Wisconsin-Michigan State halftime thoughts

Good half against a good team. A little disappointed we didn't do more with the good field position on our second-to-last drive, but whatever.

Still having a hard time getting used to this passing-dominant offensive philosophy. It seems to be working, and the running game has been reasonably effective when used.

Two great catches by Garrett Graham for touchdowns. The first one was a lot tougher catch than the one he dropped the play before. The second one may have hit the ground, but video couldn't overturn it conclusively. If the call on the field had been incomplete, I don't think they could have overturned it the other way, either.

Have to question Mark Dantonio's decision to pull Cousins for Nichol for that series, that pick by Chris Maragos was a momentum changer.

Defensive tackles are making plays! Patrick Butrym and Dan Moore showing up on the Spartans' side of the line.

Nick Toon quietly effective as usual. Do you see him doing that Lee Evans thing where he circles his hands around each other prior to the snap? Good guy to emulate.

Mike Taylor made a great catch on his interception, that ball was thrown hard and he was falling backward.

Still loving what Chris Borland is bringing on special teams, and the ESPN announcers have seen him, too. Like to see him getting some reps as a pass rusher in obvious passing situations.

Line was struggling early, especially Moffitt, and Carimi's blatant hold nullified a really nice pass and catch, but they seem to have rebounded nicely. Looks like State's going to be blitzing a lot this afternoon.

Would be nice to get a touchdown on the opening drive of the half and really create some separation.

Blogger roundtable: Defense

OK, this is about a month overdue, and some of the responses might seem a little dated, but ... thanks to Adam Hoge for putting this together.

Can you believe it has been five years since that great defensive line of 2004? Depth is once again an issue this year, but there seems to be some promise in J.J. Watt among others. Do you see any newcomers stepping up on the D-line to provide some depth?

On Wisconsin: Yeah, 5 years since Anttaj and Erasmus, but harder to believe for me is that Chapman and Shaughnessy never became true beasts on the line. They had so much promise early. Schofield is solid (led the team in sacks last season) and everyone is excited about Watt, but it's all based on practice so far. I want to believe in him, but I'm a little nervous. I'm concerned about our size everywhere and Moore really should be an end (where he would probably be very good), but we should have speed on the edges. I don't know who the solid tackles-to-be are, but with Nzegwu, Mains, and Westphal, there is plenty of young talent ready to step up on the ends. We'll need it.

BadgerCentric: It's funny, because when you mentioned 2004, the first thing I thought was "I thought 2005 would be a down year, and we ended up winning 10 games, great year." But that was in spite of the defensive line! Even so, while injuries killed that unit (remember Beckum playing end?), but guys like Shaughnessy, Hayden, and Chapman showed promise. I don't see those guys on this unit. O'Brien Schofield is a solid starter. Watt seems to have a Hayden-like ceiling. But are there difference-makers? Doesn't look like it. I'll be happy if these guys can keep offensive linemen off our linebackers.

Hoops Marinara: It's a shame Erasmus and Co. flamed out in the NFL. Maybe they weren't that great after all. In 2009, the Badgers look weak up the middle and that spells trouble. I like O'Brien Schofield, who seems like he should be the emotional leader on the unit. Again, I like the younger guys UW has backing up the end positions, but inside is a question mark.

Bucky’s 5th Quarter: You have to be careful from what comes out of Camp Randall in the off-season because a lot of it can be propaganda. But I must say I am a little more optimistic about the defensive line than I was in the spring. After talking with O’Brien Schofield, I must say he seems like a solid leader and he’s determined to have a good year. If J.J. Watt blossoms like he is supposed to, I think Brendan Kelly and Louis Nzegwu do enough to make this a solid line.

Speaking of a lack of depth, the linebacking corp. seems to be scrambling to replace Jonathan Casillas and DeAndre Levy. Blake Sorensen didn't have a great spring, but he is still listed ahead of Mike Taylor on the depth chart. Are you worried about the linebackers?

