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Big Ten Media Days....Day 1

Day One of Big Ten Media Days is over and from all accounts Brett Bielema was one of the more sought after interviews.  He had a couple of great quotes, including this gem about missing Terelle Pryor - 

"There wasn’t any question about who won that football game," Bielema said. "The only bad part about Terrelle leaving is he kind of claimed the week after that it was a fluke. That they’d beat us 9 out of 10 times.

"To me, we really wanted to play that game against him. Unfortunately we won’t."

And this one about cheaters in the NCAA - 

"If I had a dream world, I would say hammer the guys that don't do things right. To me in my profession, the only thing I get very frustrated about is when I know things go on that aren't right, mainly in recruiting. That's the biggest thing that comes across my desk. People are willingly and knowingly abusing rules and breaking things. To me, when you are consciously aware of abusing a rule, there's no excuse for that."

For those that want to read the full transcript, Jeff Potrykus post the entire interview on JSOnline.com. He also has a Day 1 video recap here.

If that isn't enough to wet your Media Day whistle BigTenNetwork.com has a full recap of all interviews on their website.  Here is a direct link to the Bielema interview from Big Ten Network.

UWBadgers.com has a chat recap with the Butrym, Henry and Toon following their interviews at Media Days.

Moving slightly away from Media Day, Tom Mulhern at Madison.com has a break down of the tight end position.  The job to replace Lance Kendricks will be a bit of a committee approach with Jacob Pedersen and Manasseh Garner getting significant early reps.

 

Big Ten Media Days Are Here

Jeff Potrykus is down in Chicago for the Big 10 Meetings and is keeping Badger fans updated in his blog posts.  Here is some video of him previewing the upcoming season as well.

UW Badgers.com is hosting a live chat with Patrick Butrym, Nick Toon, and Aaron Henry at 2pm cst time today while they are attending the Big 10 Media Days.  Mike Lucas also spoke with Butrym beforehand about his preparation of the event.

Adam Rittenberg is keeping busy with the meetings and will be posting throughout the day.  Here is his lunch links post and the coaches schedule.

If you haven’t heard the news, Montee Ball and James White were named to the Preseason Watch List for the Leaders Division (I am not sure I will ever get used to calling it that).  You can read about it here.

Tom Mulhern has a good writeup on new running back coach Thomas Hammock who has a history with the Badgers going back to his Graduate Assistant days.  Losing Settle to the NFL was a tough loss, but it sure seems like Hammock is more than capable of stepping in given his experience.  It also seems like the running backs have responded well to his coaching.

Speaking of big shoes to fill, David Gilbert is expected to start at power end which was formerly JJ Watt’s position.  He is off to a good start by making his goal weight of 255 thanks to a strong dedication to his offseason workout program.  He is among a group of players that needed to gain weight as this post explains.  This was Mulhern’s previous post detailing the linebackers.

Bucky’s 5^th Quarter explains that Blake Sorenson signed a contract with the Seattle Seahawks where he will join former Badger John Moffitt.

Adam Mertz explains that NC State coach Tom O’Brien sticks by his decision to give Russell Wilson an ultimatum of picking football or baseball at the end of last season.  This couldn’t have worked out any better for the Badgers.

Not surprisingly, Coach Bielema is not getting caught up in the preseason rankings and the high expectations that come with them.

Four Badgers Sign with NFL Teams

Happy hump day.

Football

With the NFL lockout finally over, four former Badger signed free agent contracts with NFL teams. Scott Tolzien signed with the Chargers, David Gilreath with the Colts, and Niles Brinkley and John Clay will start their careers in Pittsburgh. You can read more about the signings at the JSOnline, FoxSportsWisconsin.com, B5Q, and Badger of Honor.

Tom Mulhern shared his ballot for the Big Ten preseason media poll and his rationale for why he voted the way he did. Mulhern has UW losing to Michigan State in the the Big Ten title game.

Adam Rittenberg begins yet another Big Ten player ranking countdown. UW's Chris Borland leads things off at #25. I'm excited to see him back on the field this season. Imagine if he had J.J. Watt in front of him. 

