Wisconsin closed the cupcake portion of its schedule with a 48-0 drubbing of Tennessee Tech on Saturday at Camp Randall Stadium. Thankfully, the competition takes a significant step up this week when the Badgers travel to play Arizona State. In anticipation of Wisconsin's first true test of the season, I answered questions about the Badgers in our weekly mailbag.
This is our third installment of the mailbag, which we'll post every Wednesday throughout the season, excluding bye weeks. Look for a link after Saturday's game to submit your questions before Week 4.
Q: Is Kyle French in his own head at this point or does he just not have the talent to compete at this level? Do you see him taking back his duties full time at any point?-- Bill, Mokena, IL
A: I have no doubt French has the talent to compete at this level because he has shown his ability in spurts at Wisconsin. He made a 43-yard field goal in overtime against Michigan State last season that got lost in the shuffle because the Spartans scored a touchdown to win the game. His career long is 46 yards, which he achieved last season against Illinois.
The problem with French appears to be twofold: mechanical and mental issues.
Special teams coach Jeff Genyk spent a considerable amount of time working with French during spring practices to change his mindset in games. French used to become so worried about one miss spiraling into more that it affected his play. Genyk forced French to focus on the process of kicking rather than the result. The idea was that, if French hit a good ball that missed, he would have less reason for concern because his process was good.
All of that is great, but you simply can't be smacking extra points off the upright to instill confidence in your team. Still, I think French will wind up as the starter when the Badgers play their games in October and November. Jack Russell has a stronger leg, but he hasn't shown himself to be any more consistent. Russell has yet to make a field goal in his career (0 for 3).
French found himself in a similar situation last season when he lost his starting spot to Russell, and he responded nicely. I expect the same thing to happen this season.
Q: Given the issues of both Kyle French and Jack Russell last week, how far away is Andrew Endicott from competing? Andersen said the job is an "open competition." Is it a 2 or 3 man race?-- Richard Branch, Wilton CT
A: I think it's pretty safe to say the kicking competition is still a two-man race at this point. French and Russell have obviously struggled, but I can't see the coaching staff throwing a freshman into the mix that hasn't taken one kick all season.
For starters, Endicott really doesn't have the experience in handling field goals, so where would you use him? I talked to Endicott in June, just before he arrived at Wisconsin, and he told me he didn't kick a single field goal last season on his high school team at Jesuit High in California. Another player on the team kicked field goals because Endicott was used for every other facet of the kicking game. His only two attempts last season came in an all-star game. He made both tries, from 36 and 29 yards out.
Endicott did make 33 of 35 extra points last season (94.2 percent). But keep in mind that, despite French's missed extra point last week, he is still 74 for 78 on point-after tries in his career (94.8 percent).
If there was a role for Endicott to fill, it could be as a kickoff specialist. Of his 45 kickoffs last season in high school, 38 resulted in touchbacks. His average kickoff was 65.6 yards. But kickoffs haven't really been an issue -- at least this season -- for French and Russell, so that doesn’t leave any room for Endicott right now. Plus, the coaches would prefer to have one player handle all those responsibilities if possible.
Q: You said you expected Corey Clement to get touches this season, but are you surprised at just how effective he's been?-- Jon, Milwaukee
A: Absolutely. Anybody who says they saw Clement bursting out of the gates with two 100-yard games to start his college career is probably lying.
There's no question we knew Clement was good when he came out of high school with all those New Jersey state prep records. But he has proven to be something special in just two games. Consider that only six FBS true freshmen have opened their career with consecutive 100-yard rushing games since Oklahoma's Adrian Peterson did it nine straight times in 2004, and Clement is one of those six.
The question now is whether Clement has proven enough to be used when it actually matters. Let's keep in mind that Clement hasn't earned a carry in the first half of either game so far. And the only reason he played was because Wisconsin was in the midst of blowout victories.
I still don't think there's much he can do to take away carries from James White and Melvin Gordon, and head coach Gary Andersen said as much on Monday.
"I don't see it changing at all from the way it's been the first two games," Andersen said. "Corey is the third back without question."
White and Gordon have put in too much time and are too talented to cede carries to Clement. Gordon is averaging 12.9 yards per carry and White 7.6, so it's not as though they aren't pulling their weight.
Q: I wasn't sure I would like the new helmets till today. When do they plan on wearing them again?-- Michael Loken, Darlington, WI
A: I'll be honest and tell you that, without the motion W logo on the sides of those helmets during practice, I thought those red helmets resembled something folks might see down in Arkansas. Given that many fans aren't exactly fond of coach Bret Bielema, I wondered how people would respond to the new look.
But the helmets looked great Saturday, and you can't argue with a 48-0 victory. As to your question, expect Wisconsin to wear those helmets again at some point this season. Badgers coach Gary Andersen has a 27-player Leadership Council that votes on internal team matters, and they'll be the ones helping to make that decision.
"We'll let the kids be involved in that and break them out on the road, I'm sure, at some point and wear them a couple more times," Andersen said after Saturday's game. "I'm excited about that. I thought it was a good look today."
Q: Wisconsin hasn't given up a point yet, but that will change down in Tempe. ASU's offense seems to be able to score at will. Something has to break. Who has the edge?-- Chi Dave, Aurora, IL
A: I actually think Arizona State's offense has the edge. Over the last four games dating back to last season, the Sun Devils have scored 46, 41, 62 and 55 points. Now, obviously, none of those teams have the defense that Wisconsin has.
