Inside the Huddle: Mentored by Sagapolu, Williams ready to step up
November 10, 2018 | Football, Mike Lucas
Matchup with Penn State provides Badgers with hard-nosed, high-stakes battle
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BY MIKE LUCAS
UWBadgers.com Senior Writer
MADISON, Wis. — From the first day of spring drills, Bryson Williams gravitated toward Olive Sagapolu, who was more than willing to mentor the 18-year-old freshman. By doing so, by taking Williams under his meaty wing, Sagapolu was unselfishly taking the preliminary steps in grooming his successor at nose tackle.
Just as the 340-pound Sagapolu had learned from his elders on the Wisconsin defensive line — Jake Keefer, Arthur Goldberg, Chikwe Obasih, Conor Sheehy and Alec James — the plan was to prepare Williams to take over as the starter in 2019 after Sagapolu moved on to the National Football League.
The timetable for that transition has now been moved up.
Sagapolu, who had started 26 of 44 career games, has been lost for the season with an arm injury sustained on Oct. 27 at Northwestern. He had surgery Wednesday. Williams, coming off his first career start against Rutgers, will make his second at Penn State.
Last Saturday, Sagapolu was constantly "coaching up" Williams on the Camp Randall sideline.
"Olive was always helping me — he was giving me constant reminders and points throughout that whole game," Williams said. "He was just trying to reinforce things that I should be doing right. Ever since the spring, ever since I got here really, he has been doing that, so it's nothing new."
If Sagapolu saw something that needed to be corrected, Williams said, "Right away, he'd tell me. If I'm grey or confused by something, I'll go up to him. I'm not scared to ask him anything. Olive knows it all and does everything right. It's a high bar, an incredibly high bar. I'm just trying to get to that point."
Williams turned 19 in September.
"I still feel young, but I know that I can't play young," he said. "After fall camp was over, there's no more 'You're a freshman excuses' because it doesn't matter. I'm in one of the starting spots now and I'm trying to take over a position that was held by Olive, who was so great."
Senior nose tackle Olive Sagapolu will miss the remainder of the season Check out some of his top plays Send @OSagapolu your well wishes!
— Wisconsin Football (@BadgerFootball) November 8, 2018
Sagapolu was having a banner year. During his Tuesday press conference, Penn State head coach James Franklin made reference of Sagapolu's value to UW's overall defensive scheme when he suggested, "It kind of all stems around that position."
Through eight games, Sagapolu had a personal-high 23 tackles (five more than he had in 2017) and 4.5 tackles for loss (one fewer than he had in 36 previous games combined). He also had two sacks and his first interception on which he injured his knee against Illinois.
Despite that injury, he had a career-high six tackles the following week at Northwestern.
Before Williams made his first college start, UW coach Paul Chryst said, "I have loved and appreciated his approach. I think he's getting better each week. Just because now you have the opportunity to start doesn't mean you should expect a ton more. You've just got to keep getting better.
"You don't want him or need him to be something he's not.
"He doesn't have to do it alone. He has to do his part."
Williams was not credited with a tackle against Rutgers.
"But I took so many different points from that game that I know I need to do better at," he said. "Like holding double-teams and really pressing the block. Like getting my feet right and making sure my hands are right. When we sit down and watch film, I know that I've got a lot more to do."
In that game, the Badgers had two redshirt freshmen (Kayden Lyles and Matt Henningsen) and a true frosh (Williams) in its opening base defense. Redshirt sophomore Isaiahh Loudermilk, who has played in only five games because of injuries, and redshirt junior David Pfaff rounded out the rotation.
Wisconsin's inside linebackers, T.J. Edwards and Ryan Connelly, are first-team All-Big Ten worthy. The edge rushers are finally up to speed with Zack Baun and a healthier Andrew Van Ginkel. But as Chryst noted, "There's another piece to the front seven, and it's those three."
He was talking about the D-line, the three-man base front.
"I like that group and they're young. Each week, each day they can learn from it and get better. And they want to. That's what is fun about November. It's all hands-on deck. We have to get the most out of each other."
One thing that Williams has learned is how challenging it can be to mount a pass rush.
Particularly when he's lined up over the center or in a shade technique.
"Oh, shoot, it's pretty tough," Williams said. "If you're not doing your techniques right, you won't get there. That's what I'm trying to work on every day against these guys (the UW's offensive line). I'm working on things in practice trying to transfer it over so that they will work in the game."
Handling double-teams is still a priority.
"I need to do a better job this week," said the 6-foot-2, 303-pound Williams. "What I'm trying to do is take on anywhere between 300 and 600 pounds, one and two people, trying to keep them off the linebackers … I'm trying to keep T.J. Edwards and Ryan Connelly free."
Being overpowered physically was never an issue for Williams at Southeast High School in Lincoln, Nebraska. As a two-time first-team all-state selection, he had all the measurables in the 40-yard dash (4.85), the bench press (355 pounds), the squat (525) and the vertical jump (30.5 inches).
What he didn't have as a prep was great competition. "Some guys come from schools where there are eight or nine Division I players," he said. "I came from the capitol and I was the only Division I player in the whole city of Lincoln. At least in my class though there were some walk-ons to Nebraska.
"So, I had to quickly adjust when I got here in the spring … quickly … very quickly."
Those adjustments have been ongoing this fall.
"It has been a lot of learning, getting a chance to go against different types of offensive lines, different formations and schemes," he said. "I wouldn't stay there has been any surprises — just a lot of adjustments and a lot of adapting."
