BY MIKE LUCAS
UWBadgers.com Senior Writer
MADISON, Wis. — Because Eric Burrell played his high school football in the Big Ten footprint and narrowed his recruiting short list to a couple of league schools, Nebraska and Wisconsin, it's conceivable the Maryland native thought about the possibility of gaining some exposure one day on Big Ten Network.
That day arrived earlier this week when Burrell was part of a camera shoot for BTN's award-winning series "The Journey," which has been one of the network's crowning achievements for humanizing the players through its behind-the-scenes storytelling and personal touch.
Burrell, a UW sophomore safety, was more than happy to participate in what will be an upcoming Journey segment. Even if it was a cameo appearance. He just never thought that he would make his BTN debut at a bowling alley of all places. "I did not think that," he confirmed with a smile.
The BTN film crew was on campus to produce a feature on quarterback Alex Hornibrook and wide receiver A.J. Taylor, who is Burrell's roommate. One of Taylor's hobbies is bowling. So, they showed him in his element — bowling at Union South — along with Burrell.
"I've bowled here and there but I'm not passionate about it like A.J. is. He has his own bowling ball and he has been bowling for a long time," Burrell said. "They told us to laugh, joke and just bowl. It was a fun experience."
UW defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard may have similar instructions for Burrell — laugh, joke and just ball — before the Badgers take the field Saturday night at Michigan. Any such message would apply to all of Leonhard's young, inexperienced defensive backs, not just the 20-year-old Burrell.
"You have to be realistic about it," Leonhard said about the ongoing challenge of accelerating the learning curve for true freshmen, redshirt freshmen and sophomores, "because you've got to give them a chance to have success. You might not be able to give them everything …
"But you try to push it as much as you can to get an understanding of football and our scheme, especially with defensive backs. They have to be ready to communicate. You try to accelerate but you have to be realistic on what your expectations are and what situations you're putting them in."
Leonhard can control that. But he can't control who will be available. For starters, he will be missing at least one in the secondary, redshirt freshman safety Scott Nelson, who was ejected for targeting in the second half against Nebraska and must sit out the first half against Michigan.
Given the circumstances, Burrell is in line to make his first career start.
"Scott is out for the first half — that's guaranteed — and D'Cota (Dixon) is coming off an injury from last week, so we need Eric to step up," Leonhard said. "He has been in the program for awhile. He has gotten reps and he has been on the field a bunch for us on special teams and specialty situations.
"It might be a time where he has to play a more significant role."
Going into the Big House, Leonhard hinted at an "all-hands-on-deck" game, or the Milwaukee Brewers' equivalent of a "bullpen game." That's Craig Counsell's phrase, not Leonhard's, whereby Counsell has mixed and matched as many "out-getters" (relievers) as necessary from start to finish.
"Everyone has to be ready," Leonhard said after Wednesday's practice. "At this point of the week, we're not exactly sure what's going to happen at the safety situation. I'm preparing all those guys like they have to start, multiple people. We'll see how it plays out once we get to Saturday."
Dixon and Nelson have started each of the first five games at strong and free safety, respectively. Besides Burrell (who has eight tackles, a pass breakup and a forced fumble), some other options are redshirt sophomore Seth Currens, freshman Reggie Pearson and senior Evan Bondoc.
Since arriving on campus and redshirting as a freshman, Burrell has come under the wing of former safeties Leo Musso and Natrell Jamerson along with Dixon. "D'Cota is my big brother," he said, "and I'm learning from Scott even though he's younger than me. We can all learn from each other."
Burrell is a graduate of the prestigious McDonogh School in Owings Mills, Maryland. Enrolled in the boarding school program, he learned how to live on his own and enjoyed the independence. "It wasn't as big of an adjustment as it may seem," he said.
Last weekend, Burrell got a visit from the McDonogh School's headmaster and wife. Last June, he flew home for the funeral of a friend and former McDonogh teammate, Jordan McNair, the 19-year-old Maryland offensive lineman who died over the summer.
"I've grown," Burrell said of his three years at the UW, "and I've matured."
Leonhard is counting on Burrell growing into a steady role on defense.
"He's definitely improving," Leonhard said. "It's just the consistency factor; the highs are very high with EB, and we love that about him. He can make plays; he's physical when he gets to the ball. Now, it's making sure the communication is correct. When he does that, it's fun to watch him play."
One of Saturday's key matchups will be Michigan's tight ends — and the Wolverines will use as many as three in some formations — against Wisconsin's safeties. Iowa exploited the back end of the secondary with tight ends TJ Hockenson (three catches for 125 yards) and Noah Fant.
Zach Gentry, a 6-foot-8, 262-pound senior, leads Michigan in receiving with 20 catches, 14 of which have gone for first downs (Wisconsin's second-leading receiver, redshirt freshman tight end Jake Ferguson, is on equal footing with Gentry with 14 of his 16 receptions going for first downs.)
