BY MIKE LUCAS
UWBadgers.com Senior Writer
MADISON, Wis. — Alec Ingold could write a "how-to" book on last season.
"I learned how to be a backup," said the senior fullback from Green Bay. "I learned how to support the team when I wasn't in the game and I learned how to always stay ready.
"I learned how much I love football, too."
Going into the 2017 season, Ingold and Austin Ramesh had nearly equal carries from the year before. Ingold had 18 for 44 yards and two touchdowns; Ramesh had 17 for 58 yards and three scores.
But it was Ramesh who solidified his hold on the starting position as a senior — once again regulating Ingold to a back-up role. Ramesh had 17 rushes for 89 yards; Ingold had 10 carries for 25.
"Last year," Ingold said, "was a mentally tough time for me."
To say that his patience was tested was an understatement.
"I'm very impatient at being patient," he admitted. "It's tough to be patient; it's never been my mindset. At the same time, I learned a lot from Austin and how to be a pro about the position.
"It made me a more well-rounded football player and teammate."
When Ingold wasn't playing, he yearned for the game more, not less.
"It can either push people out," he said, "or it can make you want it even more. I was in a situation where I couldn't stay off the field anymore. I wanted to get in there as much as possible.
"I wanted everything back."
As a true freshman, Ingold, a prep quarterback, helped fill a void at running back after Corey Clement was limited to only four games and 48 carries because of injuries.
In his first college appearance, Ingold rushed seven times for 60 yards against Hawaii. He broke off a 26-yard run, which is still a career long – by 18 yards.
Ingold was billed as a short-yardage specialist. During that same 2015 season, he had 13 rushes for 26 yards at Illinois, a sign of his grinding style. He ended up with 49 carries for 131 yards and six touchdowns.
With Ramesh taking over as the No. 1 fullback — starting eight games in 2016 and seven games in 2017 — Ingold got fewer chances. In those two seasons combined, he had just 28 rushes for 69 yards.
Now that Ramesh has graduated, does Ingold have to learn how to be a starter?
"I think I do," he said, "and I think I'm going through it right now."
Ingold made his first career start against Western Kentucky. He had four rushes for 16 yards. Seeing was believing; so was hearing. You could hear him making contact as a lead blocker.
"I had 27 plays," said the 6-foot-2, 242-pound Ingold, "and I was hitting someone almost every play, which was awesome.
"I felt like that was big — coming in play after play seeing the same guys and being able to hit them over and over again. I was trying to get to that 'imposing your will' kind of thing."
When the Badgers have the ball against New Mexico, there's the potential for some memorable collisions between Ingold and the Lobos' middle linebacker, Alex Hart, a 6-3, 235-pound senior.
Ingold (No. 45) vs. Hart (No. 33) will be a matchup of former state wrestling champions.
As a senior, Ingold went 42-0 and won the 220-pound Division 1 state title with a 9-2 decision over Oconomowoc's Brett Samson. Ingold was Bay Port High School's first champion since 1998.
Hart was a two-time Class 3A state champion in Prior Lake, Minnesota. He went 38-0 as a senior and 83-3 over his final two seasons on the mat.
"Wrestling is not fun, it's really not," said Ingold, whose dad was an All-American at Northern Michigan. "To go through a full season, whether you're winning or losing, is an accomplishment."
Ingold, by his own admission, isn't even the best wrestler on the UW roster. That distinction would go to redshirt sophomore Mason Stokke, a two-time state champ from Menomonie, Wisconsin.
Stokke was unbeaten as a junior and senior (76-0).
"My sophomore year, I was thinking about coming here (Wisconsin) to wrestle," said Stokke, who was a weight class under Ingold. "But then the football recruiting picked up."
After redshirting as a UW freshman, Stokke tore his Achilles and was sidelined for the entire 2017 season. The silver lining was that he concentrated on the books and was Academic All-Big Ten.
As far as the rehab, and weathering another year without getting on the field, he said, "It was tough mentally. But having strong faith, I believed that I would be back out here."
Until a couple of weeks ago, Stokke was a backup inside linebacker.
That's when he was first broached about moving to fullback.
"Coach (Paul) Chryst came up to me during our stretch and flex and kind of put the idea in my head," he said. "It surprised me a little. But when I thought about it, I thought it would be a good fit."
A couple of days later, Chryst approached Stokke again before practice.
"What do you want to do?" Chryst asked.
"Let's do it," Stokke responded. "Let's make the switch."
Ironically, Ingold made the same transition from inside linebacker to fullback as a freshman.
