Practice Report No. 3: Hump day
December 25, 2008 | Football
For those of you that don't remember the practice reports here on UWBadgers.com from fall camp, each day Brian Lucas and Rudy Nigl will bring fans inside the team's Champs Sports Bowl practices with an in-depth look at the day's work.
Breakdown: By far the warmest Christmas Eve for the majority of players and staff. Just a beautiful day in Orlando today with temperatures in the mid 80s and partly cloudy skies. With that backdrop, the Badgers practiced 18 periods in shoulder pads and helmets. Wednesday practices usually mark the beginning of the end, so to speak, as the team makes final preparations for Saturday's game. Today was no different as practice started with individual periods before breaking up into offense and defense vs. the scout teams.
Play of the day (offense): I concentrated on the offensive line today (as you can see from some of the pictures below). As would be expected from a group that has as much experience together as our five starters (Vanden Heuvel, Urbik, Moffitt, Kemp and Carimi) their synchronization with the many intricacies of the various plays in outstanding (that last sentence reads as if it were written by Don King). What I mean to say is that they always seem to know where to be, and probably just as important, where the other four guys are going to be.
Play of the day (defense): The newly formed linebacking trio of Jaevery McFadden, Culmer St. Jean and DeAndre Levy showcased their speed on numerous occasions, keeping contain on the outside while also plugging holes in the middle.
Crocodile hunter: Redshirt freshman linebacker Tony Megna provided a little excitement before the start of practice. As the guys were getting their gear on in the locker room, a lizard broke loose and started quite a commotion. Megna swooped in and grabbed the critter. Rumors circulated about what happened next but there were monetary offers for Megna to make it a pre-practice snack.
Off kilter: As you can see from one of the photos below, the goalposts are a little crooked on our practice field. The one in the photo is actually better than the one on the far side of the field.
Overheard: 'On the line.' A common phrase at practice uttered by a coach (or coaches) who didn't like what they saw when the play was run the first time and want to run the play again. Perfect practice makes playing perfection (or something like that).
Up Next: The Badgers will celebrate Christmas with a team brunch in the morning then concentrate on fine tuning the game plan for Florida State, practicing from about 1:30-3 p.m.
