Jared Abbrederis Now A Green Bay Packers Wideout | Badgers Players Taken In 2014 NFL Draft

The wait was longer than expected, but by the end of the 2014 NFL draft, five former Wisconsin Badgers had been selected by five different professional teams. Dezmen Southward, Chris Borland, James White, Jared Abbrederis, and Beau Allen were all called-up over the weekend. Five more alumni who went undrafted were offered contracts in free agency soon after the event, including quarterback Danny O'Brien, who will go to Atlanta along with Southward.

Tightends Brian Wozniak and Jacob Peterson, also undrafted, will join O'Brien and Southward at the Falcons spring camp.

Despite speculation that headline makers Borland or Abbrederis would be the first former Badger to be taken, Southward was the first to go, at 68 overall. The third-round selection is the lowest debut pick in decades for Wisconsin graduates, who have represented at least one opening-round choice every year since 1978. The safety was not disappointed with the unusual timing, however, already thanking the team in interviews on various Atlanta radio and television stations.

Borland, a candidate for an early-round selection this year, instead followed Southward nine picks later at 77 overall. The linebacker finished his storied collegiate career with 15 forced fumbles, the most in Wisconsin history and second most all-time in the FBS, as well as top-10 program numbers in four other categories.

The San Francisco 49ers will host Borland at their camp starting this month.

Running back White was the third Badger to be called this weekend. New England used their fourth-round pick to attain the 130 overall selection, the thirteenth running-back to be chosen at that point in the draft. White could usually be found playing a support role to a host of top-prospect backs including Montee Ball and John Clay, though he was especially keen at finding holes once in the redzone. White fumbled just twice on 754 carries over his four seasons in Wisconsin.

Perhaps White's most memorable rush came in 2010 against then number one ranked Ohio State. Up three points with just minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, White came out for a first-down run from the Buckeyes ten-yard line. A few quick side-steps and he was in the endzone, putting the final dagger in what remains one of the Badgers biggest upsets in history.

Rounding-out the later rounds of the 2014 draft was wide receiver Abbrederis and nose tackle Allen. The pair were selected by the Green Bay Packers and Philadelphia Eagles, respectively, at 176 and 224 overall. Abbrederis, a Wisconsin native, was expected to fetch hefty interest at the end of the 2013 season, though a disappointing showing at the combine lowered his prospects. 

Badgers 2014 Draft Selections

Round 3:

-        Dezmen Southward; Safety, Atlanta

-        Chris Borland; Linebacker, San Francisco

Round 4:

-        James White; Running-back, New England

Round 5:

-        Jared Abbrederis; Wide receiver, Green Bay

Round 7:

-        Beau Allen; Nose tackle, Philadelphia

Undrafted; Signed in Free Agency:

-        Jacob Pederson; Tight end, Atlanta

-        Brian Wozniak; Tight end, Atlanta

-        Ethan Hemer, Tackle, Pittsburgh

-        Ryan Groy; Linebacker, Chicago

-        Danny O'Brien; Quarterback, Atlanta 

Badgers 2013 Bowl Opportunities | Should Wisconsin Find A New Quarterback?

The Wisconsin Badgers are going to finish the 2013 college football regular season at 9-3, and 6-2 in Big Ten Conference Play. The Badgers are now headed for the Capital One Bowl following the events of the Auburn-Alabama game this weekend, as Vern Lundquist called it, “an answered prayer”. The Alabama loss puts Ohio State into the national championship game if they beat Michigan State this Saturday. If Michigan State does indeed win that game, the BCS selection committee would probably bring Ohio State into the BCS as an at large team, therefore placing Wisconsin into the Capital One Bowl regardless. Yes the Badgers run of three straight Big Ten Championships is over, but overall a successful season.

Well if the Badgers had a successful season, they why are we talking about them needing to make a change at quarterback? The success this season for Wisconsin had nothing to do with Joel Stave. Rather the 9-3 record is due to the play of running backs Melvin Gordon and James White, as well as the fact that this defense was sixth in the nation in points per game at 14.8. Stave had nothing to do with it. In fact, Stave at times hampered Wisconsin. 

Does Wisconsin Replace Quarterback Stave?

I understand the Badgers are not exactly known for great quarterback play, but their quarterbacks have always been good caretakers of the football and of time of possession. Stave’s play in 2013 started out okay, but got gradually worse as the season went on, and this last Saturday, in the 31-24 loss against Penn State, Stave was just plain awful. He finished the game 29-53 with 339 yards and three interceptions. Don’t let the passing yards fool you, he played terrible.

I don’t think they will make a change before the bowl game. There is no reason to play Curt Phillips in the bowl game and it wouldn’t be a good idea to give any of the freshmen the start. They have gone this far with Stave, might as well let him finish the job. There are a lot of people who think that just because a player isn’t going to be in the team’s plan next season, he should be benched. I say let him finish the job he signed up for. But come the offseason, it may be time to look at other options. Right now, outside of Stave, and senior Curt Phillips, the Badgers have a lot of unknowns on the roster. Two freshmen who certainly look the part, Thad Armstrong and Bart Houston come to mind. Conner Senger, a freshman from Milwaukee that I have personally interviewed, is undersized but is a good football player. Another option would be a sophomore named Tanner McEvoy.

Bottom line, whether it is Joel Stave, or someone else, the Badgers need better play out of the quarterback play out of the quarterback position then what Stave gave them this season.  

