Inside the Huddle: Dooley, defense prepare to stop physical Michigan offense
November 18, 2017 | Football, Mike Lucas
Pryor, receivers fired up for to take on challenge of Wolverines’ secondary
 |
||
|
BY MIKE LUCAS
UWBadgers.com Senior Writer
MADISON, Wis. — Garret Dooley didn't have trouble getting to sleep on the eve of his first starting assignment in college football, even though he was replacing an injured Vince Biegel at outside linebacker.
"Actually, I slept pretty well," he said.
Now factor into the mix that Dooley was taking the field last October with Wisconsin's No. 1 defensive unit against Michigan in front of 111,846 in the Big House. Big deal?
"I remember before the game," he said, "it was pretty nerve wracking."
On the very first snap, the Wolverines' offensive tackle busted and Dooley had a clean shot on quarterback Wilton Speight, who has an Aaron Judge-sized strike zone at 6-foot-6 and 240-pounds.
"But I missed a wide-open sack," he lamented. "But after that play, the butterflies and the nerves started to calm down a little bit."
After the Badgers forced a punt, Dooley was able to exhale.
"As soon as the defense got off the field," he said, "I was able to relax a little bit. I've played in big-time games before and I kind of settled down. After that, I was just playing football."
In the fourth quarter, Dooley got another shot at Speight and he didn't miss — sacking him for a 10-yard loss. Dooley ended up with seven tackles. He had six through the first four games combined.
Dooley, a fifth-year senior, has been a late bloomer and a welcomed contributor to the defense. Last season, he had 33 tackles, 9.5 tackles for loss and 6.5 sacks. His only other start was against Ohio State.
A year later, the 6-3, 246-pound Dooley has become a fixture coming off the edge — highlighted by his performance in the Big Ten opener when he had 5.0 TFLs and 3.5 sacks against Northwestern.
Going into the Michigan rematch, the Badgers have gotten substantial production out of the bookends (Dooley and Leon Jacobs) and the backups (Andrew Van Ginkel and Tyler Johnson).
As such, they have established an identity separate from Biegel and T. J. Watt, no small feat. It's no different really for Jim Leonhard, who took over for Justin Wilcox, who took over for Dave Aranda.
Leonhard is Wisconsin's third defensive coordinator in as many seasons.
"Because he's such a young guy," Dooley said of the 35-year-old Leonhard, "he's fresh out of the league (NFL) and he played for so long (10 years), I think he still has that player's mindset.
"That's a way he can connect with all of us. He goes out there and he has fun. Whenever we have an inside drill, he'll play a corner and he'll do the run fits with us. That kind of stuff.
"That's why we love him so much and we love playing for him."
?? Wisconsin Senior Day ?? Be in your seat by 10:45am ?? Camp Randall Stadium Get there early. Get there loud. Let's send our seniors out right. #OnWisconsin || #Badgers
— Wisconsin Football (@BadgerFootball) November 15, 2017
Leonhard has not tried to reinvent the wheel — or a coverage for the wheel route.
"We really haven't changed schemes," Dooley said, "maybe a little wrinkle here or there."
Leonhard, a three-time All-American and member of the school's athletic Hall of Fame, has lent his personality to the defense without straying from the fundamental concepts that it has been built on.
"This university and this football program," said Dooley, who's from Rochester, Illinois, "brings in guys that know what Wisconsin football is all about. It's a brotherhood type deal.
"No one is out there playing for themselves. We're playing for each other and that's what makes this defense special."
Before Saturday's game, Dooley will put on headphones and immerse himself in heavy metal. He'll listen to Avenged Sevenfold and Disturbed, a group out of Chicago; among others.
"I'll have the same gameday playlist and I'll listen to the same songs, right in a row," he said. "I like to have body chills whenever I'm getting myself pumped. Listening to that stuff gets me hyped."
Watching film of Michigan serves the same purpose.
"They're similar to us in terms of wanting to really play good defense and control the clock as an offense," said Dooley. "They are going to play big-boy football."
That may be an accommodation for redshirt freshman quarterback Brandon Peters, who has replaced John O'Korn and started the last two games against Minnesota and Maryland.
Speight, who started the first four games, has returned to practice but he has not been cleared for contact. Speight was injured against Purdue (Sept. 23) and missed the last six games.
The Wolverines have rushed for over 270 yards in three of the past five Big Ten games, including 334 against Rutgers and 371 against the Gophers.
"They've been coming out in big personnel and running the ball," Dooley said. "I think that's their mentality, at least, for now. As a defense, we have to make sure we're physical and stop the run."
