VIDEO: ABBREDERIS INTERVIEW
The Badgers, as a team, have 11 "explosives'' or scrimmage plays that have gained at least 20 yards on the ground or through the air. Abbre- deris has four of them, including pass receptions of 60 (from quarterback Joel Stave), 53 (from Danny O'Brien) and 47 yards (Stave). Two have gone for scores. Azzanni earlier noted Abbrederis' "feel'' for the
game. To this end, he said, "My best players at the receiver position have been former high school quarterbacks. They process things out there a little faster. They have a little better instinct than some guys who have just played receiver their whole life.''
Antonio Brown was one of the examples that he
cited. Brown played for Azzanni at Central Michi- gan and finished his career with 305 catches; the second most in Mid-American Conference histo- ry. In 2011, Brown had 2,211 all-purpose yards for the Pittsburgh Steelers and was their MVP. While the 5-foot-10, 186-pound Brown was a high school quarterback who didn't line up as a receiver until he got to college, Abbrederis played wide receiver in the youth football ranks and
through the eighth grade in Wautoma, a city of 2,000-plus; 37 miles from Oshkosh and 70 miles from Madison.
Recalling a practice leading up to a game with
the freshman team, he said, "Our quarterback was injured and we thought he'd be back. But since we didn't have a back-up, the coaches were kind of joking around at practice, 'Who wants to play quarterback tonight?' I said, 'I'll do it.''' Later on, he found out that the starting quar- terback had a broken thumb and was lost for the season. "So the next day I had to go in and play quarterback,'' said Abbrederis. "I knew the play- book because I liked to learn the whole play; the more you know, the better you're going to be.'' The following year, Abbrederis reported to the
varsity as a quarterback. The season started out with promise, but it didn't end well. Abbrederis tore his ACL and broke his femur. Not only did he feel like he got cheated in football, but the injuries prevented him from wrestling as a sophomore. He wasn't down for long. That spring, he still qualified for the WIAA state track meet and placed fourth in the 110-meter high hurdles and
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