisconsin coaches have been doing whatever they can to build up defensive morale. In an attempt to restore the competitive edge on defense before the Michigan State game, the coaches decided to split safety Aubrey Pleasant’s time on the field with sophomore Kim Royston.

While it was a new situation for Pleasant, who had played in all of the team’s first six games, he took it in stride and is ready to begin the healthy competition between him and his good friend Royston.

"There are definitely no hard feelings," Pleasant said. "You can’t do that because we’re on a team. There are things that he does that I’d like to get better at, and there are things I do that he might want to get better at. Ultimately, you have to be there to coach each other."

Pleasant had been having a successful season at the safety position, but the coaches felt that the team needed to be altered in order to put a winning team on the field. Coming off two consecutive losses to conference opponents, the coaches have been doing whatever they can to build up momentum.

"It’s not always a great idea to switch guys out at the safety position," defensive backs coach Kerry Cooks said. "But if that’s what you got to do to build competition, then by all means it’s necessary."

Sometimes unusual moves pay off in the long run, especially for a team that needs help defensively. The Badgers moved safety Kim Royston from corner back to safety this past season in an attempt to bolster the defense. Moreover, Royston feels the decision to split time with Pleasant was made for no other reason than to improve the team’s consistency.

"I just think it’s something the coaches did that creates a little competition in practice," Royston said. "It makes guys work a little bit harder. The coaches are going to put the best guys on the field to have a better chance to win."

Royston’s increase in playing time, however, means a decrease in play for Pleasant. While the coaches may want to put the best team on the field, Pleasant’s play may have been impeded by the stop-and-start aspect of last week’s game at Penn State. This, Pleasant said, is the only thing that bothered him about sharing time.

"The only thing that affected my playing was how I couldn’t really get into the flow of the game," Pleasant said. When you got back into the game, it was cold, and you weren’t the same as you were on the last drive."

Even though the coaches have recognized this problem, they still feel that the two players sharing reps is important for the development of both athletes. Cooks, however, remarked that the two players splitting time is by no means permanent for the rest of the season.

"The reason why we starting splitting time was because Kim had deserved it," coach Cooks said. "We’re trying to get some competition in there to see what happens and get into a ‘let the best man win’ sort of decision. If a guy gets hot and has a lot of chemistry with the rest of the secondary, I’d rather settle with one guy than just roll with it."

Through the next few games, Pleasant must be patient and see what the coaches do with his inconsistent playing time. Sure, his playing time has been cut, but it hasn’t affected his mentality at practice or during games. In fact, he tries to not think about the subject.

"You think that it would want to make you play harder, but really the way college football is, it’s so mental," Pleasant said. "If you just think that you want to get out there and play more, your mind won’t really be on the game."

Both players, regardless of their status on the depth chart, seem to have reacted positively to the change in strategy. Pleasant has gained confidence and is ready to compete at a higher level than before despite being uncertain about the move’s effectiveness.

"I’m more motivated," he said. "I think it has made me a better player and shown me things that I need to get better at. I’ve made plays, had sacks and made tackles, but this really just tells me that I need to become a better safety."