Late in difficult season, Badgers WR Wheelwright seizing opportunities
MADISON, Wis. -- Rob Wheelwright brimmed with optimism in early August at the thought of developing into Wisconsin's go-to wide receiver on a unit in desperate need of playmakers. He possessed graceful route running, an improving set of hands and -- most important -- a healthy body.
That is, until he didn't.
Just when it appeared Wheelwright was ready to crack the playing rotation, he sustained a hamstring injury that forced him out for more than two weeks. He was unable to practice before Wisconsin's season opener against LSU and didn't even travel to Houston for the game.
"By the time he got healthy and got full speed, the game kind of passed him," Badgers wide receivers coach Chris Beatty said.
The journey back into Wisconsin's receiver rotation has been a frustrating one for Wheelwright. He rushed back from the injury, briefly tumbled into the coaching staff's doghouse during Week 2 against Western Illinois after cutting off a route that led to an interception, and he did not record a single catch through the first 11 games of the season.
Now, however, Wheelwright feels as though he's finally putting all the pieces of the puzzle back together. And just in time, too. Wheelwright, a Columbus, Ohio, native, will face off against his hometown school Saturday night when No. 13 Wisconsin (10-2, 7-1) plays Ohio State (11-1, 8-0) in the Big Ten championship game in Indianapolis.
"It's a little bit more personal just to go back and play against them and give them a good game," Wheelwright said.
Last week, the 6-foot-2, 201-pound sophomore finally registered his first catch of the year. And it came at a critical juncture during Wisconsin's 34-24 victory against Minnesota to clinch the Big Ten West division.
Wheelwright lined up on the right side of the field and beat his defender on a corner post in the end zone, hauling in a 17-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Joel Stave to put the finishing touches on the win with 4:41 remaining in the game.
"It was good to finally get all that released and just finally let it all out and celebrate with my team," Wheelwright said. "The whole season they've been trying to put me out there to get me a catch. Things just don't go my way. But luckily I got it this game in a big game as well."
Badgers coach Gary Andersen said he spoke with Wheelwright on Tuesday during practice about trying to use that catch as a springboard into something much bigger.
"He made a big-time catch in a big-time moment," Andersen said. "It has to help you because you've been in the environment. It's one thing to do it in practice. It's another thing to do it in a big-time game in a big-time moment. It just has to boost your confidence. It surely would (for) myself as a person. I'm sure it did for Rob. It seemed to. I told him now we expect him to take off."
Wheelwright arrived at Wisconsin with loads of potential out of Walnut Ridge High School. He caught 48 passes for 903 yards and 12 touchdowns as a senior and was rated as a Scout.com four-star player. Beatty acknowledged even last season that he ran the second-best routes on the team behind Jared Abbrederis, a Green Bay Packers draft pick whom Beatty considered to be the best route runner in the country.
But with most of the throws last year going to Abbrederis, who caught a school-record 78 passes for 1,081 yards, there was little room for a true freshman to get his feet wet. Wheelwright caught two passes for nine yards and then encountered a setback during spring practice when he suffered a PCL sprain in his knee.
"Rob's going to be a good player," Beatty said. "This year's kind of been a little bit different because he was the starter starting off, got hurt, was having a good camp, got hurt. We've been trying to work him in. But at the same time, we just haven't had to use him a bunch."
Alex Erickson has emerged this season as the team's top wide receiver, and his 44 catches are more than the rest of the receiver crew combined (37). Erickson, Jordan Fredrick and Kenzel Doe have earned the bulk of those targets as proven players the coaching staff can trust.
For Wheelwright, he has needed to remain patient and look for the limited opportunities he earns. During the Minnesota game, for example, he said he appeared for a total of six plays. And even when he enters the game, there is no guarantee he'll see a pass because of the Badgers' propensity to pound the ball with Heisman Trophy candidate Melvin Gordon at tailback.
"We really have eight or nine guys that see the field," Fredrick said. "It's hard when it's an opportunistic offense, really. You kind of get your shot, and it doesn't come often. Then when you get injured, it puts you back even more. Obviously he just wanted a shot, wanted a chance. You get some, you let one go, it eats you alive.
"He's been working on that touchdown route where he knew this was kind of the time. The team needed him. He needed to do it for himself most of all. He did, and he was pretty happy with it."
Wheelwright certainly would love the opportunity to make another big catch against the Buckeyes, whose football stadium is located 13 miles from his high school. Though it was never officially reported, Wheelwright acknowledged he was offered a scholarship by Ohio State late in the recruiting process -- just as he was prepared to commit to Wisconsin. And Saturday, he hopes to have a chance to show the Buckeyes what they missed out on.
"I'm working hard in practice," Wheelwright said. "I go out there and run great routes. That's something my coach always tells me. Eventually it will come. My dad, my brother, they always talk to me like eventually (opportunities are) going to come. They will eventually find you open. So I always keep a level head on that situation. If you're not getting the ball yet, you just kind of wait your time."
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