On Wisconsin: I think the linebackers are the scariest group. First, Sorenson looked S-L-O-W in the spring. I'm pulling for Taylor if only because Sorenson either isn't fast enough or didn't care enough to try harder. I think St. Jean played pretty well when he had his chances last season, so we have two solid starters, but who's backing them up? That's where the loss of Hodge as a solid, contributing second-stringer really hurt. We've heard some positives about Megna, Rouse, and Hubbard, but we haven't seen it yet. Bottom line: I'm worried. Really worried.

BadgerCentric: Yes, very. Don't want to join the chorus questioning Sorensen, but I've never seen it with him. Saw Taylor play in high school and he was a stud, but we certainly can't count on him to be a standout this year. McFadden and St. Jean are average at best. And there is no one else. Wh

Hoops Marinara: Sorensen certainly has a lot of expectations to fulfill, but I think along with Culmer St. Jean and J. McFadden they can form a decent group. No one will accuse them of being as athletic as last year's group -- Casillas and Levy were two of the best athletes at that position that Wisconsin has seen. But what the Badgers really need is simply a group that knows how to tackle well. I don't want every draw play that gets past the line going for 6 ... can we get another Donnel Thompson in this bunch, please?!

Bucky’s 5th Quarter: I’m excited about McFadden in the middle, but very worried about the other two spots. Culmer St. Jean has never really put it all together and Sorensen didn’t exactly take advantage of his opportunities in the spring. It should be interesting to see what Mike Taylor can do. If he has a good camp, this will be the most fun defensive position battle over the next month.

Is it safe to say (and a little scary to say) that the secondary is the strength of the Badger defense? It seems like every guy listed on two-deep has shown flashes of brilliance at some point in the last few seasons, but they also have had their hardships. And will Aaron Henry really be as good as he looked like he would be before the knee injury?

On Wisconsin: I think they are a strength, but that's relative to the near total unknown of the front 7. Especially at safety, I worry about making that critical tackle. As much as Valai can lay the wood (needs to watch the head-to-head stuff, though), he missed his fair share of tackles last season. That's been Carter's problem all along, which is why Maragos will probably start at free safety. At corner Henry will be fine. I'm glad they decided to keep him out all of last season to truly let him heal. Niles Brinkley played fine last season, and I'm hoping Fenelus and Smith are coming along as well as advertised. But hope is not a method.

BadgerCentric: It is scary, and I'd even question the "flashes of brilliance" assertion. We've seen flashes of competence from these guys, and I'd settled for sustained competence. But every one of the starters has question marks: Henry with the knee, Maragos still learning the position, Valai and his pure hitter MO, and Brinkley giving up big plays. But I'm actually optimistic about these guys and the young guys too.

Hoops Marinara: There's no question that the secondary looks good by comparison. But I think they actually will be good. Henry should be ready to go -- he's one of the elite talents on the team. I'm really excited to see him grow up. The entire makeup of the secondary is intriguing. You have knock-out artist in Valai, an overachiever in Maragos. Niles Brinkley is probably the weak link.

Bucky’s 5th Quarter: Remember when Shane Carter led the Big Ten in interceptions two years ago? And Niles Brinkley picked off four passes last season? Why don’t I remember all of this? Oh, because when they weren’t grabbing turnovers they were getting beat for touchdowns and committing crucial penalties. Every member of the starting secondary has a good amount of experience, but how much talent do they have? We’ll find out soon.

What are your thoughts on the defensive coaching staff? Toughness seemed to be an issue at times last season. How will this unit overcome the mental and physical shortcomings that were apparent in 2008?

On Wisconsin: Bottom line is the heat should be squarely on Doeren. After what Hankwitz did to turn around the Northwestern defense, Bielema's choice to go with Dave over Mike hasn't looked so hot. Maybe it was just breaking everything in the first year with guys who were more used to Hankwitz's way of doing things? That's no excuse this year. On top of making tackles, the defense needs to improve its conditioning. The losses to Michigan, Ohio State, and Michigan State all lay at the defense's tired feet (Bielema's too, of course). The idea that a Barry Alvarez legacy team (as long as he's the AD, he's a part of it) could be 9th in scoring defense in the Big Ten is unfathomable. That can't happen again.

