During the Badgers' spring practice last season, the number one question was who would fill the vacant wide receiver spots previously held by four-year starters Brandon Williams and Jonathan Orr. This year, however, few wonder about the Badger receiver situation as UW enters the season with a deep and experienced core of wideouts.
Wisconsin returnees are led by seniors Paul Hubbard and Luke Swan who combined to start 23 games last season and were second and third on the team in receptions and yards, respectively. The accolades are not going to their heads as they are embracing their new roles as team leaders.
""[Swan and I will be] very important,"" Hubbard said. ""Just going through the motions is not going to help us. We have to go through everything 100 percent the right way every time because we have young guys behind us looking to us to do things right. If they have problems they are going to come to us if they don't go to Coach [Henry] Mason.""
Some of the young receivers that Hubbard was referring to are sophomores Xavier Harris and Isaac Anderson. Harris caught six passes for 43 yards last season and Anderson caught five balls for 49 yards. Badger quarterbacks have gotten the ball to these young players this spring but still feel more confident with the veterans.
""I would never hesitate to throw the ball deep to Hubbard, Swan and Beckum,"" said Junior quarterback Allan Evridge. ""I wouldn't think twice about letting the ball go and know that if they don't make the play then they won't let the other guy make the play.""
Last season Swan collected 35 catches for 595 yards and five touchdowns. In Tuesday's practice, he consistently made plays against a Badger pass defense that was considered one of the best in the country last season.
Hubbard caught five touchdowns last season and had 627 yards on 38 catches. In spring, he has shown flashes of channeling his immense athletic potential and speed and has worked to improve on the finer points of the game.
""Mainly I've been focusing on my deep-ball skills,"" he said. ""Getting down the field and making plays over guys. I've been working on stretching the field, being able to catch it in stride and getting yards for us. We have been working a lot of fades, a lot of posts and a lot of things that blow the top off the coverage. We've been working on those.""
The wildcard of this wide receiver group is junior Marcus Randle El. Randle El was projected to be a starter last season but injured his knee in fall camp and was forced to redshirt. The injury took a painful toll on the receiver last season.
""It was probably the hardest thing I've ever done. I don't think I started watching the games until the sixth game just because I was hurting,"" Randle El said. ""I would watch ESPN and just check the highlights. I couldn't just watch the game because it hurt me so much. Over the course of that period I was picking up weight and was really depressed. After that being around the team has helped me and brightened my days.""
Randle El is a receiver blessed with good hands and has spent this spring focusing on fundamentals and coming out of his routs faster. If he comes back strong from his injury it would make Wisconsin's wide receiver core even more dangerous.
The Badger receivers will be important in helping to acclimate whichever quarterback gets the starting job to the college game.
""We have to complement the quarterbacks more often,"" Hubbard said. ""Last season it was Stocco doing that for us. He was making the game a lot easier for us because he was a veteran. Now it is our turn to help Tyler [Donovan] and Allan Everidge out back there behind center. They are going to throw the ball and we have to go out there and make plays for them.""
It also seems that the top two potential signal callers feel confidence in the players who will be catching their passes.
""[Our receivers] are great,"" Evridge said. ""Our top three of Hubberd, Swan and Beckum are each tremendous receivers. We have a lot of talented wide receivers and have a good core. With those guys we have a pretty solid foundation.""
