Varsity is the free Official Digital Magazine of Wisconsin Athletics, covering Badgers football, basketball, hockey and more each week.
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A THE VOICE BY MATT LEPAY // VOICE OF THE BADGERS Looking for answers to some big questions fter 25 years of watching Badgers football training camps, I wish I could tell you for certain how good a team is going to be based on observing a couple of weeks worth of practices. I can't. I'm not that smart. There are days when the deck is stacked against the offense. There are days when it might be the other way around. There have been years when I was convinced so-and-so would be the next big thing. Soon after, that player is buried in the depth chart. A general belief among many who have watched camp is that the Badgers have a chance to be very good defensively, especially the front seven. Led by veteran players such as Chris Borland, Beau Allen and Ethan Hemer, this has the makings of an active, disruptive group. A general question from outsiders concerns the secondary. The veteran is safety Dezmen Southward, who is primed for a big senior season. The other starters in the back end are new. However, not all of them believe they are completely new to the party. Yes, safety Leo Musso is getting ready for his first college game experience, and true freshman corners such as Jakarrie Washington and Sojourn Shelton may very well find themselves in the mix as well. But it is a good idea to remember that the projected starters at cornerback are Peniel Jean and Darius Hillary. While their roles are different, both have played a fair amount 16 // VARSITY August 22, 2013 of football at this level. In fact, Hillary appeared in every game last year. Jean, a redshirt junior, missed the first half of 2012 with a broken foot. In 2011, he played in all 14 games, recording a career-best five stops in the Big Ten championship game against Michigan State. "I've played, and obviously Darius played, and he got a lot of reps last year," said Jean. "He (Hillary) feels like he is an experienced player. I feel like I'm an experienced player. What we are trying to do is develop the guys underneath us so that we can have at least a twodeep and everyone is capable of playing." It would appear Jean has the right mindset for a corner, and it is clear he enjoys the philosophy of coordinator Dave Aranda. "You are going to get beat eventually, but what he (Aranda) is emphasizing is to just compete, compete, compete," Jean said. "Be as aggressive as you can. He is gonna bring the pressure. He isn't going to have us cover for five or six seconds. It's going to be a quick play. Cover for that time, and that's all he's asking for." Offensively, a position group to watch is wide receiver. Everyone knows about Jared Abbrederis. Fellow wideouts such as Kenzel Doe and Jordan Fredrick figure to be key players in the rotation. We will find out together who can take some attention away from one of the Big Ten's most productive players, but as Fredrick points out, the receivers not named Abbrederis bring some intriguing skills to the lineup. "We all bring something completely different," says Fredrick, a redshirt sophomore from Madison. "You have Kenzel's quickness. Rob's (Wheelwright) speed. Chase's (Hammond) strength. It's pretty good to bring that to the table. A lot of other teams don't know that, and they are going to see it this year." As for Frederick, it never hurts to have a big moment on a big stage. His season stats look modest enough ― 17 catches for 196 yards. But that 17th catch for his final four receiving yards occurred in Pasadena. That reception was near the end of the second quarter of the Rose Bowl, and it helped put the Badgers back in the game. "It's probably one of the best things that could have happened to me going into the offseason," said Frederick. "It's more motivation ― to get more of those." Yes, going into the season, the Badgers have questions. What team doesn't? Even Alabama might have a concern or two. What is encouraging about this Badgers squad is that they seemed determined to answer those questions, and along the way silence the doubters. Again, I don't know for sure how good this team will be, but when a three-time conference champion remains hungry, I have reason to believe it will be plenty competitive this fall.