But the Sun Devils operate out of a wide open offense and unlike Tennessee Tech, they have the talent to score points against top-level competition. In a 55-0 victory against Sacramento State, 11 different receivers caught a pass and five players caught touchdowns. Arizona State will test Wisconsin's relatively inexperienced secondary in ways UMass and Tennessee Tech could not.
Wisconsin's defense has been especially vanilla in the first two weeks, making sure not to show more looks than it needed to in order to win easily. I'd anticipate defensive coordinator Dave Aranda dialing up some new ideas in the 3-4 scheme to confuse Arizona State quarterback Taylor Kelly.
But this is a home game for Arizona State at Sun Devil Stadium -- where the team is 8-0 all-time against Big Ten teams -- and an opportunity to show the college football world that the Sun Devils are Pac-12 title contenders. Arizona State plays Stanford, USC and Notre Dame over the next three weeks, and a victory against Wisconsin would go a long way for the Sun Devils in building confidence.
Q: Are the Badgers doing anything to prepare for the desert heat and late night game? Shifting practice times around? Injecting IVs to hydrate? Ok just kidding, but not really...-- Chris E., Edina, MN
A: As far as changing practice times, Wisconsin is going about its business as it would any week. There has been plenty of talk already this week about the temperature increase in Arizona for Saturday's game, but as long as players are smart about hydrating, it really shouldn't be a problem.
Consider that the high on Tuesday in Madison was 96 degrees, according to weather.com. The high on Saturday in Tempe, Ariz., is expected to be 101 degrees, but it won't be that hot when the game kicks off around 7:30 p.m. local time. The sun sets at 6:35 p.m. in Tempe, and you have to figure it will cool off into the night. The low temperature for the day is 80 degrees.
Players, for what it's worth, don't sound too concerned.
"I'm down in South Florida, so it's been some pretty warm games down there," said Badgers safety Dezmen Southward, who is from Sunrise, Fla. "I think the heat's a little different in Arizona. The only thing we can do is make sure we're hydrated well and we're prepared physically to go down there and be able to play a four-quarter game, not cramping up. We'll handle it."
I'd expect the game conditions to be manageable and you would hope no worse than anything the players have experienced by practicing in the afternoon Madison heat.
"We've played at UNLV," linebacker Chris Borland said. "Any bowl game can usually be hot. Guys have played in heat before. We'll be OK. We're just going to do the right things this week. Hydrate and be prepared for it and tough it out when it gets hot on Saturday."
Q: Did you look much at Andersen's offense at Utah State? Do they run trick plays often? Seems like we could use a few well-timed ones to pull out a victory in Tempe.-- Victor B, Lake Forest
A: Like any coach, Gary Andersen will use a trick play when he deems it necessary. But I don't think he's of the mindset that you run them just to be flashy. He's a meat-and-potatoes kind of coach, and we really haven't seen any wacky ideas in the first couple of weeks. Of course, the Badgers haven't needed to use any tricks when they've been bowling over opponents in the run game.
Offensive coordinator Andy Ludwig is the man most likely to be drawing up the trick plays, so I asked him this week for his philosophy on using trick plays.
"It's part of the deal," Ludwig said. "It just hasn't been a featured element in the plans the first couple weeks. We'll see what this week brings and the week after that."
Q: Coaching is one thing, recruiting is another. How do you think Andersen has done so far with the players he brought in for this year and 2014 compared to that other guy?-- Earl, Milwaukee
A: Andersen and his staff didn't have much time to work with when it came to recruiting for the Class of 2013, so it probably isn't fair to cite that group -- although they did manage to snag a few unexpected commits such as Tanner McEvoy. Andersen officially accepted the head coaching job on Dec. 21, and national Signing Day was Feb. 6.
The Class of 2014, however, serves as a better barometer. Wisconsin received its 12th commitment of 2014 on Sunday from defensive end Rohan Blackwood of Brooksville, Fla.
Currently, Wisconsin has the No. 32-ranked recruiting class in the country, according to Scout.com. Though the numbers will fluctuate over the coming months as teams garner commitments from more players, it's worth noting that former coach Bret Bielema had only one class that checked in at better than No. 32 during his entire coaching tenure.
The 2014 class includes four four-star players: offensive lineman George Panos (Hartland, Wis.), offensive linemen Jaden Gault (Monona, Wis.), defensive end Conor Sheehy (Milwaukee, Wis.) and defensive tackle Craig Evans (Sun Prairie, Wis.).
Now, you can say that three of those four players committed to Wisconsin under the previous coaching regime, but Andersen and his staff did a nice job of retaining those recruits. They also continue to put their own spin on the class with some notable out-of-state commits and have earned their own commitments from nine of the 12 players in the class.
The Badgers are bringing in Polynesian fullback Ula Tolutau from Salt Lake City, Utah, in what figures to be the first of many Polynesians. Andersen has had success recruiting Polynesian players in previous stops, and so has Badgers defensive line coach Chad Kauha'aha'a, who was raised in Hawaii.
Other notable commits under Andersen for the Class of 2014 include running back Taiwan Deal (Hyattsville, Md.) and quarterback D.J. Gillins (Jacksonville, Fla.). Gillins could be the dual-threat signal caller Andersen and his staff has been looking for to transform the Badgers' offense.
All in all, I'd say Andersen has done a good job recruiting thus far. And given what we've seen, I'm sure there are a few more surprises to be found out there.
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