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MADISON, Wis. -- If Gary Andersen had to make any significant changes to how he handled an unusual week for Wisconsin's football program, he isn't saying.
The Badgers' second-year coach dealt with two separate instances involving miscommunications between player and coach, first with running back Melvin Gordon and then with quarterback Joel Stave. In both instances, Andersen was doing his best to protect his players. But they did not come off particularly well publicly because it looked as though Andersen was saying one thing when the truth was different.
Andersen addressed the issues again following Thursday's practice.
"When situations go down, I always just try to look back at myself," Andersen said. "I'm always going to try to take care of kids. I know I use those terms a lot, but that's what I'm going to try to do. If sometimes I come out as looking not great in those situations, then I really can't control that. I can't say I would necessarily drastically change anything.
"It's unfortunate the way some of it came out. Do I like that? No. I don't like to see that for any team or any university. Again, take myself out of it. I guess when you sit back and maybe when I get away from football for the next couple days, take a big deep breath, re-evaluate things from all over the place, from how we handle things as a university to things that you talk about or how you display things, we'll see. But I feel good about the kids understanding I got their back. And I really, truly believe that."
Gordon, who sustained a hip flexor strain during the team's Saturday night game against LSU, apparently wasn't told he'd be missing considerable time during the second half. After the game, after Gordon carried the ball just four times in the second half, Andersen said he didn't know why that was the case. Gordon, meanwhile, said he was healthy enough to play.
The issues were straightened out on Monday, when Andersen clarified that Gordon appeared to be visibly affected by an injury on the field. Gordon, meanwhile, said he needed to be a more vocal leader and should have spoken up to coaches, chalking the situation up to a miscommunication.
On Tuesday, Stave told media members he had been battling a mental block of sorts in his throwing motion. The statements contradicted a press release issued by Andersen earlier in the day that suggested he had an injured shoulder rather than explaining the real reason for Stave's demotion.
Did either incident create a distraction?
"Absolutely not," Andersen said. "Nope. None."
Still, the two mini-controversies, on top of a disappointing 28-24 loss to LSU in which Wisconsin blew a 17-point second-half lead, made the week one to remember -- or forget, depending on the perspective.
"I've dealt with a lot worse things in my life, I'll tell you that much," Andersen said. "That's as tough a loss as I've ever been around. That's for sure. But there's tough times in football that are way tougher than that. We've got kids that go through emotional issues every day with family issues and problems. Those are a lot tougher than anything you ever deal with in football.
"It was a tough week. I've told you many times, I don't read or look at anything, so maybe that's really helped me this week. Maybe there was a lot more out there than I know about, and I'm OK with that."
Stave update: No timetable has been set for Stave's return to team drills as he battles throwing issues. But Andersen said he made at least minor progress Thursday.
"For Joel, to get him in a position to be able to move forward is important," Andersen said. "Today, Joel Stave had a smile on his face, and that was great to see.
"He came around. He was involved in throwing the ball around a little bit and doing some stuff. It was good to see him out here. Most important for me is to see him with his teammates. Slapping a guy on the butt and saying good job. I saw that today. It brings a smile to my face."
Depth issues: Wisconsin finds itself extremely thin at both nose guard and fullback as the Badgers prepare to play Western Illinois on Saturday. Starting nose guard Warren Herring will miss the next 4-6 weeks while recovering from right knee surgery. Starting fullback Derek Watt is out up to eight weeks after undergoing right foot surgery.
In Herring's place, redshirt sophomore Arthur Goldberg will get the start. His backups are true freshmen Conor Sheehy and Jeremy Patterson. Coaches would prefer to redshirt Patterson, but he may be called upon to play, and he'll travel with the team to the hotel.
"With Warren out for that extended period of time, you're playing with a little bit of a teeter totter there with not redshirting Jeremy or redshirting Jeremy," Andersen said. "And if we have to put him in a game, then we will. He's excited about that. I don't know quite how excited I am about that right now, but if we have to get to that spot, we will. That is not the plan, though, is to play him necessarily in this game."
Watt and backup fullback Derek Straus are both injured, which likely means Austin Ramesh will become the No. 1 fullback. But Andersen said the coaching staff intended to use some of its tight ends as an H-back.
"We'll play some two tight ends and three tight ends," Andersen said. "But Austin's gonna play. It's Austin's opportunity to show what he can do. The first two fullbacks now are out. It's an opportunity for him."
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