38 // VARSITY March 6, 2014
down in the box, cover the tight ends safeties. What
we lacked at times was a true, deep middle of the
field safety who could close the post and make plays
when the ball was in the air.
"Tanner (McEvoy) came in and performed admi-
rably in that spot. He really helped us. I thought we
improved with his presence. Now that Tanner has
gone (back to offense), we need someone who can
fill that role. I think we've got that with Austin being
the first one on board."
Freshman Austin Hudson is yet another mid-year
enrollee. "It's a big advantage to us having him here
at this point," Aranda said. "He's very talented, very
smart. He has wowed a lot of guys in terms of what
he has been able to accomplish athletically in a lim-
ited amount of time. It's a big spring for him."
The Badgers started a true freshman, Sojourn
Shelton, at cornerback last season, and he held up
well. Shelton led the defense with four interceptions.
"I'm excited about the steps that Sojourn is going to
take," said Aranda. "His confidence level will contin-
ue to improve."
Darius Hillary is the returning starter on the other
corner. He will also play some nickel.
"Last year was the first year when we had a safety
playing nickel and that was out of necessity," Aran-
da said. "We always like it (the nickel back) to be a
corner. There's more that you can do and overall the
speed of your defense is better when your nickel is a
cornerback."
That entails uncovering some more corners. T.J.
Reynard will get a chance to show what he can do af-
ter playing little last season as a junior college trans-
fer. Another candidate is Devin Gaulden, who has
been unable to get on the field the last three seasons
because of injuries.
"I'm really intrigued by him (Gaulden); he has
looked impressive so far in the offseason work that
we've done," Aranda said. "Between T.J. and Devin,
if we can get ourselves a third guy and then feel
comfortable moving Darius to the nickel, we'll be so
much further ahead than we were last year."
The Badgers already are ― so much further ahead
this spring ― a night and day difference ahead.
"I'm excited about the steps
that Sojourn is going to take,"
Aranda said. "His confidence
level will continue to improve."