In some sad news, former Badger WR Kraig Appleton was shot several times last weekend and is in stable condition. Hopefully he makes a full recovery.

For Badger Fans, Life is a Lot Better These Days

When you have time to pull yourself away from trying to understand the debt ceiling and Kristin Cavallari and Jay Cutler's split up, take a read through today's Badger links.

Football

Man, things have changed. Just two years ago UW was coming off a 7-6 season, including a blowout loss to Florida State in the Champs Sports bowl, with Dustin Sherer expected to be the Badgers' starting QB. Many Badger fans were wondering if Bielema was the right guy for the job.

Today, life is much better for Badger fans. UW is coming off an 11-2 season, a Rose Bowl berth, and has one of the top QBs in the country. The Big Ten media is projecting the Badgers to win the Leaders division. Russell Wilson (6^th) and Montee Ball (8^th) both received votes for preseason offensive player of the year. The media also rank Bielema the #1 coach in the conference.

Mike Lucas caught up with John Moffitt, who is obviously excited for the NFL season to start. Moffitt was a 3^rd round pick by the Seattle and is expected to be the Seahawks starting right guard this season.

Adam Hoge updated his QB position profile to include Russell Wilson. You can download the pdf and order Badger Kickoff 2011 at B5Q.

You can catch Bielema's press conference at the Big Ten meetings live on the BTN at 10:15am CDT Thursday.

Over at Badger of Honor, Aaron shares the best of what UW football and basketball players are saying on Twitter while Jack brings up another bad memory reflecting back on P.J. Hills arrest at the end of his Badger career.

WR Nick Toon is the second biggest key to the Badgers' success this year according to BadgerBlitz.

Hoops

Want to know more about assistant coach Greg Gard and his relationship with Bo? Mike Lucas can help you out.

B10 Media Votes Badger Preseason "Leaders"

While the Big Ten coaches announced they will no longer vote on a preseason favorite, along with an offensive and defensive POY the Big Ten media decided to continue the tradition and vote for one themselves.  Probably not too surprising that the media chose Wisconsin and Nebraska as division favorites.  Wisconsin also received the second most votes to win the title game and what might be a surprise to some Bielema was voted as the top coach.  Finally in the Offensive POY category three members of the Badgers backfield were voted in the Top 10; Montee Ball #5, Russell Wilson #6 and James White #8.  ESPN.com further breaks down the Media Vote further sets expectations high for the Badgers.

 

Getting Ready for Fall Camp

With a little over a week until the start of fall camp Badger news is starting starting to pick up on the Intertubes.  It's time to start getting into morning drinking shape, if you haven't started already.

Football

Ben Worgull at FoxSportsWisconsin.com writes that with all the talent and experience returning for the Badgers this year there are going to be some strong position battles in training camp. He takes a close look at the expected battles at right tackle, strong safety, and the #3 WR.

At JSOnline, Jeff Potrykus writes that the Badgers have been using the Rose Bowl loss to motivate them this offeseason. Potrykus also notes Bielema is fond of the Big Ten's divisional format and made the right decision not taking Russell Wilson to the big meetings. Also, Dave Heller posted a bunch of links about preseasons rankings and recruiting.

NFL Draft Site lists the top 50 players you should know heading into theis college football season. Montee Ball checks in at #25 while Russell Wilson is #50.

Tom Lea's countdown of the top 25 key Badgers is nearing an end with Montee Ball at #4 and Chris Borland at #3.

Adam Hoge at B5Q shares #11-#15 on his preseason UW player rankings. The list includes G Travis Frederick, P Brad Nortman, K Philip Welch, G Kevin Zeitler, and DT Patrick Butrym.

If you're really stretching for Badger news, Mike Lucas has James Kamoku's life story on UWBadgers.com

It looks like Ohio State is going to get off without a bowl or TV ban for the slew of NCAA rules violations that have come to light in recent months. Speaking of the Suckeyes, they're busting out their "pro-combat" uniforms for the Wisconsin game.

