It?s the University of Wisconsin football team?s Right Guard Battle, The Sequel.
Senior Zac Matthias got considerable work with the No. 1 offense during the morning practice on Saturday, although junior Kyle Costigan got snaps there, too, in the portion of practice open to the media.
?I?m very, very pleased with the right guard competition right now,? offensive line coach T.J. Woods said earlier in the week. ?Both of those guys are doing a pretty decent job right now.
?They?re making it hard on me, which is what they should do. I think the competition makes everybody better.?
That?s nothing new for Matthias and Costigan, who battled throughout camp last year, and then into the season, before Costigan finally grabbed hold of the starting job in the fourth week ? other than two games he missed with injuries.
Although Costigan has gotten the most work with the starters in the first week of camp, he is making up ground after missing the spring, following knee surgery.
?I have no ill feelings toward (Matthias),? Costigan said after practice on Saturday. ?There?s obviously reasons behind it. I didn?t do spring ball and he got to do that.
?He has obviously improved, he?s a lot better than he was last year. I think everyone in the offensive line is really improving.?
While junior Dallas Lewallen has worked as the No. 1 left guard, the battle on the right side could eventually spill over to the other side. Woods said he will likely give Matthias some work at left guard, too, in the coming practices.
Woods prefers not to have to move Costigan, since he is still getting comfortable in the new offense.
?The best two interior guys are going to play,? Wood said. ?? I think it will all clarify itself as we start scrimmaging. The other thing, too, all of those guys are going to play on Saturdays.
?This is the Big Ten, now. You don?t end with the same five you start with, it doesn?t happen. With the style of football we play, the physical nature that we bring in our offense and at this university, it?s been that way ever since I?ve been paying attention. You?re going to need all of those guys.?
Line in line of fire
Perhaps no position on the team was challenged in the first week of camp quite as much as the offensive line, which has seen a steady barrage of different looks and blitzes by the defense.
?Overall, it?s going to be good for us,? junior right tackle Rob Havenstein said. ?We?ve seen some three down (linemen), four down, we?ve seen 4-2, 4-3, we?ll see it all, three down with two wide ?9s? (speed rushing ends) and safeties running all around.
?If you watch it on film, it just looks like they?re running in circles. It?s a lot of organized chaos on D.?
On Saturday, the line did an excellent job during a pressure segment with sophomore Joel Stave at quarterback. In seven plays, which included three runs, there were no sacks, or pressures, and Stave completed his first three passes. He was close to going 4-for-4 but Alex Erickson couldn?t quite come up with a pass over the middle.
But the problem with the line on this day was ball security. Senior backup center Chris Gill, a transfer from Mississippi, and quarterback Tanner McEvoy had two botched shotgun snaps in a row, causing the coaches to replace both players.
A short time later, there was a fumbled snap between Stave and starting center Dan Voltz.
After the practice, the line got together in a corner of the field to talk about the issues.
?We just had too many critical MAs (missed assignments), dropped snaps and false starts today, kind of the unforced errors,? Havenstein said. ?We don?t want to do that.?
Added Costigan: ?Just trying not to make the same mistake twice. That?s a huge thing with offensive linemen, you do something bad once, you never want to have it happen to you again.?
Reynard stays at CB
So far, junior college transfer T.J. Reynard remains a cornerback, the position he was recruited to play. Reynard played safety last season at Independence (Kan.) Community College just for the chance to get on the field.
Given UW?s need at safety, it was thought Reynard could move, if needed. But there is a strong need to develop depth at cornerback, too. Reynard has mostly been working with the No. 2 defense, paired with freshman Sojourn Shelton.
?(Reynard) has safety ability,? safeties coach Bill Busch said. ?He?s really done a nice job in camp at corner.
?To be honest with you, the Big Ten has changed a little bit. It?s really not so much a neck-roll conference anymore, (with) I-backs, there are a lot of teams spread all over the place.?
Given the Badgers? schedule, they will see plenty of spread teams. So, it?s important to develop at least four corners who are ready to play. Junior Peniel Jean and sophomore Darius Hillary are the starters.
?You look at the teams we have to play, a lot of times we have to match up on three, four wide receivers,? Busch said. ?So, we need that coverage ability.
?(Reynard) has had a really good camp so far. Right now, there wouldn?t be a move, but we never rule anything out.?
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