ROSS LADUE
W
isconsin quarterbacks Curt
Phillips and Joel Stave could
not have taken more divergent
paths to the same destination.
But despite some of their differences ― the ACL-ravaged Phillips was once a
running threat, the piano-playing Stave was once
a walk-on ― they shared the same classroom last
season as first-time starters and now both are applying that education to winning the No. 1 job.
"I think it's very clear these two young men have
separated themselves throughout the spring,'' said
UW head coach Gary Andersen. "It's productionbased. It's also their ability to carry themselves and
lead the offense. They are both leaders in different
ways. Neither of them is a rah-rah guy.
32 » VARSITY
APR I L 18, 2013
"But the key is that they can walk in there (the
huddle) and those offensive linemen and tight ends
and wide receivers and running backs are going to
lock their eyes on the quarterback and they're going to have the belief that he can get it done because
he's the guy who's going to touch the ball first.''
Here's how Stave's and Phillips' paths intersected in 2012. Stave, a redshirt freshman from
Whitnall High School in Greenfield, Wis., replaced
Maryland transfer Danny O'Brien in the second
half of the Utah State game and got his first collegiate start the following week against UTEP. Stave
went on to start five Big Ten games before dislocating his collarbone in an Oct. 27 overtime loss to
Michigan State.
Enter a battle-worn, if not battle-tested, Phillips,