Hoops

Badger basketball fans have something to worry about for the next few months. Jordan Taylor will have surgery on his right ankle. He's expected to be back when practice starts in October but may be limited in conditioning work.

Mike Lucas talked to Zach Bohannon about his experience at the Air Force Academy, growing up in older brother Jason's shadow, and his decision to transfer to Wisconsin.

While Jon Leuer is waiting for the NBA lockout to end so he can join the Bucks, Keaton Nankivil is preparing to play pro ball in Europe by playing in the Milwaukee Pro-Am league. His game seems well suited for the other side of the pond so it seems like a smart move to focus on playing there than worrying about catching on with a NBA team.

Phil at B5Q profiles guard Eron Harris, who has a scholarship offer from Wisconsin and is in the running to be the final recruit in Bo's 2012 class. Harris seems like the classic under-the-radar guy Bo likes to recruit.

Hockey

UW lost returning goal scorer Craig Smth to the NHL a couple weeks ago but it looks like top-point producer Justin Schultz will be staying put in Madison for another year.

Andy Baggot looks at what Smith's departure means for the Badgers, including roommate and teammate John Ramage.

The best Badger hockey blogger on the planet, Chuck at B5Q, takes another shot at projecting UW's lineup for the 2011-2012 season. Chuck expects the Badgers to field a strong team this year, lead by its defensive unit.

Sick of NFL Talk? How About Some Badger Links

Football

Rick Reilly welcomes Nebraska to the Big 10 with one of my favorite quotes of the year “I'm afraid Wisconsin is you, Nebraska, only with much better parties and more wins.

Although Jack Moore’s comment about arriving on campus in 2007 made me feel really old, I enjoyed the stroll down memory lane with Lance Smith…..or maybe I didn’t.  Badger of Honor also looks at future offensive lineman Dan Voltz who looks like a can’t miss prospect.

Dave Heller’s links featured a ranking of how the Wisconsin head coaching position compares with the rest of the country and a listing of the all-time recruits coming out of high school.

Tom Oates analyzes the negative effect the lockout could have on Scott Tolzien and other rookie free agents.  As he points out, the quarterback position is the hardest position to transition to, but Tolzien’s ability to pick up an offense and football knowledge should give him a leg up on the competition.

Tom Mulhern details the relationship of two of the highest rated recruits for the 2011 class- Melvin Gordon and Jake Keefer. 

Here is a link to Adam Rittenberg’s chat wrap.

Hockey

Andy Baggot fills us in on another highly rated recruiting class for the Badgers with a few of the members being selected in the NHL Entry Draft last month.

Barry's a Hall of Famer

Welcome back to the work week. Here's some Badger news for you.

Football

Congrats to Barry for being inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame this weekend. Ben Worgull at FS Wisconsin looks at how Barry turned around the UW program so quickly and writes that Barry is continuing his success as the AD.

At the JS Badgers Blog, Dave Heller posted some more links while Jeff Potrykus writes that incoming freshman Derek Watt, J.J.'s younger brother, had a hell of a game in the WFC All-Star game this weekend. Watt had 3 INTs, returning one for a TD.  Potrykus also posted an update on other Badgers that played, including RB Melvin Gordon who could push for playing time as a true frosh.

Looking ahead to next year, Adam Mertz has an in-depth profile on QB Bart Houston while Badger of Honor has one on Gordon's former high school teammate Vonte Jackson. Jackson also played RB and will follow Gordon to Madison next year.

In today's Russell Wilson update, Tom Mulhern writes that Wilson is fitting in well with his UW teammates and explains the story on how Wilson and Biddy Martin know each other.

Adam Rittenberg takes a very early look at the Ohio State-Wisconsin game, although it's pretty bland preview.

Louis Nzegwu is the 6th best Badger heading into preseason camp according to Tom Lea at BadgerBlitz.

Hoops

Jon Leuer talked to The Sports Bank about potentially playing overseas if the NBA lockout goes a while. FS Wisconsin writes that Leuer is back in Madison right now finishing up his degree and working out with former teammates.