BadgerCentric: I don't know about toughness, it's hard to get to be a guy who plays a lot on a Big Ten defense and not be at least somewhat tough. Remember, there were a lot of injuries on that side of the ball last year: Casillas, Levy, Chapman, Henry, and that hurt productivity. What sticks with me are comments made on my blog after the Iowa game. I forget who said it, but the point was made that our defense had finally adapted to deal with the Spread, but when we go against a power line and back like Iowa had, we get run over. That probably won't always happen, but there's a lot of truth there.

So by making the seemingly necessary adaptation to deal with the Spread, we have lost our identity as being a stout, stop-the-run defense, and become just another defense with a bunch of undersized guys running around in space. If these undersized guys were racking up sacks and interceptions, that would be one thing, but the unit seems mediocre at best, and it's not like next year looks any more promising. Some of that's on X's and O's coaching, but it's also recruiting and player development.

Hoops Marinara: It starts at the top with BB. I can't stress enough how much I want the coach to relinquish the Special Teams duties. He needs to set the example being focused and knowing where to be at all times. The good news is if the secondary can be everything I want it to be, that makes the job of pressuring the QB a little easier. I think the offense can be better this year too, which should (hopefully) alleviate the problems the defense had being worn out all the time in tight games.

Bucky’s 5th Quarter: The good news is that fixing these problems was item No. 1 in the off-season. Improving the defense’s mental and physical toughness – and committing fewer mistakes – will give this team an extra win or two this season. And if the problems continue then it will be a major problem for the defensive coaching staff.

What's the line?

The other day Rich from Garnet and Great asked me the following question:

UW apparently has a huge D-line. Will it prevail against FSU's kiddie korps OL with three freshmen and two sophs? Keep in mind our OL Coach, Rick Trickett, likes 'em mean and lean -- akin to the Denver Broncos philosophy. Only one of his starters is over 300 lbs. -- and that's barely, at a svelte 301.

Here's how I answered:

It's funny, I've never thought of our defensive line as huge - our offensive line's girth is typically what gets the attention. Without knowing too much about FSU's offensive line and how it operates, here's a bit about our D-Line.

Defensive end Matt Shaughnessy goes about 6-6, 250. He's been an above-average contributor since he was a true freshman, but never took the leap to greatness. No matter, he can get to the passer, solid against the run, and is responsible on reverses and other gadget plays.

The other end, O'Brien Schofield, goes about 6-3, 230. He came here as an unheralded linebacker but has made himself into a nice player. Not dominant but often around the ball and opportunistic.

Defensive tackle Jason Chapman goes about 6-4, 285. End is his preferred position, but he's a pretty good tackle. He's quick off the ball, often to the point of either going offside or apearing to be offside. He hurt his knee last year and to me he hasn't been the same player as he was before.

The other tackle is Mike Newkirk, who's listed as 6-3, 264, but I don't think he's that big. A former champion wrestler, he's a good technique guy, but probably undersized at tackle. He made two really big plays in our comeback win over Minnesota, but other than that nothing sticks out to me.

Not much depth, which is going to kill us next year when three of those guys graduate. Dan Moore was brought here to give depth at tackle but he's playing end. Patrick Butrym and Jeff Stehle take some snaps at tackle but haven't made much of an impact.It's been noted by commenters on my blog that our defense, out of necessity, has adapted to be more effective against the Spread than traditional offenses. We got truly gashed twice this year, against Iowa and Penn State, which just killed us. Especially Iowa, Shonn Greene was running 10 yards downfield before benig touched.

If Florida State is anything like the smallish offensive line Minnesota used to field under Glen Mason, they can do some things, the Gophers always had success running the ball. Guess it depends on how good the smallish guys are!

Anything to add?

