The coaching staff acknowledged how some of the upcoming practices will dictate the spring.
The Wisconsin Badgers have concluded two weeks of their spring program, which is essentially halfway complete, as the team has gone through seven of their 15 scheduled practices.
The last week has involved more of a ramp-up as the Badgers began installing pads during practice No. 4 last Saturday, although the energy and intensity has been there from the jump this spring.
Over the past two days specifically, though, we’ve seen some trends begin to emerge as Wisconsin goes deeper into its spring schedule, and this upcoming week will be especially crucial for the program.
Why?
Because practices No. 5 through No. 9 are the ones that dictate the tone for what this team can be and how impactful the spring will be for the program, according to Luke Fickell.
Speaking with media after practice last Tuesday, Fickell was pleased with his team’s intensity and ability to carry themselves to begin the week, as they started strong on practice No. 5.
“This is kind of the body of what it is that we have to be able to do,” Fickell said after last Tuesday’s practice. “So the first one, obviously, was a ‘one day’ before spring break, and then we had a ‘three days’ where you come back and everybody’s kind of off a break excited. Saturday, you go outside, you have a really nice day. This is the body of who we’re going to be.”
“So, [practices] five through nine, to me, will tell us not just myself but these guys in this locker room who we really are and who we want to be.”
While the emotions may continue to run high, especially after some initial skirmishes to begin spring ball, Fickell stressed the importance of getting a good body of work in during the practices, while keeping the intensity at a high.
“I think this is a really important time for us,” Fickell acknowledged. “It’s not as maybe, you know, hooting and hollering as it is of a true, true workday, but these guys got to come out here, we got to work, we got to compete. Emotionally sometimes, yeah understand, it’s practice 5,6,7,8, and 9. The emotion might be a little bit different than it is in 1, 2, 3, and 4, but the work and the intensity cannot be any different. Actually, it’s got to rise.”
Through practices No. 5-7, the Badgers didn’t really have a major scuffle, but the intensity remained high from the individual drills to the team drills, with players embracing pads being on with physicality on both sides of the ball.
As the Badgers continue forward with their spring schedule, Fickell is looking for the team’s leaders to take over for the coaches and set the tone, helping shape the program’s expectations for the upcoming season.
“I’m excited to see who we are [during these five practices] and let our leaders kind of set the example and lead,” Fickell said. “Sometimes, coaches got to be able to do that, but I think today was a unique day and kind of set a tone for what the intent needs to look like on a Tuesday from the start of meetings.
“And, you know, our guys respond well and when the ball goes down, you know, they’re they’re competing. And now we just got to make sure we continue to grow and all these opportunities because we’re not just taking the 15 practices, we’re taking the 34 days, especially these 30 days right here, to build who we want to be.”
Looking ahead to this week, the Badgers have practices No. 8 and No. 9 on Tuesday and Thursday, respectively, which will be crucial points for the team as position battles continue and competitiveness oozes on both sides of the ball.
With the installation period primarily complete and the Badgers seeming more free-flowing on both sides of the ball, both practices will be good gauges of how the current competition between players is going as Wisconsin continues to figure out its identity.