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LUCAS AT LARGE M I K E LUCA S • UWB A DGERS.C OM Boulware brings 'special' skills to Badgers W ithin a two-year window, Jay Boulware experienced the highest of highs ― celebrating a BCS championship ― and the lowest of lows in the coaching profession. In early December, Boulware was one of the assistants on the Auburn staff that was not retained after Gus Malzahn replaced Gene Chizik, who was fired after a 3-9 season. "To win a national championship is what we all hope and dream and aspire to do as coaches,'' said Boulware, 40, who has been named as Wisconsin's tight ends coach on Gary Andersen's staff. "But it just kind of happened. You put your head down after a win and start thinking about your next opponent and what you could do better than the week before. "It wasn't until the clock hits all zeroes and the confetti is coming down that all those things start running through your mind and you think, 'We did it ― I can't believe it ― but we did it.''' Auburn capped a perfect 14-0 season with a 22-19 win over Oregon in the 2011 BCS National Championship Game. Boulware not only coached the tight ends but coordinated all the special teams for the Tigers. Boulware's units were among the best in college football again last season. But it mattered little since so many other areas had fallen into disarray, coinciding with Chizik's fall from grace. "I had my head down,'' Boulware said, "and I'm just working and 12 » VARSITY JANUA RY 24, 2013 coaching the kids the same way as when we won the national championship as when we won three games. I just grinded it out. "I felt really bad not only for those kids but for the (Auburn) fans. I feel like it's our responsibility as coaches to put out a better product than what we were doing there.'' It was during Boulware's tenure with the Tigers that he was able to renew his friendship with Andersen from the other side of the field. Both had coached together at Utah. In the 2011 season opener, Auburn escaped with a 42-38 win over Utah State by overcoming a 10-point deficit in the final minutes on the strength of some big plays from Boulware's special teams. In their first game after winning the title, Boulware warned everyone that Andersen would have his players ready. "I knew that he was going to come after us,'' he said. "And they kicked our butts. "He had a great passion for his players." In turn, they played extremely hard for Andersen. That will be the formula at Wisconsin. "Part of our plan to win here is to play great special teams,'' said Boulware."It's something that we're going to preach to our guys and every coach on this staff is going to have a part of it. "It's not just a 'me' thing, it's a 'we' thing. We call it 'we-fense.' It's not just offense, not just defense. It's a combination of offensive and defensive kids playing together for a common goal.'' In the bigger picture, Boulware said, "We want to play great special teams. We don't want to turn the ball over on offense. We want to score in the red zone and we want to win the fourth quarter.'' Boulware has learned not to take anything for granted. At the University of Texas, he was an offensive lineman who had to give up the sport because of a heart condition. So he turned to coaching. As a Northern Illinois assistant, Boulware learned from head coach Joe Novak and offensive coordinator Dan Roushar, who has been calling plays for the last seven years at Michigan State. It was then that Boulware first crossed paths with Thomas Hammock, a hardcore Northern Illinois tailback who was also forced to stop playing football because of a heart condition. Boulware has now been reunited with Hammock, who was retained by Andersen. Hammock, a former UW grad assistant under Barry Alvarez, has coached the running backs the last two seasons. Boulware remembered driving up from DeKalb, Ill., and visiting with Alvarez and his staff in the late '90s. "We go out on the field,'' he said, "and I saw that Gibson kid do a handstand at 300 whatever.'' Aaron Gibson was a 378-pound All-American offensive tackle who could do the splits. "I admired Wisconsin from afar,'' Boulware said. "And now I'm tickled to death with my opportunity.''