Brinkley picks apart Marshall
September 06, 2008 | Football
Niles Brinkley knows how to catch a football. When he came to Wisconsin in 2006, he was projected to play as a receiver and had more than 60 catches and more than 1,000 receiving yards in two years at Beaumont High School in St. Louis, Mo.
Today, Brinkley added two more catches to his list. The Badgers' defensive back had his first and second career interceptions to help the UW knock off the Marshall Thundering Herd, 51-14, Saturday afternoon at Camp Randall Stadium.
His first interception helped spark the Badgers as they began the second half. Brinkley picked off Marshall quarterback Mark Cann on third-and-11 during the opening drive of the third quarter. Brinkley returned the interception 16 yards into Thundering Herd territory. Four plays later, the Badgers were in the end zone and turning things around after trailing 14-0 early in first half.
'For the first (interception), I was basically just reading my keys, going through the progressions, doing what the coaches tell me,' Brinkley said. 'Before the half, I was telling (the coaches) that the quarterback, he's looking away and then he's just turning and throwing the ball. We have to make a play when he does that. I saw him throwing the ball and I just broke on the ball. There wasn't anything going through my mind, I was just focused on the receiver and trying to make a play.'
Wisconsin kept the momentum up and, on the next Marshall drive, Shane Carter picked off another pass. Carter led the Big Ten in interceptions during the 2007 season with seven picks and is happy to see Brinkley following in his footsteps.
'I think the interceptions were really big for Niles,' Carter said. 'It gave him the confidence with Fresno State coming up and the Big Ten season coming. I'm happy for him and I think he's ready to play.
'I hope he's trying to copy me with the interceptions. Anytime we get turnovers, that's big for the defense and the whole team.'
The Badgers found the end zone after Carter's interception to put the score at 31-14. Marshall then started its ensuing drive but, after just one play, Brinkley picked off quarterback Brian Anderson and returned it one yard to put Wisconsin at the Herd 's 49-yard-line.
'When anybody gets a pick for their first time, their confidence is going to go up and they'll get more comfortable,' Badger redshirt freshman cornerback Mario Goins said. 'He just did a really great job out there and he's starting to get the hang of it and he's doing his thing.'
While Brinkley played both offense and defense in high school, he's been learning how to make the transition to solely focusing on the defensive side of the ball.
'Wisconsin is a physical team,' Brinkley said. 'The offense is aggressive and the defense is aggressive. You have to be more aggressive on defense than on offense because you're always taking on blocks, you always have to hit, you always have to make contact. Offense doesn't have to make as much contact as defensive players. You have to be a little bit more aggressive and have a little attitude and edge on defense.'
Brinkley and the rest of the Badger defense struggled a bit in the first half by allowing 14 points and 218 yards (183 of which came as passing yards). The Badgers then shut out Marshall in the second half, limiting the Thundering Herd to 314 total yards for the game, including only 56 through the air after halftime.
'We really didn't adjust much,' Brinkley said. 'We just had to focus and be ready to come back on the field and stop them. Once we focused and we gathered ourselves, we played up to our potential.'