On most downs, the Wolverines will line up with two tight ends: No. 83 (Gentry) and No. 84 (Sean McKeon). Burrell's discipline will be tested. So, will his poise in front of 110,000. "It's surreal," he said. "But I'm excited to be a part of it at the Big House. I'm ready to go out there and compete."
Meanwhile, Nelson will try to keep his emotions in tow. He's from Detroit, after all.
"I'm not going to make too much of it," he said of playing in Ann Arbor, 45 minutes from home.
For that matter, he also said, "I'm trying not to think about that too much."
Nelson was referring to spending the first half in the Wisconsin locker room at Michigan Stadium because of the targeting foul. "There will be a little adjustment just with the stretching before the (second) half," he said. "I'll talk to the strength coaches and see what they have to say."
As far as this week's preparation, he said, "I prepared like I'm the starter."
Nelson, like Leonhard, has been focusing on what he can control.
First and 10: Michigan
1. Defensive end Chase Winovich plays like his long, flowing hair is on fire. He leads the team with 10.5 tackles for loss. On the prospect of facing any offensive line, including the Badgers, he has offered the same general response, "I hope they run to my side every single time … we can test how great they are."
2. Over the last three seasons, Michigan has held 17 of 32 opponents to under 100 yards rushing and is 16-1 in those games, including a 14-7 win over UW in 2016. The Badgers had 28 rushes for 71 yards. By contrast, they had 40 carries for 182 yards last year and won 24-10 in Madison.
3. As good as the Wolverines are against the run, they're better against the pass. They led the nation in pass defense the past two seasons and they're currently No. 4. Only six teams have exceeded 200 passing yards against them since Don Brown took over as the defensive coordinator in 2016.
4. Beyond playing in the opponent's backfield — they have 52 TFLs (14 vs. Nebraska) — the Wolverines make it challenging to attack the perimeter because of the speed at linebacker with All-Americans Devin Bush and Khaleke Hudson, who had 8 TFLs and 3 sacks vs. Minnesota last season.
5. The Michigan roster has a Cheesehead and a Cheeseman. The unquestioned leader on the offensive line is left guard and co-captain Ben Bredeson, who won two state titles in Wisconsin at Hartland Arrowhead. The long snapper is Cameron Cheeseman, a junior from New Albany, Ohio.
6. Last year, the Badgers shut down the one-two punch at tailback, holding Chris Evans to 25 yards on 11 carries and Karan Higdon to 20 yards on 7 carries. Evans is healthy again after missing three games with an injury. Higdon is the leading rusher, averaging 5.8 per carry and 116.4 per game.
7. Nobody has had worse luck than WR Tarik Black, who broke his left foot in '17 — he played in only three games — and his right foot in August. In his absence, Donovan Peoples-Jones, Nico Collins and Grant Perry have been the longball threats. Freshman Ronnie Bell is a developing deep threat.
8. Peoples-Jones, who has five receiving touchdowns, also poses a threat on jet sweeps and on special teams. He's averaging 8.5 yards on punt returns with a 60-yard TD vs. Nebraska. Not to be outdone is kickoff return specialist Ambry Thomas, who had a 99-yard TD vs. Notre Dame.
9. In a close game, the Wolverines feel good about placekicker Quinn Nordin, who has converted on 8 of 9 field-goal attempts with his only miss from 40. Nordin, who was 19-of-24 last year, has made three field goals over 50 yards and eight over 40 yards in his career. His long is 55 vs. Florida.
10. Quarterback Shea Patterson (6-2, 205), the Ole Miss transfer, will extend plays with his mobility. But he's usually running to pass rather than to run (though he has picked up some big first downs on the ground). He threw for over 300 yards seven times at Mississippi, including two games over 400 yards.
Note to Quote
Paul Chryst and Jim Harbaugh love fullbacks. This season, Wisconsin's Alec Ingold (6-2, 242) has 12 carries for 105 yards and three touchdowns; Michigan's Ben Mason (6-3, 254) has 16 carries for 41 yards and five touchdowns. For their careers, Ingold, a senior from Green Bay, has 17 touchdowns in 99 touches; Mason, a sophomore from Newton, Connecticut, has seven touchdowns in 20 touches. Mason's first career carry was against Wisconsin and he scored on a 1-yard run at Camp Randall Stadium. Ingold and Mason are both converted linebackers. Mason answers to the nickname of "Bench." As in bench press.
Quote to Note
On freshman cornerback Rachad Wildgoose (5-11, 193), who decommitted from Rutgers and Georgia before signing with the Badgers, Jim Leonhard says, "His improvement over the last three weeks has been drastic just in understanding the defense and playing fast. You see his personality come out every day because he's playing ball now, he's not thinking. I like his approach to the game. I like his attitude. He brings a little different level of confidence even though he's a true freshman."
