FOOTBALL SIGNING DAY E
ach was thrown a curve the first week of classes. "It was a little hectic,'' Dan Voltz volunteered. "I thought it would be worse,'' Hugs Etienne conceded. "I was assigned some 60 pages to read my first
day,'' Vonte Jackson sighed. It's all part of the learning curve for mid-term high school graduates. Voltz, Etienne and Jackson are each transitioning to a new environment -- and community. As such, they're no different than any other first semester college freshman. Then, again, they are different. Voltz, Etienne and Jackson are members of the 2012 Wis- consin football recruiting class. The Early Bird Special — spring enrollment — has become a popular facet of the sport. To varying degrees, the Badgers have embraced the concept. "Past guys have been successful,'' said UW coach Bret Bielema, "which leads me to believe that these three can handle the academics and get ingrained with the way we do things.''
In addition, he said, they get a jump on their classmates, who signed tenders Wednesday. "Coming up early has given me the oppor-
tunity to get used to everything,'' Etienne said. "If I would have come up during the summer it would have put more pressure on me.'' From this standpoint, he can adjust to every- thing at his own pace. That includes the weather. Etienne is from Plantation, Fla., a suburb of Fort Lauderdale. It doesn't snow much in south Florida; nor Haiti, which is where he was born. Etienne moved to the United States when he was 6 years old. "Beautiful kid,'' Bielema said. "Creole is the
No. 1 language spoken in his home, so it has been a transition jumping up here. He's going
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through a lot of changes. "But every time I've seen him, he's had a big grin on his face.''
Hugs is short for his full name, Hugsanly. "My parents call me 'Ego' at home,'' Etienne
said.
It really doesn't appear that he has an ego to speak of, either. That goes for Voltz and Jack- son, too. "Most of the time we're hanging out together," Etienne said, "and that's good.'' Good from the sense that there's strength in numbers, and all of this can be overwhelming. "If I was up here alone, I think it would be a lot harder,'' Voltz said of the adjustment period. "It has helped to have the other two guys to relate to on a daily basis.'' Not that homesickness should be an issue for
