Camp Confidential: Ferguson’s attention to detail setting up big fall
August 26, 2019 | Football, Mike Lucas
Badgers’ leading tight end focused on getting stronger and staying healthy
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BY MIKE LUCAS
UWBadgers.com Senior Writer
MADISON, Wis. — Jake Ferguson walked off the practice field and into the sauna.
"I'll sit in there for 20 minutes at 230 degrees," said the Wisconsin tight end.
Call it game prep.
"I need to acclimate a little better for the heat," Ferguson said.
When the Badgers open the 2019 season Friday night against USF, they will be doing so in the subtropical climate of Tampa, where the average August temperature is 90 degrees with 78 percent humidity and rain in the daily forecast.
Ferguson plans on donning sweatshirt and sweatpants for his upcoming sauna visits. It's part of a post-practice routine that was set up for him by UW tight ends coach Mickey Turner in advance of the opener. Ferguson has no complaints. "It's not bad, I kind of like it," he said.
In a sense, the heat is being turned up on Ferguson this season because he has become such a valuable piece to the offense. Plus, he's among the last tight ends standing in training camp due to a rash of injuries that started in the spring and has continued through the fall.
"I love those guys and it's tough to see them going through what they're going through," Ferguson said of the sidelined players in his position group. "I know they hate not being able to practice and I've been trying to keep their heads up. It's still nice to have them in the meeting room."
In early August, it was announced Gabe Lloyd was lost for the season with a leg injury. He was hurt in the spring. So was Coy Wanner. Luke Benzschawel went down the first week of training camp with a knee injury. Two promising freshmen, Clay Cundiff and Hayden Rucci, were also injured in camp.
Yet another tight end, Zander Neuville, who has been granted a sixth year of eligibility, has been working to get back after a couple of knee surgeries. There's no timetable on his return.
Meanwhile, Ferguson didn't escape the injury bug.
The second week of camp, he tore the UCL ligament in his left thumb and had surgery.
"I jammed it into the ground," he said, revisiting the injury. "And they basically pulled my thumb all the way back to my wrist. There was nothing to stop it from moving that way. That wasn't fun. That was one of the worst pains I've had in a while for sure."
Ferguson has been practicing with a splint on his thumb.
He says the injury has forced him to focus even more on his catching fundamentals.
"Usually as I was catching the ball, I was figuring out where my next move was going to be," said Ferguson, a redshirt sophomore from Madison Memorial. "Now, this is strictly eyes to the tuck … catch first. I'd say a lot more focus goes into it now with this splint on."
Last season, Ferguson was a pleasant development in an offense that otherwise struggled to move the ball through the air consistently. He caught at least one pass in all 13 games and finished as the team's second-leading receiver with 36 receptions for 456 yards and four touchdowns.
During the offseason, he made a concerted effort to maximize his time in the weight room. As a result, he has bulked up to 250 pounds after playing at 235. And he's counting on the added weight to improve his effectiveness as a blocker without compromising his speed as a route-runner.
Ferguson's ultimate goal is to be a complete tight end.
"I definitely think I'm taking the right steps," he said.
In the same breath, he added, "But at the same time, there's still a lot more to do,"
Nonetheless, Turner has been encouraged by the strides that he has taken.
"The stuff that he was not good at last year, a certain kind of block, he's great at," Turner said. "He's taking pride in it, and I feel like he's a complete tight end right now. He still has to keep honing in on every little detail. But there isn't a play in the playbook where I wouldn't want him in the game."
Given the lack of depth at tight end, he may not come out of the game.
Because of all the injuries, Jack Eschenbach has moved up in the two-deep.
"I love the kid," Ferguson said. "I'd say he's my little Padawan. I like teaching him stuff."
The lanky 6-foot-6 Eschenbach is a redshirt freshman walk-on from Downers Grove, Illinois. During his senior year at Benet Academy, he sent some film to the UW coaches and got a recommendation from a close friend, David Edwards, the former starting right tackle for the Badgers.
"He definitely has the frame to put on a lot more weight … he's fast for a 230-pound guy," Ferguson noted. "He's always wanting to learn; he's always wanting to get better. That's what I love about him. He just has to be a little bit more consistent and I think he can do it."
Turner likes the way Eschenbach runs, but conceded, "He's a project."
At that, the Badgers scored big with another project from Benet Academy.
Frank the Tank.
As a UW senior, Frank Kaminsky was the Player of the Year in college basketball.
"If he's consistent," Ferguson reiterated of Eschenbach, "he can be a big contributor."
If you were wondering, 'What mood is Jake in today?" — a playful video sequence and Twitter poll @BadgerFootball on his many entertaining faces — Ferguson was smiling after Friday's practice.
"Practice is a lot more fun for me especially," he said. "I just think this group of guys make it a lot more fun. There's a lot more energy and I'm more upbeat."
He was also smiling because Quintez Cephus was smiling after learning that he was eligible.
"Watching him do some of the stuff that he can do, Quintez is an amazing player," Ferguson said. "Just seeing him in the locker room, he lifts everyone up. It's good to have him back."
In turn, Ferguson was speaking from the perspective of a tight end who will potentially see more favorable matchups in the secondary because of the presence of so many threats at wide receiver. Cephus joins a veteran rotation that features Danny Davis, A.J. Taylor and Kendrick Pryor.
"Somebody will be catching balls this year," he said. "That's for sure."
And if it's Ferguson, in the end zone, he may be breaking out his "sprinkling salt" hand gesture.
"The other team is salty that I scored," he explained. "They've got a bad taste in their mouth."
Leaving him in a very good mood.