Ball and White in the Backfield at the same time?

University of Wisconsin coach Bret Bielema was teasing senior running back Montee Ball during football practice on Tuesday about a potential position switch.

“I was giving Montee some heat,” Bielema said. “We finally found his right position — at fullback.”

The Badgers returned from last week’s spring break and opened the doors to the media for the first time. They also unveiled a backfield at times that included two running backs — Ball and junior James White.

UW fans don’t need to be alarmed about Ball, a Heisman Trophy finalist last year who rushed for 1,923 yards and scored 39 touchdowns, moving to a new spot.

But the UW coaches would like to find a bigger role for White, whose statistics dropped last season as Ball emerged as the team’s workhorse.

White still had solid numbers, rushing for 713 yards and averaging 5.1 yards per carry. But it was a dramatic dip from 2010, when he rushed for 1,052 yards and averaged 6.7 per attempt as a true freshman.

“As a competitor, you want to play more,” running backs coach Thomas Hammock said. “So I think he wants to play more. He’s putting in the work to play more. Obviously, he’s doing enough things to say, maybe we need to put them both on the field.”

Bielema said the Badgers put in a package with Ball and White together in the backfield last season, but didn’t really get to it.

“I believe it was game seven, we put it in,” Bielema said. “Our other stuff was working so well, we never expanded the package.”

One thing that makes the combination possible is both are excellent receivers. Ball caught 24 passes for 306 yards and six scores last season, while White caught 15 for 150.

It might be an interesting season.  GO BUCKY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Time for Spring Football

Despite losing a former Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year to the NFL, you won’t find much anxiety aimed at the Wisconsin football team’s running game for the upcoming season.

As John Clay prepares for the next stage in his career, the long bloodline of great Wisconsin running backs continues to produce its thoroughbreds, and the backfield is once again primed to be the offense’s strength.

Two-thirds of the famed “Three-Headed Monster” that was Wisconsin’s running attack last season returns for more this spring, along with a new face and a forgotten one.

Junior Montee Ball and sophomore James White — who together churned out 2,008 of the 3,060 total yards of the “Monster” — are now joined by redshirt freshman Jeffrey Lewis and rejoined by redshirt senior Zach Brown.

Clay, however, is not the only member of the running back family freshly departed from the Badgers. John Settle, the running backs coach for the last five years, ended his tenure at Madison by accepting the same job with the Carolina Panthers in the NFL.

Thomas Hammock, a former running back at Northern Illinois and running backs coach at Minnesota, replaces Settle as the running back patriarch. According to all four of Wisconsin’s running backs, Hammock brings a much less laid-back approach to coaching than his predecessor.

“A lot more punishment man, a lot more punishment,” Lewis said of Hammock’s style.

And under Hammock, all four players are looking to improve their game in various ways this spring.

Let's hope the Badgers can return to a BCS Bowl Game.  GO BUCKY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Head coach Bret Bielema discussed some of the key players in Saturday's win over Austin Peay, as well as the Badgers' upcoming game and Big Ten opener at Michigan State.

Bielema began the press conference by stating his excitement for getting into Big Ten play.  He then went on to focus on some of the key players in Saturday's record 70-3 victory over Austin Peay, as well as the team's preparation for rival Michigan State.

Freshman running back James White was the offensive MVP in the team's victory this week, carrying the ball 11 times for 145 yards and scoring a remarkable four touchdowns.  White joins Ron Dayne as the second freshman in Badger history to score four rushing touchdowns in one game.  White was also named Big Ten Freshman of the Week for his performance.

"[It was] fun to see him grow and get those touchdowns. That was really neat for his confidence," Bielema said.

On defense, Bielema named junior defensive back Aaron Henry team MVP. Henry racked up four tackles and a career-high three pass breakups in the win on Saturday.

"[Henry has] played his most two complete games back to back," Bielema said.

Bielema said he is also very excited about where his team is from a health standpoint.

"Since fall camp started, this is the healthiest we have been ...We were able to rest a few guys in the second half Saturday, which was critical because there were a number of guys that we didn't know if they were going to be able to actually play in the game," Bielema said. "For us to be able to get those things done on Saturday without them being out there was very, very big in our preparation for this week."

The Badgers must have a strong focus this week in preparation for Michigan State.

"We know that going up there is a tremendous challenge.  I think they are rolling pretty good as a 4-0 football team," Bielema said.

This year, the Spartans have shown a very strong running game, racking up over 900 yards already.  They also have a very efficient quarterback, Kirk Cousins, who has completed 67 percent of his passes thus far.

It is not just Michigan State's offense that worries Bielema though, it is their defense as well.  

"To me, they might feature the best defensive player from last year's film, and he is playing at high level this year, Greg Jones.  He is a guy that is just really, really special to watch," Bielema said.

The Senior All-American linebacker was named the Big Ten Defensive Co-Player of the Week after recording the first two interceptions of his career, along with four tackles and a forced fumble, in the Spartans' 45-7 win over Northern Colorado on Saturday.

The Badgers will have their work cut out for them going to Michigan State on Saturday, with the Spartans holding a 14-7 advantage in games played in East Lansing, and hope to improve upon the 2-2 record they have under Bret Bielema in conference openers.

Lets hope the Badgers can win at Michigan State. GO BUCKY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!