BY MIKE LUCAS
UWBadgers.com Senior Writer
MADISON, Wis. — Preparation has never been an issue for Wisconsin's Alex Hornibrook.
On the contrary.
Preparation has been a passion for the 6-foot-4, 219-pound quarterback. Never more so than this week preparing for his first collegiate start at Michigan State.
"When you're at practice with him," said Alex Ingold, "he's intense."
But this is nothing new for Hornibrook, according to Ingold, his roommate.
"He has been working his tail off ever since I met him," said Ingold, a sophomore fullback from Green Bay. "He just has that demeanor where he's going to outwork anyone he can."
To shed light on Hornibrook's time commitment, he called it, "Hourless hours in the film room."
And to accent that point, Ingold added, "He's hardly home. He's always putting in the extra work. And it's really cool to see him do something so special like that."
Ingold and Hornibrook are living together on campus. They're sharing a house with three teammates: defensive lineman Kraig Howe and offensive linemen David Moorman and Kevin Estes.
"You see him in the summer, and he's always at McClain, just throwing all the time," said Ingold, referring to UW's indoor practice facility. "He's tireless in his work ethic."
Hornibrook's high school coach saw the same things in Hornibrook at an earlier stage; an instructive look back since he has been saying the same things this week about his former QB.
"He has instincts that few quarterbacks have and an incredible work ethic," said Aaron Brady, who coached Hornibrook during his senior year at Malvern Prep, a private boys school in Pennsylvania.
Brady had much more to say back then about Hornibrook's "high football acumen" to DreamBackfield, a college sports web site on the East Coast. He called him a student of the game.
"Alex has natural ability that you can't teach," Brady said. "He loves to learn about the game. Alex is always studying things like coverages and routes. He's always looking to get better."
Brady's first comments on Hornibrook came in June of 2014. They came shortly after Hornibrook verbally committed to the University of Pittsburgh, whose head coach was then Paul Chryst.
In January of 2015, Hornibrook announced via Twitter that he would not attend Pitt. Instead, he decided to follow Chryst to Madison. Such is the trust that Hornibrook has in Chryst and his system.
As a redshirt freshman, Hornibrook has already impacted the offense as a backup to starter Bart Houston. Now he has an opportunity for a much more substantial impact in the Big Ten opener.
Last Saturday, Hornibrook replaced Houston in the third quarter and guided the Badgers on three scoring drives. He completed 8 of 12 passes for 122 yards and a touchdown.
A week earlier, Hornibrook threw his first career TD pass in the Akron blowout. Fittingly, the recipient was his roomie, Ingold, who chalked up his first career receiving score.
"Tight spiral every time — facemask level," Ingold said of Hornibrook's left-handed delivery.
Obviously, they're tight, good friends. Ingold has already learned that Hornibrook isn't much for talking, especially small talk on the night before a game — even though he has yet to start one.
"Alex is in a zone, he's all over the playbook," said Ingold. "He's locked in; he's ready from Tuesday afternoon on. Maybe he will let loose and watch a TV show with me every once in awhile."
Hornibrook conceded that Ingold wasn't exaggerating about his Friday night routine. "Usually, I'll go over some plays and we'll watch some football," he said. "Usually, I'm in bed pretty early."
As for his work habits, and meticulous preparation skills, Hornibrook explained, "When I was a freshman (in high school), backing up the varsity (QB), I was always watching film.
"I started off looking at players on defense and what they were running and what was open and stuff (for his receivers). Obviously, when I got here, Coach Chryst showed me how to (prepare)."
In April, Hornibrook and his roommates took a trip to Milwaukee for a Brewers game at Miller Park. Growing up in suburban Philadelphia, he's a fan of the Phillies. His uncle, Ben Davis, is a color analyst on the Phillies' television broadcasts. Davis, a former No. 2 draft pick, played seven years in the majors.
Another uncle played basketball for former Wisconsin head coach Bo Ryan at Sun Valley High School in Aston, Pennsylvania. Ryan is a Chester native. Hornibrook is from West Chester.
Athleticism runs in the family. Hornibrook's dad, Jeff, played football at Temple and his mom, Dawn, played basketball at Gettysburg. His 21-year-old sister Mackenzie is a swimmer at Penn State.
Musically, country runs in Hornibrook's veins. Dierks Bentley, Eric Church, Brad Paisley, Kip Moore and Jon Pardi would be among his "go-to" artists.
"I'm so happy for him," Ingold said, "seeing him step up in his role."
• • • •
Ingold has likewise "stepped up" as a fullback. As a true freshman, he made the switch from scout team linebacker to short yardage/goal line tailback. He rushed for six touchdowns.
Adopting to the "physicality" of a blocking position has been an adjustment.
"This past game," he said of Georgia State, "coming in with more of a mental edge, a little more anger and a little bit more emotion, I felt like that helped me play a lot better.
"That's something that I didn't have last year and the years prior in high school (Bay Port). Finding that balance of my emotion and how I need to play is helping me out so far."
Last spring, Ingold carried around 250 pounds on his 6-2 frame. He has trimmed down to 235. "I feel better, a lot more mobile," he said. "I feel like this is the weight I want to play at."
Once entering a game, Ingold wants to do a better job at getting up to speed.
"I just have to get a little more comfortable on that first drive," he said. "I need to settle down a little bit at the beginning of the game. Once I set my pads and everything, I'm ready to roll."
Ingold's tag-team partner, fullback Austin Ramesh, can relate to the need for urgency.
"If you go out there and your first block is really good, it sets a good tempo for yourself," said Ramesh. "We practice against our defense all week, one of the best defenses you can play against.
"So we come into the game with a bit of confidence."
Ingold and Ramesh have been feeding off each other through the first three games.
"We're always encouraging each other to make the block that you have to make," said Ramesh, a redshirt junior from Land O'Lakes (Northland Pines).
"Every time we come off the field, the other is waiting right there to give feedback, or whatever, to kind of help them with the looks that they're getting.
"When you're out there, with the speed of the game, it's hard to see everything. So an extra set of eyes on the sidelines is always nice to have."
UW head coach Paul Chryst has found productive ways to utilize both fullbacks. Like handing them the rock. Or tossing it to them. Who knew they could run or catch?
Ramesh didn't have any carries through the first 16 games of his UW career.
This year, he has seven rushes for 23 yards and a TD. He also has a catch for 11 yards.
Ingold has three rushes for 8 yards. He also has four catches for 21 yards and a score.
Doesn't sound like much. But it's a notable workload for how the position has been defined.
"It's a little bit of a surprise, I'm glad it's happening, I'm sure we both are; it's a little bit of a reward for us," said Ramesh. "But we know what our job is first and foremost."
That's still blocking — leading interference for the tailbacks.
But this has been a nice change of pace. Ingold didn't see it coming, either.
"No way," he said. "I thought that was something that might take a little longer to get the coaches' trust, to get on the field a little bit, and see what we could do, and then build from there.
"We've been doing it in practice and I think that's why they've been rewarding us in games. We're both getting the ball, we're getting the love. It's pretty special how we're using the fullbacks."
This trend actually started developing in the Holiday Bowl. Fullback Derek Watt had five carries for 32 yards against USC. He also had a couple of catches in Wisconsin's 23-21 win.
"Maybe seeing how he could contribute to the team set the stage for us this year," said Ingold, who's not complaining. Neither is Ramesh. Now it will be up to Hornibrook to keep feeding them.
