SPRING FORWARD
SPRING GAME HIGHLIGHTS
Check out game highlights and post-game interviews from the locker room following the Cardinal team's 21-10 win over the White squad in the 2012 Wisconsin Football Spring Game.
the Maryland transfer. Having gone down this path last summer with Wilson, Ball cited O'Brien's inevitable adjustment to new sur- roundings and teammates and said, "As a senior and team leader, I have to make sure that he's set and comfortable."
It's all in a day's work for Ball, who embraces such team-building responsibilities. "It's a job," he said of his own personal com- mitment to excellence. "That's what I hope every- one knows when they sign their letter of intent. You're signing something that you have to be accountable to. It's a great thing, too. We have fun here (Wiscon- sin). This is what we do." Although he wasn't tackled
« WR Chase Hammond was one of the stars of the spring game, pulling in four catches for 48 yards and a touchdown in helping the Cardinal to a 21-10 win.
this spring to avoid injuries, Ball was excited by what he was still able to accomplish in a number
of different areas. "I talked to coach Hammock last week," he said, "and I told him that I felt like this was the best spring that I've had here." Best ever? How so? "For one, leadership," Ball said. "I took on the role of being a leader for this team — being accountable by having a good practice every single day. Coach Hammock told me that I just seemed comfortable out there, like a veteran.
"Being a senior now, if I don't get the job done, how can I expect anyone else to get it done? I have to make sure I'm accountable every day for the younger players. And now that we're through with the spring, I'm going to make sure that it's the best summer that I've ever had. "That's extremely important. That's where I made my biggest jump from my sophomore year to my junior year — it's all what I did in the summer and I plan on doing it again and mak- ing another jump. I've got a lot on my hands this
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