"It was a whirlwind," he remembered. "In that first year, you're just trying to stay afloat and trying to get in as much as possible to see the coaches and talk.
"But you really don't know what you're doing."
Ingold has shared his experience with Stokke.
"The biggest advice I've been giving him," Ingold said, "is to try and keep the position as simple as possible. Like Coach (John Settle) says, 'Line up here and go hit that guy."'
The techniques — the footwork and hand placement — will come with time and reps.
"First and foremost, I'm just learning the playbook," Stokke said. "Each day I feel like I'm getting more comfortable with the position. I feel like it's coming along and I'm getting more confident."
Stokke was first team all-state as a linebacker and running back.
"That first day when we went out there, you could see it was there," Ingold said of Stokke's promise and potential. "He's really smart, he has been picking up the offense really fast."
Ingold's advice has been well received. "He's a good mentor," Stokke said.
A half-dozen years ago, the Badgers converted an inside linebacker into a fullback and it turned out pretty well for Derek Watt, who's going into his third season with the Los Angeles Chargers.
Stokke wears jersey No. 34. Same as Watt. A coincidence or fate?
"It's definitely cool to think about," Stokke said.
First and 10: New Mexico
1. Bob Davie, the former Notre Dame head coach and ESPN color analyst, inherited a mess from Mike Locksley (now Nick Saban's offensive coordinator) and interim coach George Barlow. The Lobos were 3-33 the three years prior to his arrival in Albuquerque.
2. Davie went 11-26 his first three years and 19-19 the next three, with bowl trips in 2015 and 2016. Last season, the Lobos lost three home games by a field goal or less and finished 3-9. Davie was suspended 30 days last spring after an investigation of misconduct in his program.
3. During the offseason, Davie hired a new offensive coordinator in Calvin Magee, who has spent 12 of the last 13 years directing Rich Rodriquez's spread attack. Magee likes big plays. The Lobos had seven passes of 30 or more yards in their opener against Incarnate Word.
4. Just two years ago, the Lobos led the nation in rushing, averaging 350 yards per game. For the first time in school history, they had two backs rush for over 1,000 yards: Teriyon Gipson (1,269) and Tyrone Owens (1,097), who's now a senior and has 2,043 career rushing yards.
5. In only his second career start, sophomore quarterback Tevaka Tuioti (6-1, 199) completed 13 of 21 passes for 327 yards and four touchdowns in the opener. Tuioti's backup is Coltin Gerhart, the younger brother of former Stanford running back Toby Gerhart.
6. Wide receiver Delane Hart-Johnson (6-4, 219) specializes in stretching defenses. His only catch in the opener went for 32 yards. Last year, he had three receptions of 40-plus yards. In 2015, he had catches of 81, 86 and 92 yards in a span of five games.
7. A year ago, the Lobos couldn't hold on to the football. They were guilty of 29 turnovers (2.42 per game). That was uncharacteristic of a Davie-coached team. In three of his previous six years, UNM had only 14 turnovers, a school low. They turned it over twice in this year's opener.
8. The offensive line revolves around right guard Aaron Jenkins (6-2, 307) who has 39 career starts. Jenkins has played every O-line position save center. Lining up next to Jenkins is right tackle Teton Saltes (6-6, 284), whose great uncle is ex-NBA star World B. Free.
9. The most experienced member of the defense is senior Cody Baker (6-3, 293), who played on the D-line as a true freshman and has 20 career starts. Cornerbacks Jalin Burrell (13 starts) and D'Angelo Ross (12 starts) are the most seasoned players in the secondary.
10. Among the school's most famous alums are LaVern DeFazio (Penny Marshall), former NBA player Luc Longley, UFC champion Holly Holm and, of course, Pro Football Hall of Famer Brian Urlacher, who had 442 career tackles to go along with catching six TD passes and returning five kicks for scores.
Note to Quote
When Elijah Lilly (6-0, 159) returned a kickoff 100 yards against Texas A&M in 2017, it was the eighth consecutive season that New Mexico has returned at least one kickoff for a touchdown. Only Kansas State (13 seasons) has a longer current active streak. The Lobos have 10 kickoff return TDs in the last six seasons. Lilly also had returns of 98 and 100 yards called back last year.
Quote to Note
On returning to Madison and Camp Randall Stadium — where he spent 14 seasons on Barry Alvarez's staff — New Mexico defensive coordinator Kevin Cosgrove said, "There's nothing like building a program. You remember what it was like when we first got there. You remember winning our first championship (in 1993) and, lo and behold, five and six years later, you remember, going to back-to-back Rose Bowls. Those were special times."