UW-Indiana thoughts

Finally, a nice relaxing Saturday where the Badgers score a comfortable win. Indiana is bad, and the few talented players they do have are hurt or hurting, but we took care of business with a dominant performance.

Six-hundred total yards. Three 100-yard rushers. Fifty-five points. Every last one of those things is important -- it reminds these guys that when they play to their potential, it takes a helluva team to stop them. The Hoosiers were not close to being that team today.

-When did I say David Gilreath isn't fast? He isn't a traditional burner, but on that 90-yard touchdown run he looked plenty fast. Otherwise he was remarkably shifty and efficient, and Indiana remarkably inept, on that end-around Paul Chryst kept calling. The best game of Gilreath's career (that punt return fumble aside), much welcomed.

That 90-yarder was a thing of beauty, from the blocking to Gilreath's inside deke that froze the Indiana DB just enough to let him sprint to the end zone.

-When P.J. Hill is at his best, his dancing results in better-than-expected runs. When his dancing isn't working ... well, that didn't happen today so let's just enjoy it. P.J. was at his best, showing patience, balance, strength, and bust. Two good games in a row, and 1,000 yards is actually within reach for him now.

-Still love what John Clay is bringing to the table. He chews up yardage with his long strides, and he shows great athleticism, like when he hurdled that guy today. The coaches still need to figure out a rotation that works out well for both Clay and Hill. P.J. was in a groove in the first quarter but had only one carry in the second.

-And what about Zach Brown? That fourth down catch he made in the first quarter was important for getting us off on the right foot and ensuring we played with the lead all day. I've never see that route out of our offense; maybe from Brian Calhoun.

-Thank got the Big Ten Network didn't have a better view of Chappell's fumble late in the first half. I thought that a different camera angle might have shown that his knee was down. The play stood, and we never looked back from there. Great play by Jay Valai to force the fumble.

-So our offensive line, which was healthy last week finally, got two whole plays in today before Eric Vanden Heuvel was hurt. Turned out it didn't matter, but wouldn't it be nice if we were just at full strength for once?

-Gilreath's first touchdown was called a run, but was actually a pass that turned out to be a lateral. That play earlier was not completed and was a live ball. Better execution would make that a slightly forward pass.

-The backup defensive linemen played well. Dan Moore got a good push. Patrick Butrym made a nice play on a fourth-and-1 stop. Jeff Stehle had a sack late.

-Was it just me, or did Bret Bielema's coat seem like the kind you can get for $10 at Steve and Barry's?

-BTN color analyst Chris Martin was using his full vocabulary today. Particularly impressive was when he described Indiana's wide receivers as "linear" who gave Hoosier quarterbacks a good "catching radius." Huh? I guess most receivers are ... non-linear? And lesser receivers give their quarterbacks ... a catching circumference? Leave it to a Northwestern guy to bring these words to a football broadcast.

-Our kickoffs and kickoff coverage were decidedly mediocre. And what was Mario Goins doing fielding kicks? Let Gilreath handle them all, and block, Mario.

-Other lowlights: Matt Shaughnessy roughing the passer, handing Indiana three points; Dustin Sherer's interception was a terrible pass; a delay of game call after an incomplete pass; 12 men on the field on a late Indiana punt. Thankfully the Hoosiers were bad enough that these weren't critical, but don't let the score fool you, the mistakes are still there.

This win was bittersweet. Again, the opponent was lacking, but it showed that we were capable of overcoming sometimes sloppy play to win in dominating fashion. That hasn't happened much this year.

Now let's keep that Axe!

