41
"He's 310 pounds; he's strong and physical," An-
dersen said of Patterson, who hails from Screven, Ga.
"Can he walk in here and handle Big Ten football? I
don't know that. But if he can, physically, that would
allow us to be a little more creative on the defensive
front."
Andersen has no ques-
tions about what Warren
Herring can handle.
"My expectation of War-
ren is that he's one of the
best defensive linemen in
the Big Ten," he said. "I know
Coach Chad (Kauha'aha'a)
wants him to be great. War-
ren wants to be great. And I
want him to be great. So he
needs to be that player."
Wouldn't it be great if the
Badgers didn't have to open up with a heavyweight
like LSU?
"I hear so many of my counterparts in coaching
say, 'You guys are crazy? What are you doing playing
them?"' Andersen said. "That's a side you can take.
But I don't really take that. I look at this game as a
tremendous challenge for both teams.
"And I think it gives you an edge during the off-
season. It gives you an edge today as we get ready
for the spring game. It gives you an edge to know
you're going to walk into that stadium (NRG Stadium
in Houston) and you're going to be playing against
tremendous athletes in that
setting.
"It will be a true test of
where we're going," Ander-
sen suggested. "I keep get-
ting asked the question, 'Is
this the year you wanted it
(this LSU game)? Isn't this a
rebuilding year?'
"I don't believe in that the-
ory. We're not in a rebuild-
ing year. It's not fair to Rob
(Havenstein) or any of our
seniors. It's not fair to Melvin (Gordon), if he decides
not to stay for another year.
"Let's give our highlight players a chance to be a
special team and not cop out by saying, 'Two years
from now, we'll be right back where we need to be.'
"I'm not buying that. I expect to be good this year."
"LET'S GIVE OUR HIGHLIGHT PLAYERS
A CHANCE TO BE A SPECIAL TEAM AND
NOT COP OUT BY SAYING, 'TWO YEARS
FROM NOW, WE'LL BE RIGHT BACK
WHERE WE NEED TO BE,'" ANDERSEN
SAID. "I'M NOT BUYING THAT. I EXPECT
TO BE GOOD THIS YEAR."
On Obasih:
"His ability to make plays
has really blossomed, I
love where Chikwe is."
On Herring:
"My expectation of Warren is
that he's one of the best defen-
sive linemen in the Big Ten."
