After an impressive start this season in which the Badgers are 3-0, Head Coach Barry Alvarez praised his team for their success and hard work, but he said he thinks there is room for improvement.
Alvarez is proud of what his team has accomplished, especially the young receiving corps. He will look for a solid performance from them when the team kicks off against Northern Illinois University (1-1 overall) Saturday.
\We recruited some pretty good ones. It pans out sometimes and we get lucky,"" Alvarez said.
This year, Alvarez has seen what his new recruits can do, especially with senior wide receiver Lee Evans watching from the sidelines early in the season. The tremendous talent is coming from some of the younger players, who are just discovering the challenges of college football.
""We're fortunate some of our young guys have been able to help right away and came in ready to play right away,"" Alvarez said.
Young players like freshmen wide receivers Jonathon Orr, Brandon Williams and Brandon White are becoming the go-to guys. Orr redshirted last year and is now the team's leading receiver. He also set the school record for freshman receiving yards against UNLV, when he caught seven passes for 150 yards. Williams is a true freshman who came up big against West Virginia with 125 receiving yards and White, another true freshman, has the potential to improve as the season continues.
Alvarez is fortunate to have these young players step up and produce as they have done in the past.
""These guys have to come in'many of them from out-of-state'and make that adjustment to the speed of college football, coming to a new area and to college life like all freshmen do. Some mature better than others and become better players,"" Alvarez said.
Sophomore running back Anthony Davis is working on becoming more of an offensive threat in his passing game. Alvarez is focusing more on Davis receiving passes when teams find ways to stop his running game.
""He's a check down, the last resort,"" Alvarez said. ""He didn't come in here with the best of hands, but he has improved them considerably. It's more important to have him for 13 games and to keep him fresh for four quarters.""
Running back Dwayne Smith, another true freshman, is another potential threat, as he can pound his way through the endzone. This season, he has racked up two touchdowns and 76 yards in the three games played.
Sophomore punter R.J. Morse is also impressing Alvarez, and he has 591 yards on 16 punts, for an average of 36.9 yards per punt, to show it.
""He's developed a knack to get the ball up and hang it. He put a lot of work in and it doesn't surprise me that he's been able to put the ball where he wants it,"" Alvarez said.
Despite the team's success thus far, Alvarez thinks there is room for improvement and no need for the players to get overconfident.
""These guys haven't had an easy time'we haven't done anything. The penalties are ridiculous [and] that's what we need to work on,"" Alvarez said.
Inside linebacker Alex Lewis, a junior college transfer from SUNY-Morrisville, echoed Alvarez.
""We have to treat everybody just the same; you have to have respect for everyone,"" Lewis said. ""This is Division I level right here so everybody has the potential. I have to work on the pass drop, formations and a little bit of everything else. I'm new here, it's like I am a newborn baby all over again.""
Alvarez is preparing the team for Saturday's game by watching films and studying plays to get a feel for some of the things the Huskies might pull Saturday.
""We have to study their tendencies on offense, what their strengths are and defend formations,"" Alvarez said.
When the Badgers step up against NIU Saturday, they know they cannot take their opponents lightly, even with the Huskies' top running back, senior Thomas Hammock.
""We just have to go out and work hard against this team because they are not going to give up,"" said junior free safety Ryan Aiello.