Hockey

The Big Ten may be rethinking its playoff format for men's hockey. With the WCHA being blown up the league may want to have the championships in St. Paul.

EA Sports’ NCAA Football 2012 is Creating a lot of Buzz

Football

As usual, Adam Rittenberg of ESPN has been posting a lot of great material.  He discusses the EA Sports’ NCAA Football 2012 simulation that has the Badgers playing LSU in the Sugar Bowl.  Good thing this is a simulation because the Badgers came up on the short end of the stick.  He also ranks the top 10 conference cornerbacks.  Antonio Fenelus came in at number 4 and Devin Smith was an honorable mention.

Brandon Harrison from Badger Branded takes a closer look at NCAA Football 2012 and gives the individual ratings for the roster.  He also has a great post in which he lists all of the Badgers that you can currently follow on Twitter.

John at 5^th Quarter posted multiple links of Badger news including one that has the Badgers playing Alabama in the BCS title game.  I think I would be ok with that.

Tom Mulhern puts the spotlight on incoming freshmen Austin Maly, Melvin Gordan, and Jordan Fredrick who will all be participating in the Wisconsin Football Coaches Association All-Star games.  This is a good looking trio who have a lot of competition to get through to get some playing time.

Congratulations to Kevin Zietler and Peter Konz who were named to the Lombardi Award watch lists.

Jack Moore at Badger of Honor attempts to analyze the AP Rankings by week for the 2010 season and as well as since 1998. 

Joe Fortenbaugh has a very in depth look at potential impact rookies.  Former Badgers Lance Kendriks and JJ Watt make the list.

Hockey

Andy Baggot gives some more details of the disbandment of the WCHA.  It looks like the Badger and Gophers started a mass exodus, which is sad to see because it was such a strong league.  It looks like a new conference called the National Collegiate Hockey Conference is going to include most of the former Badger rivals and will be a tough division in its own right.

 

Badger News - the Calm Before the Storm

After several weeks of Badger Buzz all over the web, thanks mostly to Russell Wilson, things are a little quieter today. Maybe it's the calm before the storm.

Football

Dave Heller at the JS Badgers Blog rounds up several Badger-related links including snippets from the CollegeFootballNews.com's Wisconsin preview. He also has a Q&A with a Rivals.com recruiting analyst. Even thought UW fans are excited about this year's still forming recruiting class, don't expect UW to be a recruiting powerhouse anytime soon, but that's not a bad thing.

At ESPN.com Adam Rittenberg ranks the UW secondary the 4th best in the Big Ten heading into the 2011 season and Brian Bennett previews the UNLV game. Expect the Runnin' Rebels to suck ass again this year (they were 2-11 last year).

In an All-Start game inspired post, 7 Badgers made Rittenberg's Leaders division All-Star team. G Kevin Zeitler, RBs Montee Ball and James White, LB Chris Borland, CB Antonio Fenelus, S Aaron Henry, and P Brad Nortman all made the team.

Sam at Big Ten Rant takes a closer look at the Badgers that Mel Kiper's top 5 position rankings, including Bradie Ewing (#2 SR fullback), Kevin Zeitler (#1 SR offensive guard), Philip Welch (#4 SR kicker), Ricky Wagner (#4 JR tackle), and Peter Konz (#1 JR center).

Andy Baggot suggests Ohio State should have to give one game's worth of ticket revenue to the Big Ten to be split among the other 11 (10?) teams for cheating with ineglible players.

Hoops

Phil at B5Q has another one of his awesome recruiting updates. If Bo doesn't land highly tauted guard Bronson Koenig it won't be for a lack of effort. Bo has only missed one of his AAU games in two years.

Sophomore Duje Dukan is playing for the Croatian National Team in the U-20 European championships this summer and has a blog update on UWBadgers.com about his experience so far.
 It's not every exciting but if you're starving for Badger news, give it a read.

Hockey

Mike Lucas writes that college hockey will live on with the big conference alignment shakeups that have happened over the past couple of months with the new Big Ten and "super league" conferences.