Tackle leaders vs. Marshall

In reviewing the box score of Saturday's win over Marshall, something really jumped out at me: the tackle chart. Jae McFadden led the way with nine total (four solo, five assisted),but check out who came after:

Dan Moore 3-3-6
Mario Goins 5-0-5
Jeff Stehle 3-1-4
Erik Prather 3-1-4
Jason Chapman 2-2-4
Elijah Hodge 2-2-4
Chris Maragos 3-0-3
Blake Sorensen 2-1-3
Kevin Claxton 2-1-3

Of the top 10 tacklers, only four were starters: McFadden, Goins, Chapman, and Sorensen. It's quite possible that next week, only McFadden and Chapman will be starting. Hodge, Sorensen, and Prather will likely be the second-string linebacking unit starting next week, pretty solid. And Maragos hasn't played as much on defense as I thought he would, seems like Aubrey Pleasant is the first safety off the bench.

Ideally Moore and Stehle use this as a springboard to more meaningful playing time in relief of our regular d-linemen.

My hope is that the tackle chart looks like this after a few more games this season -- it'll mean we had some blowouts. Either that or a rash of injuries.

Badger-related Family Day thoughts

Most of Jana's shots from Family Day were of her immediate family, but here are a few other random shots from the day. Comments below.

-Jay Valai is a real ham. If you haven't seen them, he's been interviewing his teammates for a uwbadgers.com in a feature called Man-to-Man. Read Monday that he wants to become a broadcaster after he's done playing. He looks like a natural, and a fun kid to be around.

-Then I saw Aubrey Pleasant, last year's starter at strong safety, and the guy who it appears Valai (or maybe Chris Maragos) will supplant. As I watched him sign autographs for kids, I wondered what it must feel like to be such a public candidate to be replaced at your position. I suppose all you can do is keep plugging away and contribute however possible. Hopefully Pleasant will still be a contributor this year.

-Most of the starters were seated at tables and signing autographs for people, something we didn't do because what the hell is Will going to do with an autograph? Two who weren't were Niles Brinkley and Mario Goins, who could be our starting cornerbacks against Akron. Good things have been written about their play lately, which along with two bottles of Leinenkugel's Sunset Wheat is helping me sleep at night.

-As noted Monday, Will and I met Kyle Jefferson, who got off to such a great start last season as a true freshman but whose play leveled off and who has had the drops in camp. We need him to be a producer this year.

-Some guy, #87 with "Watt" on the back of his jersey was active playing catch with kids and seemed to really be enjoying himself. Big guy, good build, never heard of him. Read Monday in a couple different places that he's a transfer from Central Michigan named J.J. Watt who will play defensive end for us. Apparently he's a 6-6, 265-pound Pewaukee native who has looked really good in practice and could probably have contributed this season had he not been ineligible because of transfer rules.

-Backup quarterback James Stallons is skinny, Jim Sorgi skinny. Freshman punter Brad Nortman is big, for a punter. Defensive end Louis Nzegwu seemed smaller than the 6-3 he's listed at, probably because he was letting his hair go. Defensive end Brendan Kelly, who had some nice things written about him last week, is built well for a true freshman.

-Bradie Ewing, the walk-on freshman running back everyone's been raving about, has a solid build, thick calves (running backs coach John Settle says he's pushing Johnny Clay for the #3 spot, interesting). Wide receiver Isaac Anderson is tiny. JUCO defensive end Dan Moore is solid, looks taller than his listed 6-2 but lighter than his listed 280 - maybe 6-3, 265, still plenty big to play defensive line.

-The biggest celebrity sighting I had was of Cap Times sports editor Adam Mertz, who at first didn't recognize the sweaty, Field Turf-covered bald guy calling his name from the Camp Randall turf. Mertzy was there with Rob Hernandez of the State Journal promoting Badger Beat, a Cap Times-State Journal joint Badger coverage web venture coming soon. Looking forward to it.

Another one bites the dust: Shaughnessy

It was confirmed this afternoon that Matt Shaughnessy, the last remaining healthy defensive lineman on the Wisconsin roster, broke his leg in practice last night. Great. Does Azree Commander have any eligibility left?

To recap, the walking wounded on the D-line include: Shaughnessy, Kirk DeCremer, Jason Chapman, Brandon Hoey, Dan Moore, Dan Cascone, and Mike Newkirk. So at the spring game tomorrow it's Jeff Stehle, O'Brien Schofield, and some guys they picked up at the Nat on the D-line.