Winningest class of all time Backbone of @BadgerFootball This year's seniors pride themselves on leading by example. Saturday, they'll play their final game at Camp Randall Stadium. ???? http://go.wisc.edu/varsity-8-12
— Wisconsin Badgers (@UWBadgers) November 15, 2017
High "Q" Rating for Pryor
There are two snapshots from Kendric Pryor's high school basketball photo album that reveal his athleticism and poise under pressure and may foreshadow his future as a Big Ten wide receiver.
During his senior year at Homewood-Flossmoor, a suburban Chicago school, the 5-11 Pryor threw down a tomahawk dunk that got everyone out of their seats in a 70-47 romp over Joliet West.
"In high school, I was a freak athlete who could jump real high," boasted Pryor, a 2-guard with a 38.5-inch vertical jump. (He wasn't sure if any of his Badgers teammates could top that.)
Three weeks after that highlight reel slam, Pryor was in the spotlight again. Homewood-Flossmoor trailed Hillcrest, 60-59, when Pryor went to the free throw line with 39.5 seconds left.
Pryor said that he wasn't nervous at all and calmly sank both free throws to silence the crowd in the Hillcrest gym and lift his team to the win. He also added a couple of more dunks to his collection.
Given this backdrop, you can better understand why Wisconsin quarterback Alex Hornibrook has faith in Pryor winning the 50-50 balls. Pryor feels the same way.
"If Alex throws me a jump-ball," he said, "I should come down with it all the time."
Last Saturday, Pryor made believers out of Iowa as both a runner and receiver.
Following last night's #CFBPlayoff show, what are the the latest projections for @BadgerFootball? Each week, @AndyBaggot gathers and breaks down the Bowl Buzz
— Wisconsin Football (@BadgerFootball) November 15, 2017
Midway through the second quarter, Pryor took a handoff from Hornibrook on the end-around and quickly shifted his eyes downfield to see how the Hawkeyes were reacting to the misdirection.
"I felt like in my mind that I had to score," said Pryor, a redshirt freshman from Hazel Crest, Ill. "There was a corner and I had one of my offensive lineman."
Leading interference for Pryor was center Tyler Biadasz, who had pulled. The Badgers utilized Biadasz's mobility throughout the first half to gain a numerical advantage at the point of attack.
On the end-around, the 316-pound Biadasz lined up his target and overpowered Iowa's Manny Rugamba, making a difficult block — running full speed in the open field — look much easier than it was.
"Once I saw Tyler make that big block," Pryor said, "I thought, 'I'm going to get my first touchdown (as a Badger) right here.' I made sure to go up to Tyler and I said thank you."
Right guard Beau Benzschawel also pulled and picked off a defender to escort Pryor into the end zone on the 25-yard run. It was his first career score on his first career rushing attempt.
But he wasn't done scoring. Later in the second quarter, he won a jump-ball — reaching over the top of Rugamba — to pull down a 12-yard touchdown pass from Hornibrook.
"You can gain trust from your coaches and quarterback that you can go up-top and make those plays," Pryor said. "Q (Quintez Cephus) was making all those plays. And it shows we have other people who can do the same thing."
Cephus had six TDs before going down with a season-ending injury against the Hoosiers. "But last week, he still motivated us and encouraged us and after the game he congratulated all of us," Pryor said.
Pryor got a high Q rating from Cephus. But can the Triplets — sophomore A.J. Taylor, true freshman Danny Davis and Pryor — get separation on Michigan's defensive backs?
The Wolverines rank No. 2 nationally in pass defense (144.5 yards per game). Nobody has completed more than one touchdown pass against them. They've given up just seven overall.
How will Taylor, Davis and Pryor match up against cornerbacks Lavert Hill and David Long? How will they handle the safeties, Josh Metellus and Tyree Kinnel? This quartet has started every game.
But that streak might be in jeopardy because Hill suffered a concussion last Saturday against Maryland and missed the second half. If he's not available, Brandon Watson could replace him.
"It's really going to come down to us winning our one-on-ones — catching the contested balls, catching the 50-50s," said Pryor, who has at least once catch in each of the last five games.
"I consider our secondary to be one of the best (in the country) and going against them every day helps prepare us for a game like this."
Â
Feel Good Story
Before the season, if anyone were to suggest walk-on Adam Krumholz might get on the field against Michigan in one of the most meaningful games of the year, what would have been the reaction?
"I would have been like, 'Baloney. There's no way,'" confided the 6-1, 201-pound Krumholz, a redshirt freshman wide receiver from Stoughton. "But it has been like a dream."
