Stave.
"Obviously, everyone knows the kind of player
that he is in the pass game," Stave said. "He runs
good routes. He's a mismatch on safeties. And he's
just a tough guy to cover.
"He's also a great lead blocker in the run game.
He's great at opening up holes (for the tailbacks)
and picking up the guys that he needs to pick up.
"It's really important for a team to have those senior leaders who are not only good players on the
field but the kind of guys off the field that you really
want to follow.
"He's someone who shows the younger guys the
direction to take."
Wisconsin's first-year head coach, Gary Andersen, has seen that in the short time around him.
"Jacob does a great job of being unselfish," Andersen said. "He doesn't count his opportunities as far
as 'Oh, I'm not getting enough reps.' But when he
gets out there, the produces."
To Genyk, he's the player that he thought he could
be when he recruited him to Eastern Michigan. He
pointed to his work ethic, on and off the field, and
his commitment to getting better.
There's also his football IQ, or intelligence. Genyk
gave him high marks "as far as his ability to under-
stand offensive and defensive schemes."
Genyk has increased his plays to an average of
about 60 per game while utilizing Pedersen as the
Y-tight end on the line of scrimmage and the H-tight
end in the backfield.
"I've really challenged him to be an exceptional
blocker," said Genyk, who has been charting "knockdowns" to bring some context to how effectively the
tight ends are blocking.
"Anytime you get five or more knockdowns, it's really a good game. He has gone three games in a row
now with eight, seven and six knockdowns, which is
exceptional for a tight end."
What makes him even more special as a blocker,
according to Genyk, is the power and the speed that
Pedersen's generates with his hand strikes.
"It's almost like he's a professional boxer or a
jiu-jitsu master," he said. "His hands are so fast and
powerful when he hits a defender; he really knocks
them off balance.
"He's the best blocker I've ever coached as a tight
end."
It was not something that came easy to Pedersen,
now carrying 240 pounds on his 6-3 frame.
"Blocking wasn't a strength coming in," he conceded. "I'm still not going to overpower a 290-pound
WATCH: BADGER BREAKDOWN - BYU
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VARSITY November 7, 2013