At one point, the injuries didn't bother me, because they allowed some younger guys to get more reps in spring practice. But this is ridiculous. Assuming all of these guys are back in time for fall camp - a big assumption that it is probably not appropriate to make - the unit should be at least mediocre. But add that on top of our two best cornerbacks recovering from knee injuries, and the defense becomes even more of a question mark than it was in January.

Then again ... last year's unit came in with a lot of hype and underdelivered. I've got a feeling that we'll be really down on the D coming into this season and they'll play better than expectations. Why?

1. I think Shaughnessy will be back and fully healthy by August and dominate this fall.
2. I think Jonathan Casillas and DeAndre Levy will be All-Big Ten-type guys this season, and Elijah Hodge and his platoon mates will be good enough in the middle.
3. I think Shane Carter will show a more well-rounded game, and our play at cornerback will not be disastrous.
4. Our defense has been really good in even-numbered years under Bielema. That one's a stretch, and I don't think this unit will be as good as those from 2004 and 2006 ... but what were your expectations for the defense in those years?

We may have the offensive horses to win some shootouts this fall, but who can tell with the offense playing against the JV squad. Has there been a less interesting spring game in recent memory? Like most people, I'm most interested in seeing if Allan Evridge or Dustin Sherer outplay one another, and how Johnny Clay looks.

Spring football

OK, let's take a quick break from all the basketball talk and look at football spring practice for a bit. I went over to uwbadgers.com and popped open the depth chart and just about fell off my chair.

No Travis Beckum. No Garrett Graham. No Allen Langford. No Aaron Henry. No Jason Chapman. No Kirk DeCremer. No big deal, this depth chart is just for the completely healthy guys, and I've got no problem with these dudes taking a spring break.

A look at the current two-deep:

Offense
QB: Allan Evridge, Dustin Sherer. Part of me wants Curt Phillips to challenge for the backup job, part of me just wants him to redshirt.
RB: Zach Brown or P.J. Hill, Lance Smith or John Clay. Man, are we strong there.
FB: Chris Pressley, Bill Rentmeester
WR: Kyle Jefferson, Maurice Moore or Isaac Anderson. No Nick Toon? the State Journal did a nice story about how he's added 20 pounds of muscle. He's 6-3, 220 so he could be a beast.
WR: David Gilreath, Xavier Harris or Daven Jones. I really want Daven to make a move up the chart this spring.
TE: Mickey Turner, Lance Kendricks. Kendricks is my candidate for 2009's breakout player as Beckum reincarnate.
LT: Gabe Carimi, Jake Bscherer
LG: Andy Kemp, Jake Current. Look at the true freshman!
C: John Moffitt, Brad Thorson
RG: Kraig Urbik, Bill Nagy
RT: Eric Vanden Heuvel, Josh Oglesby. Hope this is a battle and JO either takes the starting spot from EVH or pushes him to a different spot.

Defense
LE: O'Brien Schofield, Louis Nzegwu or Ricky Garner. I feel oddly comfortable with Schofield here.
LT: Mike Newkirk, Jasper Grimes. Really wish Newkirk didn't have to start. Looks like he's going to need shoulder surgery. In addition, Dan Cascone (shoulder) and Brandon Hoey (back) are battling injuries, so we are paper thing at defensive tackle.
RT: Jeff Stehle, Patrick Butrym. Here's your chance, Jeff, make the most of it.
RE: Matt Shaughnessy, Dan Moore. Interesting, thought Moore was brought in to play tackle. Sit Shaughnessy for the spring, what does he have to prove?
SLB: DeAndre Levy, Blake Sorenson
MLB: Elijah Hodge or Culmer St. Jean, Kevin Rouse. Or? Guess it depends on if we're playing a spread team or a team that plays real football.
WLB: Jonathan Casillas, Jaevery McFadden. We're really solid on the outside.
LCB: Mario Goins, Josh Nettles or Prince Moody. Goins is bigger than I thought.
RCB: Niles Brinkley, Otis Merrill. Here's hoping none of these five corners have to start this season.
SS: Aubrey Pleasant or Jay Valai, Chris Maragos
FS: Shane Carter, Kim Royston. Same guys as last year, more or less, time for them to improve.