A week ago, Krumholz lived out that dream against Iowa when he threw a key block on Bradrick Shaw's 8-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter.
When Krumholz got back to the Wisconsin sideline, you would have thought that he scored, not Shaw, because of the way his teammates greeted him and celebrated his block.
"It was awesome, it was a great feeling," Krumholz said. "I was just happy he scored. It was a great experience to help the team out."
Krumholz is raw as a receiver. At Stoughton, he went out for football as a freshman but played only half the season. He didn't go out his sophomore or junior year.
"I was really into track and basketball — those were my two sports," he said. "My high school football coach (Dan Prahl) called before my senior year to see if I wanted to try out.
"I said, 'I might as well since all my friends were playing football.'"
Krumholz caught 42 passes for 803 yards and 10 touchdowns in eight games.
His parents have had season tickets for Wisconsin games and he thought it would be cool to play at Camp Randall. So, he didn't have to think twice when the Badgers offered him a chance.
"Coming in, it was really tough on me knowing the fundamentals of route-running, the route names, the plays calls and stuff like that," he said. "It took awhile to get used to it."
But the 19-year-old Krumholz is starting to feel more comfortable in his role, whatever that may be, subject to change from game-to-game.
"He's trying to showcase what he can do," said Pryor. "And with that block against Iowa, he's gaining trust from the coaches. We're always happy with one of our brothers does something good."
Barry Alvarez is a "pretty boy"?! "Grandpa Barry" and senior safety Joe Ferguson sit down to share some laughs, life memories and football.
— Wisconsin Football (@BadgerFootball) November 15, 2017
Note to Quote
Eight former Michigan players are represented on the roster by their sons. Jack and Jared Wangler's dad is John Wangler, who's a part of Camp Randall lore. In 1980, the Wolverines had a fourth-and-1 from the UW 4. Because of the crowd noise in the student sections, Wangler pulled away from center seven times, resulting in two warnings and the Badgers being stripped of all their timeouts. That was followed by two delay-of-game penalties before Butch Woolfolk finally scored.
First and 10: Michigan
- Jim Harbaugh's coaching staff features seven assistants with NFL experience, including Greg Mattison, who was born in Madison and graduated from East High and UW-La Crosse.
- In 1999-2000, Paul Chryst coached the tight ends for Mike Riley and the San Diego Chargers while Harbaugh played quarterback. As the starter, he went 6-11 with 18 TDs/24 picks.
- Chryst's older brother, Geep Chryst, was the offensive coordinator during Harbaugh's two years in San Diego and later coached the tight ends for Harbaugh in San Francisco.
- Michigan has the best third-down defense in college football. Opponents have converted on just 23.7% (32-135). Wisconsin has the best third-down offense (.520, 66-127).
- Linebacker Khaleke Hudson, defensive end Chase Winovich and tackle Maurice Hurst rank 1-2-3 in the Big Ten in TFLs. Hudson had 16 tackles, 8 TFLs and 3 sacks vs. Minnesota.
- Placekicker Quinn Nordin, a Lou Groza award semifinalist, has converted on 4 of 6 field goals from more than 40 yards. But he has missed his last three attempts (37, 49, 31).
- For the first time in 26 years, the Wolverines have three tailbacks who have rushed for 500-plus yards in a season: Karan Higdon (854), Chris Evans (569) and Ty Isaac (548).
- Tight ends Sean McKeon and Zach Gentry have combined for 37 catches for 465 yards and four touchdowns. McKeon, the leading receiver, has at least one catch in nine of 10 games.
- Fifth-year senior linebacker Mike McCray is the only returning starter on defense. McCray is the second-leading tackler (61) behind Devin Bush who has 82 tackles, 9 TFLs and 5 sacks.
- Harbaugh has compared sophomore QB Brandon Peters (6-5, 220) to his former Stanford QB (Andrew Luck). Desmond Howard has compared him to Brian Griese and Elvis Grbac.
Quote to Note
On Saturday's pregame senior introductions, and running out of the Camp Randall Stadium tunnel for the final time on a game day, tight end Troy Fumagalli said, "You have to take a second, take a deep breath, take a look around and take a picture. Just appreciate it all."
It's Senior Day on Saturday for Troy Fumagalli and the #Badgers From walk-on to standout tight end, the big picture has come into focus for @TroyFumagalli. "I was always thinking that I belonged here. And I tried to prove it the best I could."
— Wisconsin Football (@BadgerFootball) November 16, 2017
