Wisconsin football coach Gary Andersen spoke with the media Tuesday morning on the Big Ten's weekly coaches teleconference.
Andersen discussed Wisconsin's game against Maryland following a bye week, the importance of maintaining consistent offensive line play and the dearth of talented running backs in the Big Ten.
Here is the full transcript of Andersen's conference call:
Andersen: Looking forward to the bye week this week. For our kids, it's a great opportunity for us to get back to the basics and some fundamentals and continue to grow the youth in the program. We'll take full advantage of that and make sure the young men are spending some extra time in the classroom and study halls and mentoring sessions to get caught up or at least maintain a high presence in the academic world. It will be a good week for us. We can use every minute of it as we get prepared for Maryland in the future here.
Question: Looking at what Maryland does in its return game with Stefon Diggs on kickoffs and punt returns, how important is it that your coverage units are good and to get punter Drew Meyer back on track?
Andersen: We have got to kick the ball better without question in the punt and also in the kickoff scenario. They're tremendous return guys. That's shown game in and game out. I'm sure it's going to continue to show with Maryland's return game.
The teams are bought into it, much like our punt return team right now. Kenzel (Doe) is having some success, but the whole team's bought into the ability to go have success. I think that's so important. Maryland shows that on tape with their return kids are every talented. But their return teams are bought in and they're invested in the scheme.
We're going to spend extra time on it. Ideally, the key on the punt scenario is don't let the young man return the ball. That's the No. 1 priority. But when he does, you better be in the right spots to be able to tackle. We'll have extra attention in those areas in this week, starting today and then moving through game week.
Question: Programs that traditionally are strong are having some struggles on the offensive line this year. Wisconsin has managed to sustain success. How hard is it to be a good or great offensive line year after year?
Andersen: You've got to commit to numbers. We commit 16 scholarships to that position. It's important for us to do our best to keep those numbers up there. We've had two heavy recruiting classes to get those numbers are to 16 and we'll continue to work at it.
There's a fine line with offensive linemen. It's a developmental position. I'm a strong believer in that. Some kids come in and are more ready to be able to play and some are not. So you're looking at a kid that may have played at a high level and can be prepared to come in and contribute as a redshirt freshman or maybe even as a freshman. Doesn't happen a lot for us, but it can happen.
The challenge for us is to find that multi-sport athlete. The big, tall kid that can run that's a very good athlete that plays a lot of sports and has a good frame and the ability to be a big, physical, powerful kid. Especially in our state. It's got to start in Wisconsin and spread throughout the Midwest.
I don't think it's more of a challenge to recruit offensive linemen today than it was 10 years ago, nor do I think it's harder to recruit offensive linemen than it is to recruit a great quarterback or a tailback or a defensive lineman. You've got to have your plan and strategically go about it through the process.
Question: What kind of challenges do defenses present now to offensive linemen? Is there more athleticism on the defensive line?
Andersen: I don't even know if I would really say athleticism has necessarily changed. There's been great players on defensive lines for many, many years. But their ability to move defenses has changed. The crossing the gaps. The zone blitzes. The odd front. There's more bells and whistles to it. So you've got to attack it right.
Being a defensive guy for many years, my belief is that you do your best to have enough movement to force those big offensive linemen to be kind of moving around on eggshells and not wanting to get their cleats in the ground knowing where you're going to sit and stand prior to the ball being snapped.
They tee off on you with all their physicality. You want to slow them down with some of the movements. That's definitely taken place in defenses and in turn you want to be a little more athletic on the offensive line because of that.
Question: Do you believe the Big Ten is a running league? Is this just a good crop of running backs?
Andersen: Well, there's a good crop of running backs, without question. I just spent the last couple days here watching Maryland. You watch them throw the ball around.
They're going to get out and spin it pretty good with some talented wide receivers. I would say this: I think we have a balanced league through the run and through the run. They do a nice job of balancing up and using their best players.
That's what good coaches do. But this year, there is some very, very talented runners in this league. There's some very talented offensive linemen. And that may be a highlight week in and week out. But there are some teams that can throw the ball in this league very effectively.
Question: Is the offensive line position more important to redshirt?
Andersen: Most of the time, you would prefer just because of the physical nature, especially in this conference, and the defensive fronts you're going to be going against and the linebackers and the athletic pass rushers, it's a high likelihood that you're going to redshirt. You are a special, special young man if you can come in and play as a freshman anywhere in the Big Ten.
But I would really say you're a special kid if you can walk in and play as a true freshman in the Big Ten at any of the schools that we have the opportunity to compete against.
Question: Can an offensive lineman's footwork development occur right away or does it come along later?
Andersen: Strength guys I believe can truly help them. It's like a great pass rusher or a really fast guy. A lot of it is God-given. You can get better with what God gave you and we work hard in the strength room to give those kids the opportunity. But foot speed is athleticism and athleticism is born. It's not made in the weight room. Again, we want to get them better and let them reach their potential. So I think it's important that you recruit it. You always remember that.
The foot speed for our kids, we tell our kids this: We want to get you as big and as fast and as strong as you can be. But you've got to listen to your own body. They learn to listen to their bodies to say I'm a little sluggish. Maybe I can carry five more pounds more because I feel real quick. I want them to listen to their body and then in turn tell us how they feel.
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