Building depth

In the days leading up to the start of spring football practice, assistant director of athletic communications Brian Lucas will offer previews of each position, taking a look at a different one each day. Today we examine the Badger defensive line.

mid=3173"> --> Defensive line video preview (highlights and interviews)

Like its counterpart on offense, Wisconsin's defensive line faces some major renovations heading into 2009. Gone are Matt Shaughnessy, Jason Chapman and Mike Newkirk, a trio that combined to start 120 games, including all 13 a year ago. Defensive end O 'Brien Schofield joined those three in starting every game last season and will be a senior next year.

'As everyone knows there's some changes coming on the defensive line with three guys being lost to graduation,' defensive line coach Charlie Partridge said. 'We have to find out the personality of this group again.'

The question many fans have is who will be lining up next to Schofield on the line '

'J.J. Watt, coming out of his year where he had to sit because of the transfer, we're very excited about the progress he's made in the weight room, ' Partridge said. 'Patrick Butrym, Jeff Stehle, they're continuing to make progress each day in the weight room and from a mobility standpoint. Dan Moore is someone that we're probably going to take a look at inside as his body 's developed. He's approaching the 285 mark in terms of body weight.

'On the outside you're looking at Louis Nzegwu, continues to progress. As well as Brendan Kelly, who ended up redshirting last year because of the broken hand. Those are a lot of the guys fighting for playing time as we go into spring.'

While it may seem that coach Partridge listed off a lot of names, that is by design.

'I'd really like us to continue to progress to be playmakers through four quarters,' Partridge said. 'It's always been a goal of mine to have eight guys that you feel comfortable putting in at any time. So that's really something we're going to work towards, is to create some depth so that we know that come September, we're ready to play for four full quarters as a group. '

Last man standing
athid=5638&deptid=111"> --> O'Brien Schofield spent his first couple of seasons at UW as a linebacker and played mostly on special teams. After making the switch to defensive end, he earned his first career start in the 2008 Outback Bowl. Last season he started all 13 games and tied for the team lead with 5.0 sacks and ranked third on the team with 8.5 tackles for loss.

'O'Brien Schofield might have been our most improved player over the course of the year,' head coach Bret Bielema said. 'If you look at his first game versus his last game last year there was really a tremendous amount of improvement.'

The coaching staff is expecting more big plays from him in the upcoming season.

'Athletically, continue to put him in positions where his quickness and his speed can be featured,' Partridge said. 'Do everything we can to keep him on the edge and do those things to allow him to play.'

Along with his playmaking ability, Schofield knows his seniority casts him into a leadership position this season.

'Actually the coaches talked to me about being a leader because I have experience under my belt and I'm willing to embrace that role,' Schofield said.

'The thing that OB is very conscious of is that we need him to be a leader in that group,' Partridge said. 'Guys certainly respect what he was able to accomplish last year as a starter coming in and being an active player and making some plays for us. And he has taken that leadership role with a lot of pride. Every time they get together as a group, whether it's lifting or running, he does everything he can to be at the forefront of that group and make sure he's helping raise the level of everybody else during that time.'

In the middle
Three players who have seen action on the d-line during their careers along with one new face now seem poised to assume the defensive tackle positions vacated by Newkirk and Chapman. athid=5641&deptid=111"> --> Jeff Stehle will be a fifth-year senior next season and has appeared in 25 career games at UW. At 6-6, 290 pounds he has the size to clog the middle of the line.

athid=6974&deptid=111"> --> Dan Moore and athid=6569&deptid=111"> --> Patrick Butrym each played in all 13 a year ago, their first seasons as Badgers. Moore is a junior college transfer who recorded 19 tackles, playing mostly at defensive end. Butrym made five stops as a redshirt freshman.

'Patrick Butrym, Jeff Stehle were our back-ups at d-tackle. Obviously they 'll be moving up,' defensive coordinator Dave Doeren said. 'Dan Moore is a guy that will play a lot, whether he's at end or tackle still remains to be seen but a guy that was productive for the number of snaps he took a year ago. (He 's) a guy that we really look for a lot of.'

Another player in the mix for a spot at defensive tackle is athid=7368&deptid=111"> --> J.J. Watt . Watt spent last season on the Badgers' scout team after transferring from Central Michigan. He impressed the coaches enough with his work last season that he was named the defensive scout team player of the year.

'Defensive tackle you're going to have some guys come onto the scene, ' Bielema said.' Jeff Stehle, Patrick Butrym and a new player by the name of J.J. Watt who was a transfer who did a great job on our scout team a year ago. '

On the edge
With Shaughnessy's departure and Schofield entrenched at one end position, there are a few players vying for playing time at defensive end. athid=7380&deptid=111"> --> Brendan Kelly , athid=6733&deptid=111"> --> Louis Nzegwu and athid=7353&deptid=111"> --> Anthony Mains have similar builds, each standing at least 6-3 but not weighing more than 230 pounds last season.

'All of our d-line, I think (fans are) going to be surprised to see how much bigger guys are than they're used to from the weight gains by some of our players, ' Doeren said. 'Brendan Kelly and Anthony Mains, a lot of these guys are up 20 pounds. Louis Nzegwu, almost 30 pounds. Louis Nzegwu is a guy that we hope to get a lot out of next year.'

Kelly played as a true freshman last season but suffered a season-ending hand injury prior to the Ohio State game. Due to the timing of the injury, Kelly was allowed to use his redshirt season. Nzegwu appeared in 11 games last season as a redshirt freshman, mostly on special teams, while Mains redshirted as a true freshman last fall.

Building chemistry
Like the offensive line, the defensive front hopes to be able to become more comfortable with one another throughout the spring. With a number of new faces and Partiridge 's goal of building depth, the 15 practices coming up will be integral to the group's development.

'If we can get to that goal where we have seven or eight guys that are truly going to be in the mix and going to be playing, you really need to get them all used to be playing with each other,' Partridge said. 'It can be any combination of those seven or eight guys getting used to shuttling in and out during the course of a drive. That's something by the end of those 15 practices that we'd love for them to get a feel for.

'Maybe there's some guys that are geared for third down. Maybe there 's some guys that are more first, second or third and short. Just getting used to those rotations as we develop that depth this spring is something we'd like to get done by the end of spring practice.'

For Schofield, though it will be different not seeing Newkirk, Chapman and Shaughnessy in the huddle, he's excited to get started with a new group.

'That's going to be something different. That's another good thing about this year for spring ball we get a chance to build that chemistry with the new guys that are going to be added on to the d-line. That's something to look forward to.'

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