Official 2011-2012 Badgers Thread

[ForkEmBucky]

Here's the new man under center. Scott Tolzien thinks really highly of him, but I guess that's to be expected of a friend. His main comment was that Budmayr has a stronger arm than he had, and that he is accurate.

 

[ForkEmBucky]

Going to head up to the spring game tomorrow. Hoping to see the receivers step up. Toon is out for spring. Abbredaris should be solid. I'm hoping Jeff Duckworth and Marquis Mason are taking huge steps. Guess I'll find out.

 

[iruletheskool]

Know where I can find cheap-high quality tickets for the Husker game?

 

[ForkEmBucky]

Not really man, I was looking, but other than trying to go through the normal circuits you're probably not going to find anything. I'll tell my cousin to keep his ears open though. Only thing about that is you will get the "asshole" chant for wearing your brasky gear in the student section, multiple times, but other than that you'll be safe.

 

[ForkEmBucky]

Nebraska Cornhuskers vs Wisconsin Badgers Football [10/1/2011] Tickets at StubHub!

Looks like this is all stub-hub has right now.

Actually, the ones for 230 aren't bad seats. Weird angle, but pretty damn close to the field...away team sideline. Y2 section.

 

[iruletheskool]

I've pretty much decided that if I'm going to go, I'll need to get some extra cash from the government for tuition..

 

[ForkEmBucky]

LOL Wish I had some season tickets this year. Maybe next time around.

 

[ForkEmBucky]

{SPRING ANALYSIS}

They run this game like a scrimmage. They continue to try new things and work on weaknesses. No game plan. So it's hard to say anything definitive.

QB: I guess we'll see how this goes. Budmayr is confident, the coaches are confident in him. He has a stronger arm than Tolzien. Phillips is apparently out for the 2011 season though, which is sad and it hurts the depth here. Brennan, a true freshman, looks to be our backup, which is a little scary. He chucked one deep today but it was overthrown. Nice arm, so that's good.

Offensive Line: A lot of new faces, but they're going to be good...and better than that, they're going to be deep. Younger guys like Ryan Groy look like they'll be able to step in and get the job done. I'm not 100% on who is starting, but Konz should be fine by then, Dehn and Zeitler most likely. Burge. They'll be good.

WR/TE: I think they're going to be better here than people thought. If Budmayer can step up and be the man, these guys should be able to haul in some big plays. Abbredaris is sneaky and athletic. Toon is going to outmatch a lot of DBs for jump balls. Manasseh Garner was split out wide a lot today, and I actually think this kid is going to make a lot of noise this season. Doe, Duckworth, Mason...didn't hear anything special about them today. Mason seems to be a player favorite, but he's got a minor injury and didn't play. The true Tight Ends all have potential..they're big bodies that can block. Wozniak should be fine by fall. Garner may play a little of both. He likes to hit, apparently.

FB/RB: I don't need to say much about this. Ball cut some weight, White is still White, Brown put on weight and looks good. True freshman Lewis is the fastest guy on the team. Brady Ewing(FB) is going to be a weapon in the passing game. Apparently he hauled in an overthrown bomb with one hand this spring. He'll get a few hand offs to make teams wonder about where that ball is going in that backfield.

Returners: Not sure what we're going to see here, honestly. I'm going to miss Gilreath.

K/P: Welsh seems to be a little off, but I think they'll get him lined back up. The kicking game overall will be better than par for NCAA.

Defensive Line: Kohout wasn't in the spring game, but he'll be fine for fall. The big thing here is that they are deep, really deep. Nzegwu and Gilbert can't replace Watt, but today it sounded like their lateral speed was causing some problems for runs outside the tackles. They've been getting a strong push and batting down throws too, against our offensive line. Could just be Budmayr's youth, but they had to get the push and they got that. I'm not even sure which guys will be starting at tackle. There will be a lot of fresh legs there. The Badgers will be tough to run against.

Linebackers: Looks good. Borland was only a week away from getting a green light for contact. He's moving to middle linebacker. Taylor and Claxton aren't as athletic, but Taylor should be more comfortable moving laterally this season. Both of those guys are great linebackers. But having Borland in the middle and able to make it to either side of the field to make a play...that's huge. The sports writers love reserve Marcus Trotter. He sounds like a really easy player to coach, too.

Defensive Backs: Aaron Henry and Antonio Fenelus will anchor this group. Henry came up from the safety spot and tangled with Montee Ball hard enough to get under Ball's skin a bit. Not sure who the other safety will be but that seems to be because the coaches like all of them right now. Marcus Cromartie has made a lot of progress this spring, made a nice play in the spring game. We'll see who starts opposite Fenelus.

 

[ForkEmBucky]

Bielima on the NFL network.


LOL...

(Rich Eisen) "I love any coach who will describe non-Big 10 football as Un-American"

(everyone laughs)

(Bret Bielima) "I didn't say that, see, you're misquoting me already."

 

[ForkEmBucky]

Best of luck to the departing seniors.
JJ Watt - Houston
Gabe Carimi - Chicago
John Moffitt - Seattle
Lance Kendricks - St. Louis

Hopefully some of the other guys will get a shot. I think Bill Nagy actually has a shot at a solid career. Clay, if he gets healthy, could be a big power back for a team like the Steelers. Valai and Brinkley could workout nicely as nickle/dime backs and special teams experts. Gilreath, I don't know, as a return specialist he may be a savior for somebody. The Packers could probably use him. Tolzien is a hard working, high IQ quarterback, should provide decent backup. Culmer-St. Jean and Sorenson are high IQ defensive players. I think they all will get a shot of some kind, maybe most as rookie free agents. Actually looks like Bielima is pitching Culmer - St. Jean to NFL scouts as a potential fullback.

 

[ForkEmBucky]

Time to update the thread. Big welcome to Russel Wilson!

 

[ForkEmBucky]

Also, best of luck to Zach Brown. Can't blame him, but it'll be weird seeing him in a Pitt uni next season.