Varsity is the free Official Digital Magazine of Wisconsin Athletics, covering Badgers football, basketball, hockey and more each week.
Issue link: https://catalog.e-digitaleditions.com/i/40054
DEEP THOUGHTS «« "Hemer will not succumb to any of the competition,'' Partridge said. "He continues to fight and hold on to that starting job. I'm proud of where he is right now." proach the film work the way he's done during all the injuries that he's dealt with,'' said Partridge. "We're slowly upping his reps every practice and he's knocking rust off. "He's getting to where he was at the end of the spring when he was contending to start.'' As far as all the time that Kelly has missed, Partridge said, "There isn't anything you can do about the injuries except listen to the medi- cal people and handle the reps according to their guidance.'' All battling for playing time in the rotation are No. 51 Tyler Dip- pel, a 6-4, 260-pound sophomore from Slinger; and No. 92 Pat Mul- doon, a 6-3, 260-pound sopho- more from Mason, Ohio. "Tyler needs to get sound with his assignments,'' Partridge said. "He has a high motor and he's a Tazmanian Devil in a lot of ways but he makes some mistakes in the midst of his motoring. "Pat is very football intelligent. He understand what he can do, and he can't do physically. He plays to those strengths and weak- nesses. "He's made a ton of plays in camp. He's truly in the rotation.'' Two redshirt freshmen, War- ren Herring and Konrad Zagzeb- ski, are getting closer and closer to contributing, Partridge said. » Linebackers ▪ Mike Taylor and Chris Borland could be a formidable one- two punch because both are proven playmakers in the Big Ten. But they need to be on the field together. The Badgers are making sure Borland is ready for the opener, accounting for the lack of continuity throughout training camp. ▪ Kevin Claxton »» is the unsung member of the trio. A converted safety, Claxton had a huge open field tackle in last season's win at Iowa. In Borland's absence, Josh Harrison has been getting most of the reps at middle linebacker. Those went to Marcus Trotter in the spring but he has been hurt, too. ▪ Ethan Armstrong and A.J. Fenton add to the depth; espe- cially because of their experience. A true freshman, Derek Landisch, had a solid camp and could help on special teams. » Defensive Backs ▪ Three of the four starters are known commodities. Free safety Aaron Henry and cornerback Antonio Fenelus each have 18 career starts. Cornerback Devin Smith has 14. ▪ The strong safety will be either Shelton Johnson or Dez Southward »». Both will play. Michael Trotter is listed as the No. 2 free safety behind the veteran Henry. ▪ Identifying a No. 3 cornerback has been problematic, though Marcus Cromartie heads the list. Peniel Jean has been lining up at corner opposite Cromartie with the No. 2 defense. ▪ Two seniors, Andrew Lukasko and Adam Hampton, could find roles on special teams. Freshmen Mike Caputo, Darius Hillary and Terrance Floyd have each shown promise. — Mike Lucas