the trip ― as a player and a coach.
"It kind of takes you back to when you were
playing high school ball and taking bus trips," said
Strickland, a current UW assistant and a former
walk-on from Brookfield Central.
"Plane trips are sometimes kind of quick. The bus
ride allows you a little more time to think about
things. Recruiting Wisconsin and Minnesota, I'm on
the road a lot and I enjoy it.
"It's a nice drive down there (Cedar Rapids). You
get some time to reflect and relax."
Maybe Strickland will reflect on making his first
college start in a Wisconsin-Iowa game?
Maybe James White and Melvin Gordon will reflect on their recruiting trips to Iowa City?
Maybe Ethan Armstrong will reflect on all of his
relatives who have graduated from Iowa?
Maybe all of these things will cross their minds
upon reflection.
Or maybe they will just begin to focus on what
they each think is going to happen Saturday.
"It's that steady crescendo until game time,"
Strickland said. "You don't have to be ready too early, but you start thinking about it; you start visualizing the plays that you can make."
"THE BIGGEST THING IS THAT AT
THE END OF THE GAME, SOMEBODY
HAS THAT TROPHY AND YOU DON'T
WANT TO BE THE TEAM WITHOUT IT,"
STRICKLAND SAID.
• • • •
trickland had plenty to digest on the 2006 bus
trip from Madison. Near the end of the Tuesday practice, starting cornerback Allen Langford rolled his ankle and was helped off the field.
Strickland, then a junior, wasn't there to confirm
the severity of the injury since he didn't practice on
Tuesdays because of a class conflict. A top reserve,
Kim Royston, was also hurt.
"During the course of the week, I prepared like
it (the starter)," Strickland said. "But it still seemed
like Al (Langford) was going to be able to go."
Langford went through the pregame warm-ups.
But once the team got back to the locker room, UW
secondary coach Kerry Cooks grabbed Strickland
and informed him that he would be starting.
"It was probably 10 minutes before the kickoff,"
S
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