Lucas at Large: Old-school Ingold plays the hits
November 11, 2017 | Football, Mike Lucas, Varsity Magazine
Fullback ready when called upon in short-yardage situations
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BY MIKE LUCAS
UWBadgers.com Senior Writer
MADISON, Wis. — Strolling out of the Wisconsin locker room after Saturday's hard-earned 45-17 win over Indiana, fullback Alec Ingold was decompressing by listening to music.
What was playing in his earbuds?
"I don't want to say," he politely replied after being interrupted. "It's a little embarrassing."
Gently prodded for an explanation, he relented and confessed, "I like my '60s and '70s."
He was assured that there was nothing criminal about enjoying Baby Boomers music.
"I listen to the '60s, '70s, '80s Greatest Hits," divulged Ingold, a sturdily-built 246-pound junior out of Bay Port High School in Green Bay. "That settles me down after a game."
As for the song that he was listening to Saturday, the opening lyrics went like this:
Hey, where did we go
Days when the rains came?
Down in the hollow
Playing a new game
Laughing and a-running …
You guessed it. Or not. Ingold was listening to Van Morrison's classic hit "Brown Eyed Girl."
It just seemed so fitting that Ingold, a throwback player, would be listening to a throwback tune from 1967 when gas was 33 cents per gallon, a movie ticket was $1.25, and fullbacks were in vogue.
By many standards, the Badgers have forever been playing an old game — not a new game — and tailbacks have been laughing and a-running behind fullbacks.
You won't hear any complaints from Austin Ramesh, who was injured and didn't make the trip to Bloomington; nor Ingold, who has made the transition from linebacker to tailback to fullback.
Ingold, a former prep quarterback, has never been a stranger to the end zone. Going into the Indiana game, he had 80 touches (72 rushes) and 11 touchdowns (nine on the ground) in 32 games.
Last Saturday, on four carries for 6 yards, Ingold scored twice and picked up two first downs. It's hard to beat that efficiency, particularly since he also caught an 18-yard scoring pass.
Not once Not twice But thrice Alec Ingold scored three touchdowns to help lead the #Badgers in their road win at Indiana.
— Wisconsin Football (@BadgerFB) November 8, 2017
Quarterback Alex Hornibrook and Ingold room together on the road and that play-action pass was on the ready sheet, a play list of potential running and passing options for that week's opponent.
"The night before the game, it's fun to go through the game plan with Alex," Ingold said. "I just pick his brain a little bit because he knows everything inside and out (with the offense)."
When Ingold slipped out of the backfield, the Indiana defense ignored him. If he had been a DB or a linebacker, he admitted that he would have reacted the same way and left him uncovered.
"You're worried about getting blocked and about a running play," he said. "With that personnel, in that situation, we're running the ball nine times out of 10. That was the one time we didn't run it."
Lock in ?? It's trophy week ?? #OnWisconsin || #Badgers
— Wisconsin Football (@BadgerFB) November 8, 2017
And it worked out pretty well for Ingold; much better than another play in a goal-line sequence on Wisconsin's first offensive series of the game, a 72-yard drive that ended with a turnover.
On third-and-1 from the IU 8, Ingold got 2 yards and a first down. But two plays later, in a full-house backfield, he went the wrong way on his assignment and Garrett Groshek was tackled for a loss.
"It was just a mental error on my part," said Ingold, who inadvertently bumped into tight end Zander Neuville, who was lined up as the right fullback on the play. "It felt really terrible.
"I didn't get in for the next drive. I was just sitting there and I had a choice of getting down on myself and letting it affect the whole game. Or I could step up for my teammates."
Ingold obviously chose the latter. "That's what I tried to do," he said. "A guy is going to mess up every once in awhile. But the people around you are going to pick you up the best that they can."
Relating that conviction to the big picture, he said, "I feel like that's just a testament to our team. Trust those guys around you and everything will work out."
There's lots of debate and discussion today about the #CFBPlayoff Rankings Barry Alvarez shares his thoughts on the rankings and @BadgerFootball
— Wisconsin Badgers (@UWBadgers November 8, 2017
In retrospect, Ingold blamed himself for getting off to a slow start to the season.
"I didn't handle the whole opportunity off the bat the right way," he said. "I was trying to be perfect on everything … 'This is my shot to prove I belong here and I'm back' and all that stuff.
"Right out of the gate, I wasn't myself; I didn't trust myself."
Conversely, Ramesh was playing faster and a little better behind his pads and letting the game come to him, according to running backs coach John Settle, while Ingold was pressing a bit.
"It was really stressful trying to get on the field early on," Ingold conceded. "After awhile, I just realized I had to focus on one day and one thing and get better at that.
"Over time, my opportunity would come, and I had to be ready for it."
Settle spoke to Ingold and encouraged him to stay with it and learn from Ramesh. And then he reminded him, "If we need one (yard), don't look for the big play, get the one."
More than two weeks before Ramesh got hurt, Settle was in the process of getting Ingold back up to the speed of the game. "Because going down the stretch," he said, "we're going to need him."
When called upon last week, Ingold responded like Settle thought he would.
"It was good to get a full week of prep," Ingold said, "where I was working with the ones and just kind of seeing the whole game plan from that perspective."
When asked about his high TDs-to-touches percentage (6.1), Ingold said, "It's just the situations that we're put in. I like to say our whole offensive line is scoring touchdowns on those bellies.
"They've got to score with their man and I'll be right behind them scoring the ball. It's all of us going in (crossing the goal line) for those short-yardage touchdowns. It's really something special."
