BY MIKE LUCAS
UWBadgers.com Senior Writer
MADISON, Wis. — During the offseason, Zander Neuville enjoyed going to the movies with Mickey Turner in what was a football melding of young and old; pupil and teacher; tight end and position coach.
"A lot of times this summer, I'd go up there on my own and watch film with him," Neuville said of his Camp Randall visits with Turner. "We'd watch old tape of Wisconsin or film from last year.
"Sometimes, we'd even watch NFL tape to see what guys are doing."
Sometimes, when watching the old tape of Wisconsin, Neuville would spot a No. 36 motioning before the snap and lining up next to the tackle or in the backfield. Turner didn't bring it up.
"But I'd notice that he was in there," Neuville said, "and bring it up."
Turner was No. 36, a four-year letterwinner at tight end (2006-09).
Not that Neuville could remember Turner playing for the Badgers.
"I kind of do," he said sheepishly. "But not really a whole lot."
Turner's position coach was Joe Rudolph, now the offensive coordinator and offensive line coach. If Neuville was wondering what type of player Turner was, Rudolph could be a character witness.
"Mick is smart, tough and dependable. Guys like that help you win ballgames," Rudolph once said of Turner, who was a senior captain. "He plays wherever he's needed and he works his tail off."
Neuville has many of the same attributes. "I can definitely compare myself to him a lot more," he said. "I think we play similar roles where we could move around and play fullback, the Y and H."
Last season, Eric Steffes was the Y, or the conventional tight end on the line of scrimmage. The H, or H-back, is set off the line and both Troy Fumagalli and Kyle Penniston have been cast in that role.
"The thing with tight end," said Neuville, who started in the Cotton Bowl with Fumagalli and Penniston, "we really don't play just one position. Coach (Paul) Chryst likes to move us around a lot."
Neuville, a former walk-on, is still a relative newbie to the nuance, if not the terminology. In 2015, he lettered as a defensive lineman. Last season, he appeared in all 14 games as a tight end.
"I feel the most confident by far," he said, "that I've felt with the offense right now."
Maybe the most noticeable difference in the 6-foot-5, 260-pound Neuville has been his emergence in the passing game. He's catching the ball more consistently, a trend that began during spring practice.
"I was just so new to catching the ball," said Neuville, who was rarely targeted and didn't have a reception in 2016. "It just takes awhile to adjust to the ball in the air.
"Last year, I was trying to attack the ball. This summer, I was more focused on actually catching it — having soft hands — and not being so aggressive."
Neuville's ball skills were on display at Waupaca (Wisconsin) High School. He not only led the defense in tackles as a linebacker, but he got snaps at wide receiver, tight end, fullback and tailback.
"I've been only playing tight end here for a year now," he said, "so this summer I wanted to focus on the playbook and just be totally confident with multiple positions on the field.
"One of my goals is that I want them to be able to trust me no matter where I'm at."
That trust is building. However, a leg injury slowed Neuville during Thursday's practice, opening the door for some young tight ends (like Luke Benzschawel and Jake Ferguson) to get reps until his return.
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THIS DUMMY IS NO DUMMY
This fall, the Badgers have joined a growing list of NFL teams and colleges that have adopted the latest in safety innovation, a remote-controlled tackling dummy called the MVP, the Mobile Vertical Player.
The MVP-DRIVE, a product of Rogers Athletic, was the brainchild of a former Dartmouth defensive lineman, Elliot Kastner, and a former Dartmouth rugby player, Quinn Connell.
The catalyst for this project was Dartmouth football coach Buddy Teevens, who was at the forefront of eliminating all live tackling from practices. The Ivy League has followed suit.
"It allows my guys to tackle regularly anytime we're out there in pads," Teevens has said. "We can tackle the device without injuring ourselves or someone else."
Wisconsin athletic director Barry Alvarez is on board.
"I think it's ingenious," he said Thursday. "It takes the wear and tear off the players. You're not beating up your own guys when you don't have to. But you're still tackling a moving object."
UW director of football operations T.J. Ingels noted that head coach Paul Chryst saw an MVP demonstration at a coaching clinic and expressed interest in exploring the feasibility of the device.
The remote-controlled tackling dummy is operated by a manager and has been used to simulate a kick returner in special team segments and a ball-carrier for run fits in tackling drills.
"You can use it for a quarterback, too, to move the pocket," said UW equipment manager Mark Peeler, who got positive feedback on the MVP from Pittsburgh Steelers personnel during the Badgers' pro day.
"It can move on a dime," Peeler added. "We've even had a couple of managers race it."
Reportedly, it can cover 40 yards in 5 seconds. But it's hard to synchronize the start, he said.
The managers beat the MVP.
"There are a lot of usages," said Alvarez. "You just have to be creative."
The Badgers purchased two MVPs and they arrived just in time for training camp.
"It's pretty funky — funky watching it roll around (on the turf)," said senior linebacker Jack Cichy. "It will help in certain situations on how we practice. I think it's got a little shake to it."
Cichy subscribes to anything that will help improve player safety, even a robot.
"It's a cool innovation and cool little machine," he said. "Obviously any time you can take the load off kids' bodies — so they don't have to take a beating from each other — it's a good thing."
IT WASN'T ALWAYS A SNAP
Adam Bay will never forget his first snap in a game.
"I threw it over the punter's head," he said, "into the end zone for a touchdown for the other team in a state championship game my eighth-grade year."
There was a happy ending. "We won," he said. "And I've wanted to perfect my craft ever since."
Mission accomplished. From grades 9 through 12, Bay was perfect on 440 snaps, including all three varsity seasons at Desert Ridge High School in Mesa, Arizona.
As a senior, Bay was ranked as the No. 1 long snapper in the country. His crowning achievement was being selected for the 2017 Under Armour All-America Game.
Since the Badgers were in the market for a long snapper with the graduation loss of Connor Udelhoven, a four-year fixture (53 games), they tendered Bay, who originally committed to Missouri.
"By my sophomore year in high school," said Bay, "I knew that I could be pretty special in long snapping. So that's when I started focusing more on my skills than other positions."
The 6-foot, 225-pound Bay played linebacker up until his senior year when he concentrated solely on his specialty. It was a good decision since he fielded six scholarship offers from FBS schools.
Since getting on campus, Bay has quickly discovered that Wisconsin's placekickers and punters have a little swag. Just check out the video of Rafael Gaglianone and his moped-riding "entourage."
"I like being a part of the specialists crew," Bay said. "This crew is amazing."
QUOTE TO NOTE
On whether he will call signals from the press box or the sideline on game day, first-year defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard said, "I think I will be down (on the field). We're still going through the process. We have a good plan on what we're going to do. And I do like to look guys in the eyes and feel their energy and see where they're at before and after series."
