“I remember watching him in practice and he caught five or six balls that day and I said, ‘Holy cow, who’s this kid? Where has he been?’ That was before anyone knew who Jacob Pedersen was.
“Tyler Marz is a freshman offensive lineman from Minnesota. He just works his tail off. A year from now, he’s going to play and everyone is going to say, ‘Where did you get this kid from?’’’
Tuesday’s practice was almost entirely devoted to the developmental players.
“I went around the room Sunday,’’ Bielema pointed out, “and said, ‘Let’s talk about Marcus Cromartie and what he did. Let’s talk about Dezmen Southward and what he did.
“Let’s talk about Jared Abbrederis and what he did in those practices, and look where he’s at now. All those kids were working hard and long before they had success on the field.
“If they hadn’t taken advantage of all those developmental practices when they were put in that position, they wouldn’t have had the success they have had.
“Brendan Kelley and Tyler Dippel are two more great examples. They popped in the other day against Nebraska for David Gilbert and they didn’t’ miss a beat.
“That just didn’t happen — they made it happen.’’
The word may be catalyze — to bring about or inspire.
Look that up in your Funk & Wagnalls.
