Despite roster turnover, Badgers still expect solid pass defense
MADISON, Wis. -- Judging from all the talk about Wisconsin's secondary this season, you'd think the entire unit was a bunch of second-rate players that would be better served playing somewhere in the Sun Belt Conference. But perception, they would like the worrywarts of the world to know, is not necessarily reality.
Pundits consider the Badgers' front seven to be especially strong this season. They also suggest the secondary will serve as the team's weak link, the unit preventing Wisconsin from achieving more in the Big Ten.
Count Badgers strong safety Dezmen Southward among the group that adamantly disagrees with such a notion. Southward is the only returning starter in the secondary, and he doesn't have to be boastful with his words so early in the season. Still, Southward has had no problem saying Wisconsin has one of the best defenses in the nation -- secondary included.
"Until proven wrong, that’s how I feel," he said. "We have all the right pieces and the right scheme to go with it and I think people will see that. Halfway through the season, people will start to see this is not just any defense. We're going out there to make plays."
The reason most suggest the secondary will be weak is because players there lack starting experience. That does not mean, however, they aren't talented.
Peniel Jean and Darius Hillary have held onto their spots from spring practice as the team's starting cornerbacks, and they're no strangers to the field, even if it hasn't been with the starting unit. Jean has appeared in 19 games with 24 tackles and three pass deflections. Hillary played in all 14 games last season and registered 23 tackles with two pass breakups. He collected a career-high eight tackles in a game against UTEP.
Neither cornerback saw extensive action because they were behind Devin Smith and Marcus Cromartie last season. Smith is trying to make the Pittsburgh Steelers roster in fall camp, while Cromartie is with the San Diego Chargers.
"They're not going to put somebody that they don’t believe in out there," Jean said. "We're all ready. All of us have game experience. And it's not all about game experience. It's all about the effort and knowing what to do.
"Cornerback is the toughest position on the field other than quarterback. There's always going to be some doubt. I just want them to know, just be prepared and know that we're going to give it our best every game and that we're going to compete."
Hillary said he held a mantra established by former co-defensive coordinator Chris Ash: "Urgency, not emergency." In other words, understand the importance of situations but don't let it overwhelm you to the point of panic. Given the experience he and Jean gained last season, he has every reason to believe they will succeed in 2013.
"I definitely think we can turn into shutdown, lockdown corners just by working," Hillary said. "We're constantly in the film room, seeing some of the tendencies that receivers on the opposing team do because that’s really going to help us at the end of the day -- our technique and watching film."
At free safety, Michael Caputo has worked his way into the first-team group ahead of Leo Musso. Like Hillary, Caputo played in all 14 games last season and made his first start at safety against Illinois.
Last season, Wisconsin ranked 18th nationally in passing defense, allowing 193.6 pass yards per game. The Badgers aren't anticipating a significant dropoff, even if the names on the back end aren't nationally known yet.
"I see the way those guys are working and I've seen the progress they've made since spring," Badgers linebacker Ethan Armstrong said. "For them to be our weakness, I'd say we've got a pretty strong unit then. I think they've definitely developed really well.
"They've taken coaching. Yeah, they are young. And yeah, they don’t have as much experience as maybe we did last year. But I think they're just as talented and they're hungry to learn, so it's really fun watching those guys play."
No quarterback change: Curt Phillips and Joel Stave both rotated with the first-team offense on Tuesday, offering no hint of which quarterback will be the starter for Wisconsin's Aug. 31 season opener against UMass.
Phillips completed 8 of 10 passes during skeleton drills, while Stave connected on 7 of 9 attempts. During a "team mix" drill in which members of the first- and second-team offense played together, Phillips went 3 for 4 and Stave 4 for 5. The quarterbacks then rotated every two plays while the reserves worked on scout team preparations for UMass. Stave completed all four of his passes, and Phillips went 1 for 4.
Armstrong returns: Ethan Armstrong was back at practice Tuesday for the second day in a row after missing nearly two weeks with a left knee injury. Armstrong, who wore a brace on the knee, sustained the injury Aug. 6 on the second day of fall camp.
Armstrong said he tweaked the knee when he planted trying to tackle a ball carrier off an option pitch. But he returned right around the target date offered by trainers.
"They told me that I'd miss practice," Armstrong said. "But I wanted to make sure I was back in time to prepare for our first game and be in game shape and be in the game plan long enough that I was comfortable with what I was doing out there."
Lewis to running back: Redshirt junior Jeff Lewis spent the first two weeks of fall camp trying to crack the playing rotation as a safety. Now, it appears he has returned to his natural position of running back.
Lewis spent Tuesday's practice as a running back for the scout team -- his first repetitions at tailback since spring practices. If he remains there, he will likely begin the season No. 4 on the depth chart behind James White, Melvin Gordon and Corey Clement.
"It was a surprise to me," said Peniel Jean, Lewis' roommate. "I don’t know what it was. I told him to keep his head up and wherever they put you, strive to be the best. You never know what will happen. Someone could go down and you never know."
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