.vresize.36.36.medium.0.png){kind=small}
.vresize.36.36.medium.0.png){kind=small}
Montee Ball thinks he has something important to teach his Wisconsin teammates and he doesn't want the lesson to get lost amid his recent success.
The junior running back rushed for 996 yards and 18 touchdowns in 2010, the vast majority coming in the second half of a season that ended with a Rose Bowl appearance.
But going into No. 8 Wisconsin's game against Oregon State at Camp Randall Stadium on Saturday, Ball doesn't want his success toward the end of the season to completely wipe out the struggles that marked the beginning of his sophomore year.
At one point, he found himself buried on the depth chart, bypassed by a true freshman.
''I hope everyone really paid attention to that, to what happened to me. Obviously, it wasn't a good experience. It really hurt inside and everything,'' Ball said. ''But it really taught me a lot about not taking things for granted.''
Ball said his biggest mistake was not working hard over the summer, an error he made sure not to repeat this season. The native of Wentzville, Mo., came into the opener at a chiseled 210 pounds, more than 25 pounds below his listed weight from a year ago.
The makeover was evident in the Badgers' opener, a 51-17 victory over UNLV at Camp Randall Stadium last Thursday. Ball scored four times - three rushing, one receiving - and showed off an extra gear on a 63-yard screen that sent some fans scrambling for their binoculars to make sure that was actually No. 28 on the field.
''This is the type of running back that I wanted to be,'' Ball said. ''I needed more speed. After the Rose Bowl, I felt like I left too many yards out on the field.''
Last season's Badgers backfield was one of the best in NCAA history, finishing within four yards of boasting three 1,000-yard rushers in the same season. John Clay, now on the Pittsburgh Steelers' practice squad, was a 255-pound bruiser. James White, a true freshman who had usurped Ball's role earlier in the season, was a 198-pound speedster.
Ball, playing at 236 pounds, was somewhat of a hybrid of the two.
''He still can do the same things that he could do when he was 230 pounds,'' said White, one of Ball's closest friends on the team. ''It just made him a better player and made him capable of amping up his game a little bit.''
Ball, who started the opener, ran for 63 yards on 10 carries against UNLV. His three rushing touchdowns moved him into Wisconsin's all-time top 10. White, who was alternating series with Ball, rushed for 64 yards on 11 carries.
Two freshmen, Jeff Lewis and Melvin Gordon, combined to add 62 yards on 12 carries once the game got out of hand, and new quarterback Russell Wilson chipped in with 62 yards on two runs.
First-year running backs coach Thomas Hammock said Ball earned the starting nod for the opener because he ''consistently played above his level, above what he showed the previous season.'' And while he stopped shy of saying Ball would start on Saturday against Oregon State, he did say he had no plans to mess with success.
But Hammock added it shouldn't really matter which back starts the game.
''It's not a big deal. The players don't make it a big deal,'' Hammock said. ''They're both going to play and help contribute, and at the end of the day, when four quarters are played, we hope to have a win.''
