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FOOTBALL COACHING SEARCH
"The success that we've had at Wisconsin is known in the world of college football," Bielema said, "and a lot of people want to be here."
critical for us in recruiting,'' Bielema acknowl- edged. "That's 100 percent live and that's going to be crunch time.
Regarding some of the NCAA limitations, he said, "As a head coach, I can go into a prospect's home only one time. As an assistant, you can go six times. There's a big difference.'' In this context, Bielema has been trying to get
the most out of his current staff. That includes turning over more recruiting responsibilities to graduate assistants Ben Strickland and Luke Swan.
Is the objective right now to retain those re- cruits who have already committed or to secure new commitments? "A little bit of both; obvi- ously you want to keep a hold of the ones you have,'' he said.
24 ยป VARSITY JANUARY 12, 2012
Meanwhile, there has been positive feedback according to Bielema, on tailback Montee Ball's decision to come back for his final year of eligi- bility with the Badgers. "A lot of people know we have the type of pro- gram that breeds development,'' he said. Ball's return creates some intriguing scenari- os with the running backs. The Badgers are well- stocked with Ball, James White, Jeff Lewis and Melvin Gordon. "Hopefully when the new staff is created, we're going to maximize them in a lot of differ- ent ways,'' Bielema said. "Thomas (Hammock) has given it some thought and I'm very excited.'' That would best describe Bielema's overall de- meanor. "I'm excited to get our new people in place,'' he said.
