The UW football team entered training camp with a number of questions, and the players knew that many spots on the two-deep depth chart were up for grabs.
The biggest question for the Badgers surrounded who would win the highly contested battle for quarterback. Fifth-year senior Tyler Donovan had the edge going into camp, but junior transfer Allan Evridge made a strong push during the second week before stalling in week three.
It's very hard for me as a head coach to envision [Donovan] not being the guy,"" head coach Bret Bielema said at Big Ten Media Days in Chicago. ""He has a lot of advantages over [Evridge].""
Bielema also made it clear that he wanted to make his decision by August 22 - 10 days before the opener against Washington State. In the end, neither quarterback took charge of the competition and both made plenty of mistakes, yet they proved that either one was good enough to lead a talented team that returns its top two receivers, tight ends and running backs.
Donovan was named the starter - the safe choice because the coaches already know he can win. Filling in for John Stocco at Iowa last season, Donovan led the Badgers to a tight victory over the Hawkeyes, which even Stocco failed to do the two years prior.
By no means is Donovan the clear starter for all 12 regular season games, but Bielema has made it clear he won't be platooning the quarterbacks. Donovan will get an early opportunity to prove himself Saturday against a decent Washington State team, and Evridge could see playing time late if UW builds a comfortable lead.
If not, expect to see Evridge get some reps against UNLV and The Citadel - two teams that will have no shot at beating the Badgers.
The two other important position battles were at left tackle and punt/kick returner.
Freshman Gabe Carimi and sophomore Jake Bscherer were the favorites to replace Joe Thomas as camp kicked off, but as the days passed, it was clear that Bscherer was not going to be the guy. Eventually he was moved to right tackle where he will back up junior Eric Vanden Heuvel. Fifth-year senior Danny Kaye was given a shot to challenge Carimi, but it will be the sophomore who starts Saturday. Kaye will back up both Carimi at left tackle and senior Marcus Coleman at center.
Meanwhile, five players were given the opportunity to return punts in camp, but senior Luke Swan, junior Marcus Randle El and freshman David Gilreath took charge of the battle. Randle El frustrated Bielema by putting a number of balls on the ground, and the head coach decided to go with Swan. Gilreath, however, is clearly the fastest and most talented of the three and probably will get the opportunity at some point. The freshman has some Devin Hester in him and will at least be returning kickoffs Saturday alongside sophomore Josh Nettles. Expect Gilreath to be a fan favorite.
The biggest question on defense entering camp was at safety, but now it is at defensive end where junior Jamal Cooper was named the starter last Wednesday only to be kicked off the team after an alleged incident in practice two days later.
Senior Kurt Ware will start at defensive end Saturday, but he missed a significant portion of camp with knee problems. He is backed up by unproven senior Brandon Kelly.
