H
earing footsteps has not been a factor in
the ongoing competition between Joel Stave
and Curt Phillips for the starting quarterback assignment at Wisconsin. Neither has been
looking over their shoulder.
"We both understand the situation, but we don't
talk about it a ton," said Stave, a third-year sophomore. "We both know one guy is going to play and
we both want to be that guy."
"Every year I've been here there has been a quarterback competition," said Phillips, a sixth-year senior. "We're trying to make each other better, but
you're competing at the same time."
While not hearing footsteps, they've been measuring them in the pocket. Wisconsin's first-year
offensive coordinator, Andy Ludwig, has put an emphasis on getting better through better footwork.
All he needed was a model.
Who better to learn from than a four-time MVP
in the NFL like Peyton Manning? Stave and Phillips
have thus been going to school on Manning, the
37-year-old quarterback of the Denver Broncos.
The instructional video was Ludwig's idea.
"In any field, you want to watch the best," he said.
"What can I learn from the best? What does he or
she do that I can take one little piece of and apply it
to my field or my skill and generate success?"
Manning, a 12-time Pro Bowler, offered Ludwig
everything that he wanted out of a model.
"The first thing that jumps out at you is his work
ethic and just how hard he's working," Ludwig said.
"The drill tape is an hour long and it's not just one
day's work. It's an accumulation of segments."
On the cut-ups, Manning is shown executing specific drills during training camp and the course of
the season. Not only was Ludwig impressed with
his overall approach but with "how fast he moves."
Manning is bigger than most people think; he's
6-foot-5, 230 pounds.
"He's a big guy and he can move," Ludwig said.
"He's not fast, but he can move. That's what we're
trying to get across with our guys because they
kind of fit that mold."
Phillips, who's from Kingsport, Tenn., grew up
Phillips, from Kingsport, Tenn., grew
up idolizing Manning, the former
Tennessee Volunteer. "He's definitely
a technician, a master of his craft."
30
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VARSITY August 29, 2013
