THREE OF A (DIFFERENT) KIND
this team. I'm confident in my abilities to do that.'' Phillips recognized the Badgers couldn't go into a season with only two healthy quarterbacks and were precariously thin at the position before land- ing O'Brien. In addition to his own rehab — and Bud- mayr's — incoming fresh- man Bart Houston (Dub- lin, Calif.) had off-season surgery on his shoulder. "The job of the coaches
is to make sure they put us in a position to win so I
understand (O'Brien's recruitment) as far as that goes,'' Phillips said. "But when I came here (2008), I wanted to be the guy (the starter). And I'm confi- dent that whenever I get healthy, I will be the guy. "Competition brings out the best in every-
body.''
That's true of the Comeback Kid, the Backup and the Piano Man.
THE COMEBACK KID On the off-days from practice, Phillips will limit his knee rehabilitation to about 90 min- utes.
"I've kind of backed it down a little bit just to make it through the practices,'' said Phillips, who has undergone three surgical procedures on his right knee. "I don't want it to get too sore. "Right now, I'm trying to get the motion back. What I'm trying to do on the side is get every- thing back bending and rotating — that type of thing — so I can get more into my throws. "After spring ball, I can put as much into the
"I just want to get to the point where I know I'm healthy and I can compete at a high level playing in the Big Ten," Phillips said. "Once I hit that comfort level, I have to be able to go out there and do it.''
(weight) lifting as I can, and see how that goes. I'll be able to get after it (the rehab) much more. Right now I have to go to practice so I have to be careful.''
Why is practice so important? Especially since he's only participating in non-contact "skelly'' drills? (The quarterback and receivers are work-
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