BY MIKE LUCAS
UWBadgers.com Senior Writer
MADISON, Wis. — Wisconsin linebacker T.J. Edwards was so happy to be back playing football again that he didn't even mind being put on his back by Akron's Warren Ball.
Well, actually, he did mind getting trucked.
"He bounced off me pretty easily," Edwards said.
The 232-pound Ball, a former Ohio State tailback, made the most of his second-quarter run by churning for 38 yards before UW cornerback Derrick Tindal forced a fumble that was recovered by Sojourn Shelton.
Some of Edwards' teammates razzed him on the sideline, a good-natured sign of respect for last season's leading tackler who missed the LSU opener while still rehabbing from a fractured foot.
Edwards knows that Ball's long run will come up in the film review, too.
"I'm sure I will hear about it," he said with a sheepish grin. "But I'll take it because I feel good. Now, I can actually start focusing on playing football again."
Edwards was all smiles after Saturday's 54-10 rout of Akron because of how the Badgers dominated on defense — limiting the Zips to 10 first downs and just one third-down conversion.
"We have a relentless mentality," he emphasized.
And, of course, he's a big part of it. Again.
"The run out of the tunnel today felt different," he admitted. "It felt more special."
Special because he has learned to take nothing for granted after the late summer injury.
"When you're hurt, you feel like you're redshirting again," said Edwards, a third-year sophomore from Lake Villa, Illinois, "You're just riding the (stationary) bike ….
Peddling and watching practice from a perch on the sideline, a safe distance from the action.
Edwards wasn't cleared for full contact until this week.
"It has been really hard seeing my guys battling (without him)," he said. "At the start of the week, I felt good and I wanted to give it a shot. I wanted to be out there next to them."
"Them" is the linebacker corps, specifically the inside 'backers. Edwards played a couple of series each half against Akron. He even came up with his first career quarterback sack.
"I love T.J., he's one of my best friends," said junior Jack Cichy, the leading tackler in the LSU win. "Having him back brought a smile on my face and I know it brought a smile on his face.
"He's one of our main guys and we're going to look to him at certain points to make plays. Obviously, he's gone through a lot of ups and downs. But he's back and ready to go."
There was a positive development during Edwards' injury rehab.
"It was the mental aspect of seeing the bigger picture of everything," said Edwards, a former quarterback at Lakes Community High School, a little more than 40 miles from Chicago. "And it was being able to really look at the playbook and study it — not just my position, but everyone else's.
"It also gave me a chance to realize how valuable being healthy is."
The sad irony is that Edwards' replacement against LSU was sophomore Chris Orr, who injured his knee on the first defensive snap of the game and has been lost for the season with a torn ACL.
"Chris and I are really close," Edwards said. "He was helping me throughout my injury and now it's my turn to help him. He has been really good with the whole thing.
"But it was kind of weird. Last week, I was watching him get ready for that game. And now this week he was watching me. Tough situation to be in. But if anyone will bounce back, it will be Chris."
In the season opener, Ryan Connelly stepped in for Orr and responded with seven tackles in the 16-14 win over LSU at Lambeau Field. On Saturday, Connelly made his first career start.
"Ryan finally got his shot and he's making the most of it," Edwards said. "It's awesome to see because we came in together. He's a great guy and he's showing people that he's a great player."
Last spring, the Badgers moved Leon Jacobs from linebacker to fullback, where he was No. 3 behind Austin Ramesh and Alec Ingold. This week, he returned to defense because of depth concerns.
"Leon coming over has not only added some depth but definitely the intimidation factor to our linebacker corps," said Edwards. "All he's going to do is help us improve."
Jacobs had two tackles, including a sack, against Akron.
"Leon is just so versatile," Cichy said. "You can just look at him — he's an athlete. And you can put him anywhere and he's going to find a way to get it done."
That seems to be a rallying cry for everyone on defense.
"It's one of those things where we can rotate guys and they will all come in and make plays," said safety Leo Musso. "That's what is expected of our defense, it's the next-man-in mentality."
And it's about never settling for less than you can give or being satisfied with the results.
The Badgers were anything but complacent against the overmatched Zips.
"We definitely have some corrections that we need to fix," Edwards said. "But it's a carryover from last week. We're a team that is going to come out and play hard every week. That's our goal.
"We want to be able to communicate well on defense and know what we're doing so we can let it loose, and I think we did that pretty good (against Akron)."
Edwards singled out first-year defensive coordinator Justin Wilcox for his input, and impact.
"The one thing with Coach Wilcox is that he trusts you a lot," he said. "He trusts you right off the bat. He kind of lets you take the wheel and he's always there making sure we're into it (mentally).
"There's not a person on the sidelines who's not into the game. That's kind of his thing. He's an up-tempo guy and that's what we love about him."
LSU and Akron are in different football universes. But after facing a more conventional, old-school offense from the Tigers, the Badgers got to work against a spread attack in the home opener.
"Entirely different game this week," said Cichy. "Last week, we had to try and stop the run and control the line of scrimmage.
"This week, it was a little more run-and-gun. They threw a lot more. It was less physical but we had to win with our athleticism and knowing our roles."
Akron coach Terry Bowden knew that it would come down to the trenches, the line of scrimmage. "I was worried that we couldn't match up physically," he said, "and we couldn't."
Pointing to the UW's front seven, he added, "They're really good at stopping the run."
He didn't get an argument.
"We have the best front seven in the country," claimed Musso, who picked off a pass against the Zips, "and it makes our job really easy back there when they're rushing the quarterback."
Bowden saw something else in the makeup of the players and the process.
"They remind me of Nebraska of the '80s and '90s," he said of the developmental tact. "They develop players in this program … and they're Wisconsin guys and they bleed the Wisconsin colors."
Bowden went on to note, "Their defense is always fresh."
That's because of a ball-control offense and a one-sided advantage in time of possession.
"To me," Bowden said, "it's the way they play football, and they do it really good."
The Badgers had the ball for 40 minutes and 52 seconds.
"We can't ask anything more from them," Edwards said.
After Saturday's win and return to action, Edwards was looking forward to a family reunion. His older brother is an engineer for an oil company in Dallas and flew to Madison for the game.
"And my mom will be waiting for me outside (the locker room)," he said. "She'll give me a big hug. I'm sure that she's happy to see me healthy again." Cathy Edwards is not alone.