Special teams
K: Philip Welch, Matt Fischer. Yeesh.
P: Brad DeBauche, Philip Welch. I'm really going to miss Ken DeBauche and Taylor Mehlhaff. Hope this Brad Nortman kid is good.
PR: David Gilreath, Maurice Moore
KR: David Gilreath, Daven Jones, Niles Brinkley, Maurice Moore
LS: Dave Peck, Drew Woodward
H: Chris Maragos, Brad DeBauche

Good time for young guys to come in and make a name for themselves, time for guys like Maragos to learn a new position and contribute where our depth is shaky. Wish I could make the spring game, but I haven't for a long time, and with Crazylegs following shortly thereafter don't think it's worth the trip.

A look at the Badgers' football recruits

Bret Bielema signed his latest recruiting class when I was still recovering from my Germany jet lag, so I've been remiss about commenting on our latest round of new Badgers.

Maybe that's because this class didn't have the pizazz of some of our other classes — no John Clays or Josh Oglesbys. Maybe it's because my least favorite Big Ten coach, Tim Brewster, signed what is being heralded as a terrific class at Minnesota.

Or maybe it's because I've finally come to realize that, while it can be fun to follow, getting really worked up about football recruiting is pointless. It would be one thing if we were players in the Terrelle Pryor derby, but we're not. Here is my take on football recruiting in a nutshell:

-We will never rank near the top of the Big Ten recruiting rankings. Ohio State and Michigan will always be 1-2, and Penn State will usually be third. Some school like Iowa or Minnesota or Wisconsin will sneak into the #4 spot on occasion. That doesn't always translate into wins - the core of Iowa's last two disappointing teams was a recruiting class considered the school's best-ever, while their success preceding that came with players who may have flown under the radar in the recruiting process.

-If you get a lot of capable kids and coach them up, you'll have a chance, even against all the bandwagon-jumping mercenaries suiting up for the Buckeyes and Wolverines.

-Getting the key in-state kids to come to Madison will always be our top priority, and with a few exceptions (Adam Stenavich) we've been outstanding in this area since Barry took over. This year is no exception.

-Complementing the signees with solid walk-ons is critical.

-Our best teams have not been led by highly-ranked recruiting classes, but rather by deep classes that didn't have many busts.

So what about this year's class? I like Tyler Westphal, the defensive end from Menasha. Iola-Scandinavia scrimmaged Menasha this year, and my buddies who saw it said Westphal just threw our kids around - and we were state finalists.

The offensive line signees - Neenah's Peter Konz, Wisconsin Lutheran's Kevin Zeitler (left), Joe Schafer of Minnesota, Jake Current from Ohio - seem poised to carry on our tradition up front. I like that we signed so many defensive backs from Florida and Texas, and loaded up on defense in general (14 of 23 signees).

We signed a junior college transfer, Dan Moore, to help immediately on the defensive line. Thankfully, we haven't relied on Juco guys too much over the years, but sometimes you need them to plug holes. Clearly we're thin on the defensive front, so Moore will get his shot.

Curt Phillips (right) has already enrolled in school, will take part in spring practice, and might have a chance to compete for the starting quarterback job this fall (although my money would be on Allan Evridge). I'm excited about this guy. And the kid who may have the biggest immediate impact is Brad Nortman, a highly-regarded punter from Brookfield Central.

An interesting side note: Jim Polzin wrote an interesting story fleshing out something we touched on here a couple months ago. Basically, Jim points out that we signed six players from SEC states, three from Texas, and none from New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, and Connecticut. This is because the current batch of assistants doesn't have ties there like past staffs had. Let's just hope Florida, Texas, and the other warm weather states we're now mining are as good to us as New England has been.