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Gilbert looks to make noise on the field LUCAS AT LARGE MIKE LUCAS • UWBADGERS.COM Tuesday's practice to tutor redshirt freshman James Adeyanju on some pass-rushing techniques. Gilbert's emphasis was on firing out on the snap and attacking the offensive tackle with a speed move. "Every young defensive end wants to master pass-rushing and it's one of the hardest things to get good at,'' conceded Gilbert, who added that one of the develop- mental keys is eliminating any bad habits from high school and "gain- ing ground out of your stance, even if it seems obvious.'' W The best example of that was on film -- a third-and-10 play from the Nebraska 23 in the third quarter last Saturday night in Lincoln. As quarterback Taylor Martinez was dropping back to pass, Gilbert beat left tackle Brent Qvale to the out- side and knocked the football out of Martinez's hand. UW linebacker Chris Borland re- covered on the Nebraska 13 and the Badgers scored four plays later on a Montee Ball touchdown run, which increased their lead to 27-10 over the Cornhuskers and temporarily muted the sellout crowd at Memo- rial Stadium. "I just used a speed move,'' Gilbert said of his second sack of the 2012 season. "I was low in my stance, I gained ground, turned the corner and kept my surface area away from him (Qvale). Taylor (Martinez) just held on to the ball a little bit long, and if you're hustling, 10 » VARSITY OCTOBER 4, 2012 isconsin defensive end David Gilbert stayed on the field well after you can get there.'' It's one thing to get there -- to the quarterback. It's another thing to get there when the ball is still in his hands. More and more offenses are predicated on short drops and the quick game, diminishing the impact of edge-rushers and negative yard- age plays. "But when you get there, it's worth it,'' Gilbert said. "It's well worth it.'' Through the first four games, Gilbert got there just once; a sack of Utah State quarterback Chuckie Keaton. For awhile, he got down on him- self, feeling like he should have had more sacks. "That's your measuring stick as a defensive end,'' he said. "But you realize the game is more than just that.'' It can be a mind game, if you let it. "I'm not where I want to be at this point, I'm not where I should be,'' said Gilbert, a 6-foot- 4, 250-pound junior from Coral Springs, Fla. "But I will keep work- ing at it -- that's the only way to get there -- by working. It's an effort thing. Pressure turns into sacks.'' There was enormous pressure on Gilbert to produce and "walk the walk'' at Nebraska after he made some unflattering comments last week about Martinez. He called into question his unorthodox throwing motion and his toughness. That drew the ire of Gilbert's coaches. "I've been here four years and I've never done anything like that,'' said Gilbert. "I put myself in a position that I didn't want to be in. I learned that you have to stay on your toes, and you can ever relax. I let my guard down and my quotes ended up on ESPNews. "My parents told me, 'You have to learn from this. You've got to realize that you're now in a position where people are going to listen to what you have to say and you have to be careful.''' There would seem to be no limit on Gilbert's ability to be a disrup- tive force because of his strength and athleticism. But he has to per- form with more consistency, maybe even more urgency. And he has to stay healthy, of course. "If you're going 100 percent,'' he said, "there will be that one mo- ment when the quarterback holds the ball a little too long and you'll get there. That's the way I got my first sack last year. The UNLV quarterback was rolling away from me and I told myself, 'Keep chasing him.' "The one time he pulls up is the one time you get there.'' Gilbert sacked UNLV's Caleb Herring and also forced a fumble in the 2011 opener. When you get there, it's definitely worth it. That was something he learned from former UW defensive ends O'Brien Schofield and J.J. Watt. Both are now starring in the NFL. Coming under their influ- ence as a young player, Gilbert said, "They left a lot of good film for me to study.'' Now he's more determined than ever to make his own headlines. On the field, not off.