The last time the Badgers played the Nittany Lions — in the 2016 Big Ten Championship Game — they were shorthanded on the defensive line. Neither James nor Sheehy played. Both were injured. That put a heavy burden on Sagapolu and Obasih.
After taking a 28-14 lead, the UW defense wore down in the second half. With no pressure or push up the middle, quarterback Trace McSorely made play after play and finished with 384 passing yards and four touchdowns in sparking Penn State to a stunning, come-from-behind 38-31 victory.
McSorely has already gotten Williams' undivided attention.
"He can run, he can pass, he's great on his feet," he said. "Containment is going to be big thing."
But he sounded ready for another step in his development, especially with Sagapolu sidelined.
"I loved playing at Iowa, I loved playing at Michigan and I'm really excited about playing at Penn State," said Williams, fully knowing what's at stake for each of these three-loss teams. "We're both in somewhat of the same situation. Both ranked real high. Both dropped. Both just trying to get a win."
Wisconsin has made just four trips to Penn State in the last 15 years The last time the #Badgers won in Happy Valley, Jim Leonhard returned a punt 65 yards for a TD He's now defensive coordinator Five Things to Know: Penn State
— Wisconsin Football (@BadgerFootball) November 9, 2018
First and 10: Penn State
1. McSorely, who has been slowed by a knee injury the last few weeks, has rewritten the Nittany Lions record book with 9,080 passing yards, 71 passing touchdowns, 27 rushing touchdowns, 10 300-yard passing games and 26 200-yard passing games.
2. A senior from Ashburn, Virginia, McSorely is one win shy of tying Todd Blackledge and Tony Sacca for most career victories at Penn State, with 29. Only Ohio State's JT Barrett (147) and Purdue's Drew Brees (106) have accounted for more QB TDs in the Big Ten than McSorely (98).
3. Redshirt freshman KJ Hamler (5-9, 176), a dangerous slot receiver and kick return specialist, leads the Nittany Lions with 28 catches (18.5) and five scores. Hamler, a Michigan native, caught four passes for 138 yards, including a 93-yard touchdown, against Ohio State.
4. Tailback Miles Sanders (5-11, 207), who had the unenviable task of taking over for Saquan Barkley, needs 152 yards to reach 1,000 for the season. Sanders had 200 vs. Illinois and 162 vs. Michigan State. But he has been limited to 148 yards the last three games combined.
5. Not only does McSorely have two wide receivers who have gone over 1,000 career yards in Juwan Johnson (77 catches for 1,064 yards) and DeAndre Thompkins (70 for 1,109), but he has a reliable tight end/H-back in 6-5, 260-pound Pat Freiermuth, a true freshman.
6. Sack-by-committee: The Nittany Lions lead the Big Ten in quarterback sacks (3.2 per game) and TFLs (7.4), with 14 different players contributing to their sack total. Sophomore Yetur Gross-Matos (6-5, 262) has a team-high seven sacks. He had four TFLs, two sacks, vs. Iowa.
7. The Badgers will have to be aware of No. 99 (Gross-Matos) wherever he lines up. That's also true of No. 54, Shaka Toney (6-3, 241) who tied a school record with four sacks at Indiana. Jimmy Kennedy and Tamba Hali both had four in a game in different years vs. Wisconsin.
8. Another jersey number to file away is No. 11. That once belonged to All-America linebacker LaVar Arrington. A true freshman is now wearing No. 11, Micah Parsons (6-3, 237), who has already drawn favorable comparisons to Arrington both physically and athletically.
9. Placekicker Jake Pinegar, a true freshman from Ankeny, Iowa, has made six straight field goals and 9 of 13 overall. Against the Hawkeyes, he converted on kicks of 45, 49 and 45 yards. Punter Blake Gilliken, who has a cumulative 4.0 GPA, is averaging 43 yards per punt.
10. Penn State's players will wear "THON" helmet stickers and the student sections will be in yellow to celebrate THON (aka IFC/Panhellenic Dance Marathon), the largest student-run philanthropy in the world that raises funds year-round for the fight vs. childhood cancer.
Note to Quote
On Nov. 24, 2012, Montee Ball broke Travis Prentice's NCAA record on a 17-yard scoring run in the first quarter to become the NCAA's all-time touchdown leader. That was the last time that Wisconsin played the Nittany Lions at Beaver Stadium. The Badgers, who took a 14-7 lead on Ball's 79th career touchdown, fell behind 21-14 in the second half before tying the game with 18 seconds left in regulation on a Curt Phillips pass to Jeff Duckworth. But they wound up losing 24-21 in overtime when Kyle French missed a 44-yard field goal after Sam Ficken had converted from 37 yards. It was an emotional send off for 31 Penn State seniors who had persevered through a turbulent period that resulted in sanctions. Before the game, there was the unveiling of "2012" on the façade under the luxury suites in honor of the players who stayed and took their place in history among the school's championship teams.
Quote to Note
Penn State safety Garrett Taylor on stopping UW tailback Jonathan Taylor, the nation's leading rusher (151.4 yards per game): "Obviously, they are a talented team up front and he's a very talented back. But I've been saying for a long time, I think we're really talented as a defense. Our front seven are playing really well right now. It's going to start up front and our guys are going to do a great job of giving Wisconsin hard looks — getting them knocked back off the ball — and we're going to come out with the right intentions on defense. Everything after that will take care of itself."
No matter the setback No matter the adversity The only option for Ryan Connelly is to go forward More in this week's Varsity Magazine 📰 » http://go.wisc.edu/varsity-9-11
— Wisconsin Football (@BadgerFootball) November 7, 2018
