When an offensive unit loses nine of its contributing players, the next season is always going to be a tremendous challenge. When injuries decimate the unit even further, the hill becomes an extremely tough one to climb. With junior fullback Chris Pressley and junior wideout Marcus Randle El suffering season-ending injuries and senior quarterback John Stocco recovering from knee surgery, the Badger football team certainly has some adversity to work through.
""Anytime you lose a good player, it affects you, [but] we have to move forward,"" offensive coordinator Paul Chryst said. ""That's not to minimize the impact Chris [and others] would have had for us, yet we need to move forward.""
Stocco's injury is obviously the most worrisome. Much of Wisconsin's success hinges on the arm of Stocco, who was named to the Maxwell Award (player of the year) watch list and has won more games in the past two seasons than all but three players, two of them named Vince Young and Matt Leinart. Not to mention the fact that he set many UW passing records as a part of last season's high-powered offense that led the Badgers to a 9-3 record, and is one of the few starters returning from that offense.
The surgery took place Aug. 11 to fix a re-occurrence of an injury Stocco sustained back in 2003. It is still unclear whether he will recover in time to start the season opener Sept. 2 against Bowling Green.
""What John does between now and Saturday will determine who starts the game,"" head coach Bret Bielema said in a press conference Monday.
Randle El and Pressley's injuries (which caused them to use medical redshirts) hurt the offense immensely as well. Both played more than anyone else on the current roster at their respective positions last season and their backups are extremely inexperienced. Pressley did a great job blocking for Brian Calhoun during the latter half of last season, and Randle El had a touchdown reception in the rout against Temple. The receiving corps has been further hurt by an injury to their highly touted freshman Lance Kendricks, but the coaches refuse to panic.
""We've got probably five or six guys that we'll rotate through, at least to start the season,"" receivers coach Henry Mason said. ""It's really going to come down to who can take it from the practice field to the game as we go into these first few games.""
""[Injuries and new players] do not change our philosophy or playcalling,"" Chryst said. ""The philosophy is to try to use our best players and fit their skills as we keep growing with this group here.""
If Stocco is not able to go against Bowling Green, junior Tyler Donovan will most likely get the start. Junior Paul Hubbard seems primed to take Randle El's spot, while sophomore Bill Rentmeester will replace Pressley at the fullback position. The matchup against Bowling Green starts at 6 p.m. Saturday and will air on ESPN Regional.
