Bevell. Bollinger. Sorgi. Stocco. The name changes but the quarterback stays pretty much the same here in Badgerland. A bunch of pocket-passers who seem to excel half the time and collapse the other half. All of them have/had strong arms but were not that mobile, not that accurate and not that dangerous. But you know what? I'm OK with all that.
Junior quarterback John Stocco has come under a tremendous amount of fire in the past two seasons. Many around the country have said that if UW could just get a little quality play from the quarterback spot, they'd be much better.
I'm not sure where his performance against Michigan last week stands (seven rushes for -14 yards, 147 yards passing, 15 of 32 completions and one touchdown), but it's what we've come to expect from Stocco and it really isn't that bad.
For better or worse, the kid can win games. As a redshirt freshman in 2003, Stocco led the Badgers on a last-ditch drive against then-No. 17 Iowa Hawkeyes in the last game of the regular season. While Stocco and crew came up just short, the effort was commendable and showed promise. In 2004, though he was propped up by a ridiculously talented defense, Stocco revealed he'd been hiding a little talent in UW's wins over Ohio State, Purdue and Minnesota.
In those three games, Stocco threw for four touchdowns and 678 yards, all this amidst a run-first offense that usually got the job done on the ground no matter who was lined up behind Stocco.
Say what you will about his performance against Georgia in the Outback Bowl (personally, I'd rather forget it too), but this kid has a history of coming up with clutch plays. Last year against Purdue, he led UW down the field with one pass after another and succeeded where then-Heisman-front runner Kyle Orton could not. Against Minnesota in '04, Stocco was nothing short of spectacular, and I find it hard to believe shades of talent like that can just up and disappear completely.
Against Michigan this year Stocco got the job done again. Maybe not on the statistical side of things but surely on the mental side. Stocco had just thrown an interception right to Morgan Trent, but he was able to put it behind him on the ensuing possession. Stocco nailed two passes for nine yards each in that final drive and didn't seem to flinch when he ran that fateful four-yard draw play.
After all is said and done, we could have a better man in at the position, but we could certainly have worse. For my money, I like Stocco for the never-give-up attitude and the constant improvement he seeks in every facet of his game.
Connor is a Junior unsure of his major. Talk to him at cgmcknight@wisc.edu.
