BY MIKE LUCAS
UWBadgers.com Senior Writer
MADISON, Wis. — Outside linebacker Zack Baun had the first overall pick and drafted wide receiver A.J. Taylor. Center Tyler Biadasz went next and took his Amherst homie, running back Garrett Groshek. Tailback Jonathan Taylor selected wide receiver Jack Dunn. Linebacker Chris Orr picked safety Reggie Pearson.
Four captains for Wisconsin football's winter conditioning phase; four handpicked teams for the all-encompassing competition. Who's smarter, tougher, more dependable? Who's the fastest, strongest and most skilled? Who can pull their weight while pushing a Prowler sled many times their weight?
"As the leader of one of the teams, you have to shoulder the load a little bit," said Orr, who will be a fifth-year senior in the fall. "You've got 25 guys and you have to make sure you hold them accountable. It's not only a reflection on them but a reflection on you because you chose them.
"Without a doubt, it has brought us closer together as an overall team."
Points are earned in the weight room (lifts), in the classroom (grade-point average) and in the field events (ranging from agility drills to the six-man Prowler sled races to relays and shuttle runs). Points are deducted for tardiness and/or missing training table and classes. Everything is competitive, everything is scored.
"When I was picking my team, I wanted total-package guys," said Baun, who started all 13 games last season after missing 2017 with an injury. "I just didn't want quick, fast guys who weren't as good off the field. I was trying to get the most well-rounded team that I could.
"A.J. (Taylor) was a good pick not only because he's efficient in all the areas, but he's a senior and he deserves to be a leader on this team."
The last few offseasons, there have been 10 to 12 designated captains leading and herding smaller groups. But after consultation with his staff, UW strength and conditioning coach Ross Kolodziej felt the necessity to account for the lack of returning experience and battled-test players.
"Personally, I felt we wanted to focus on larger units and put more responsibility on a handful of guys versus spreading it out," Kolodziej said. "We wanted to put it on them (the four captains) to see how they respond to the challenge of leadership and overseeing 25 guys per team."
Sizing up the results and what they've meant in molding the team, he continued, "It's been a great winter in terms of production up to this point. You're seeing guys who wouldn't normally be in a leadership role — or looked at in that way — you're seeing them take ownership, which is exciting. To me, that's what separates this program from all others: the team concept.
"So far, it has been productive.
"But we're six weeks into the 2019 season.
"A lot of growth is still yet to come."
Although the enthusiastic Orr might boast that Team Orr (aka Orr Boys, House of Orr, Land of Orr) dominated the Prowler sled — "Blew that out of the water; we killed it" — the full team standings will not be revealed until the end of the winter phase. And that was by design.
"You don't know where you stand, so you have to make sure you keep doing everything to the best of your ability in order to be at the top in the end," Jonathan Taylor said. "That's one of our jobs as captains to keep everyone motivated and working. It's our job to make sure every guy stays focused."
Each of the appointed captains sounded empowered to be cast in the role. Especially Baun, who will be a fifth-year senior. "Looking back to my freshman year, I was always looking up to those guys that they had as captains," he said. "It's good to know that the younger guys are now looking up to me."
Among the returning players on defense, Baun had the most snaps last season. Orr has the most overall, with 15 career starts. "Now I feel like I'm one of the leaders on this team," Orr said. "And I try to show it every day by working my butt off for my teammates. It's all out of love."
And what's taking place now – months from the South Florida opener – is all about unity, he said.
"We've split up into four teams, but there's definitely a one-team feel to all the workouts," Orr said. "It's not guys pitted against each other. You might see a guy falling behind a little bit and the other guys will slow down and run with him and push him through to make sure everyone makes the time.
"It's definitely a 'No Man Left Behind' mentality this offseason."
There has been no shortage of motivation coming off an 8-5 season.
"I'd be lying if I said it hasn't had an effect," Orr admitted. "Everybody has that in the back of their mind, and everybody knows that we don't want to repeat that, and it has been driving us a little bit.
"More so, we have a lot of guys who had a taste of playing time and they're hungry for more."
That would apply to Orr's first pick in the winter draft, Pearson, who started at Michigan as a true freshman but retained his year of eligibility because he didn't exceed playing in four games. "Reggie handles his business off the field," Orr said. "Plus, he's fast and a freak in the weight room."
Meanwhile, there's some longstanding chemistry between Biadasz and Groshek, who were high school co-captains. "He's an accountable guy who will pick people up and he can lead with me," said Biadasz.
Biadasz's second draft choice was also a Garrett — junior defensive lineman Garrett Rand, who was sidelined last season after injuring his Achilles. "He brings a lead-by-example attitude and mindset," Biadasz said. "He speaks out and he's becoming more of a leader than ever this year."
When Groshek was taken off the draft board, Taylor didn't hesitate to select Dunn.
"Pound for pound, he's one of the strongest guys on the team," he said. "And I know he's going to do the right thing in the classroom. Every leader doesn't lead by themselves. Everyone has another person to lean on. I know Jack is going to be that guy and help me and others go in the right direction."
Taylor just returned from Indianapolis and some workshops at the NCAA headquarters that were run in conjunction with the NFL Scouting Combine. Some 30-plus underclassmen listened to speakers and received information on such topics as financial awareness and social media.
"Getting that information a little bit earlier is definitely helpful," said Taylor, who will have the option of declaring for the draft after next season. "Each person had their own specific dynamic that they had experienced and they shared that with us so we wouldn't make some of the same mistakes.
"At each meeting and workshop, we talked to guys outside of our conference. They wanted us to interact with different people and get outside of our comfort zone."
Hold that thought, because it has relevance to what the Badgers are doing this winter.
"The group that went into last season was the strongest group that we had here yet in terms of weight room metrics and those types of things," Kolodziej said. "We know the program works, we know it's going to produce great results. But I'll double-down on what I said about trying to facilitate the team.
"Last year, we were an incredibly penalized team and at times lacked discipline."
That was the message that he delivered to the players last week. Pay attention to the little things; the details, in so many words. Guys who are late or who aren't making the most of their meals are counter-productive. Develop good habits. It's about getting back to the fundamentals and basics.
"To me, this program is blue-collar, nose to the grindstone," Kolodziej said. "Coach Alvarez always said, 'Don't flinch.' Don't believe the hype. Don't get too high. Don't get too low."
#TrustTheProcess.
"We know our potential, we know what we can do, and we know what happens when you don't execute day-in and day-out," Taylor said.
The four captains have been driving that point home with their respective teams. Nobody is peaking in January, February and March. That's not the mission. But nobody is taking this winter phase for granted, either. "We understand where we're at," Baun said, "and where we want to be."
