At Wisconsin, luxury comes in the form of depth.
Following last Thursday’s season-opening 51-17 win over Nevada-Las Vegas, one of the perhaps only two or three drawbacks from the game was the left knee injury suffered by left guard Travis Frederick. The Badgers racked up 499 yards of total offense against the Rebels, including a combined 317 yards from new quarterback Russell Wilson.
But Monday, head coach Bret Bielema revealed Frederick had a slight MCL sprain and would miss Saturday’s game vs. Oregon State, though he could return Sept. 17 against Northern Illinois.
Indeed, Frederick wasn’t listed on the Badgers Week 2 depth chart. Redshirt sophomore Ryan Groy, his backup, was listed as the starting left guard in between left tackle Ricky Wagner and center Peter Konz. Even though Groy appeared in all 13 games last season, Saturday’s game will be his first career start on the offensive line.
“I’m excited about it, but I’m not making a big deal about it,” Groy said. “It’s what I’ve been in this situation for; it’s what I’m here to play football for. I’m not making a big deal about it. I’m not thinking about it too much. Just focusing on Oregon State and going from there.”
Groy started two games in 2010 (Week 1 vs. UNLV, Week 11 at Michigan), but those came as a fullback – a testament to the athletic ability that prompted both Wagner and Konz to call Groy the quickest offensive linemen on the team.
“He’s definitely the fastest o-lineman we have,” Wagner said. “I think he’s going to be a good addition. We don’t want to see Travis go down, but we always step the next guy in.”
“It feels good to have somebody who can back you up,” Konz added. “You feel very confident going into a game like this knowing that you haven’t made a huge jump from Travis Frederick to the next guy.”
Groy saw plenty of action in the win over UNLV, and one play in particular caught head coach Bret Bielema’s eye. Late in the second quarter, running back James White caught a screen pass from Russell Wilson, and Groy was out in front of White for nearly half of the field. The play went for 40 yards and set up a 29-yard field goal for kicker Kyle French that sent the Badgers into the locker room leading 37-3 at halftime.
“For about 20 yards, James was drafting off of Ryan, I think, going stride for stride,” Bielema said in his Monday press conference.
Offensive line coach Bob Bostad, though, was less enthusiastic about the play.
“Well that’s probably gotten too much attention,” Bostad said. “Running down the sideline and not blocking anybody, we made a point of that already. I think he just has to be able to go out and play from the first level on and show that he can be a physical inside presence for us.”
As much as the 6-foot-5, 320-pound Groy has impressed with his mobility, his willingness to hop back and forth between positions has earned the most respect from his teammates and coaches. In addition to playing along the offensive line and fullback, Groy lined up with the punt team last season against Minnesota. For all the weapons the Badgers have this season – Wilson, White, running back Montee Ball and wide receiver Nick Toon, to name a few – any instability along the offensive line can render them largely ineffective.
Yet when Frederick went down, there was hardly any panic. After all, Groy has appeared in more than twice as many games as Frederick, and according to Bostad, he’s been waiting for his chance.
“I was fully prepared to play Ryan way back,” Bostad said. “[Right guard] Kevin Zeitler had some setbacks earlier in spring camp, and I just said, ‘Hey, we’re fully prepared to go with Ryan.’ That’s kind of why he got out there Saturday before the half. He was a guy that we felt as a staff, this guy needs to get out here and play.”
As the Badgers continue their quest for a return trip to the Rose Bowl – or beyond – having players like Groy who can move around and fill different spots is vital to long-term success. Physical wear and tear is inherent in football, arguably no more so than in the trenches along the line of scrimmage. Groy understands that grabbing a role that belongs solely to him – similar to that of last year’s left guard, John Moffitt – just isn’t present at the time, though he does have his sights set on one in the future.
“I’d prefer to [have a solidified position]. A little down the road, I think that’ll happen,” Groy said. “For now, I think anybody on the line is as prepared as I am. I don’t think I’m anything special. It’s kind of, if somebody else had to move positions, I think they could do it just as easily as I can. I don’t think it’s anything spectacular.”
It’s hard to blame Groy for desiring a little bit of consistency in his football career, especially after seeing Moffitt and last year’s left tackle, Gabe Carimi, both reach the National Football League after spending their UW career at one spot.
But, as Wagner pointed out, filling in different holes throughout the offense does have its benefits.
“I think it’s an advantage,” Wagner said. “We had Bill Nagy do that throughout his whole career, and he turned out to be one of the best o-linemen ever here.”