BY MIKE LUCAS
UWBadgers.com Senior Writer
MADISON, Wis. — The football spring game is set for Friday, April 21 and the excitement is building as we head into the final week of spring ball.
Leading up to the spring game, UWBadgers.com Senior Writer Mike Lucas will break down the Badgers, position by position. He's tackled the offensive line, inside linebackers, tight ends, defensive backs, running backs and now turns his attention to the Badgers' outside linebackers.
NOTES & NOTABLES
STARTERS VS. WESTERN MICHIGAN IN THE COTTON BOWL: T.J. Watt and Vince Biegel
PLAYERS RETURNING WITH STARTING EXPERIENCE: Leon Jacobs (45 games, 4 starts), Garret Dooley (25 games, 2 starts).
PLAYERS RETURNING WITH GAME EXPERIENCE: Zack Baun (12 games)
LEADING TACKLERS: Watt 63 (15.5 tackles for loss, 11.5 sacks), Biegel 44 (6, 4), Dooley 40 (6.5, 3.5), Jacobs 37 (1, 1), Baun 15 (3.5, 0)
FULL CIRCUIT
In the final scrimmage prior to the 2013 season opener, Jacobs opened eyes with his play at outside linebacker when he caught tailback Melvin Gordon from behind after a long run. Jacobs, a true freshman, was somewhat of a mystery after playing just two years of high school football, mostly as a running back. His passion was basketball growing up in Torrance and Santa Clarita, California. But a training camp injury to Ethan Armstrong opened the door for Jacobs, who got into the mix and appeared in all 13 games as a backup rusher off the edge. That's how it all started.
Well, he's baaaack — Jacobs is back at outside linebacker after a long stint at inside linebacker and a short trial at fullback. "It's how I remember it, so I feel pretty comfortable," said Jacobs, who started the spring inside before making the transition outside. "It was kind of mutual, I wanted to go there (outside) and Coach Tibs (Tim Tibesar) wanted me to go there. Ideally, we wanted to do it at the beginning of the spring, but since all the inside linebackers were hurt, we were going to wait and do it in fall camp. But once Jack (Cichy) was able to do Skelly (pass), we decided, 'Why not just come over now?'"
Jacobs, 21, a fifth-year senior, has some starting experience — at inside linebacker. As a sophomore (2014), he replaced the injured Marcus Trotter and had a team-high 12 tackles, including two for loss (1.5 sacks), against Illinois. In 2015, he started three of the first four games at inside 'backer before suffering a season-ending injury resulting in a medical redshirt. With Jacobs sidelined, it created a playing opportunity for freshman Chris Orr, who performed so well that it prompted the coaching staff to move Jacobs to fullback. But when Orr was lost for the season on the first defensive snap against LSU, Jacobs went back on defense. His most productive outing last season was 11 tackles against Nebraska.
"It's kind of come full circle for Leon," Tibesar said. "Hopefully, this is a comfortable position for him. Certainly, he has played a lot of football for us and he's a physical presence out there. He has done a great job mentally; he knows the defense. From his experience at inside linebacker, he really knows what is going on at all the positions. I've been extremely impressed by that part of it. He has got tremendous upside."
Leon Jacobs (32) and Nick Nelson (11) at a recent spring practice.
As a freshman, Jacobs weighed 225. He's now up to 240 which should help in his jousts with offensive tackles. "At inside linebacker, at least the Will linebacker, you're rarely rushing the quarterback and you're more in coverage," he said, explaining the difference in assignments. "At outside linebacker, you're setting the edge more and it's like 70 percent rushing the passer. That's the biggest difference."
Jacobs plans on watching video of Watt and Biegel, along with some select NFL players, to get a better feel for how to function as an edge rusher. "We'll see what works best for me," he said, listing power, speed and the ability to flip your hips as staples of executing successful pass rush moves. "My natural skills fit outside best for me. This (position) has the most potential out of all of them."
QUOTE TO NOTE
Dooley earned his first career starts against Michigan (in the Big House) and Ohio State after Biegel had surgery on his foot. Regarding the senior, Tibesar noted, "The biggest thing now is that he knows that he can play at this level. He knows that he can be a Big Ten performer. The confidence that comes along with that is what we need. We need him to be a big-time player for us and I think he's ready to do that."
NOTE TO QUOTE
Junior college transfer Andrew Van Ginkel was a first-team all-state defensive back at Rock Valley (Iowa) High School. As a senior, he also played quarterback throwing for 1,466 yards and 17 touchdowns and rushing for 1,413 and 15 TDs. In basketball, he averaged 25.4 points, 7.7 rebounds and 4 assists. After two years at South Dakota (one as a redshirt; one as the Missouri Valley Conference leader in tackles for loss) and one year at Iowa Western, Van Ginkel picked Wisconsin over Nebraska and Iowa.
Isaiahh Loudermilk (97), Olive Sagapolu (99), Alec James (57) and Andrew Van Ginkle (17) at a football spring scrimmage at Camp Randall Stadium.
"I've been very pleased with Andrew and his progression so far," Tibesar said. "For a guy who got here in January, his grasp and knowledge of the playbook is already fantastic, so that just shows me that he has great football intelligence. He's everything that we hoped that he would be. When you recruit a junior college guy who has only two years left, you know that he's got to play right away. He has shown so far that he's a guy who can help us win Big Ten games. We'll find out later what exactly his role is."
ZACK ATTACK
Baun, like Van Ginkel was a quarterback in high school (Brown Deer (Wis.). "Because I was a running quarterback, I'm used to being quick on my feet — more agile — in making decisions and reacting based on what you see," said the 6-foot-3, 222-pound Baun, who had six tackles against Ohio State as a redshirt freshman. "Specifically, I've got to get better in the run game. I've got to get stronger and more sturdy. This spring is a good time to develop in those areas."
Tibesar knows that the plan has to be a little different for Baun. "Zack has a different body frame than T.J. and Vince and even Garret," said Tibesar. "But he has a little more quickness and straight-line speed than all of those guys. He's a slightly different player, so we have to highlight his strengths. He has got to be one of those guys who's a technician when he takes on the big guys because he's going to be giving up a little bit of weight and strength to some of those offensive tackles that he's going to go up against."
Baun credited Watt and Biegel for being good mentors to the younger players. "I learned not only on the field from them," he said, "but I learned how to persevere through a lot of situations because they went through adversity themselves and they overcame it." As far as filling the void now that they've gone, he doesn't feel any extra pressure, other than what he puts on himself to perform. Considering the Badgers have had a run of marquee outside 'backers (Schobert, Watt and Biegel), he said, "We're always reloading every year when you think about it. Coach Tibs does a good job of making sure we do."
TIBS SEZ
"Christian Bell and Keldric Preston are trying to crack into that group of four contributors (Dooley, Baun, Jacobs, Van Ginkel). Whether they will be a regular part of that (rotation) or there will be a certain package here or there that they can do and help us out, that will probably be their role."
