A new football season is right around the corner. How good are the Badgers this year? We sat down with former Badger wide receiver and Big Ten Network analyst Brandon Williams to get his take on the new coach, the run game, and how Wisconsin will fare this season.
On what Badger fans can expect from new head coach Paul Chryst…
They can expect a very detail-oriented coach who knows the x’s and o’s very well. He plans out and thinks a lot of things through. Expect a very explosive offense, with a lot of shifts and a lot of motions. There will be a lot of sets with a lot of different people touching the football. He’s a veteran coach who’s coached in the Big Ten for a long time and understands the league and what it takes to win.
On whether quarterback Joel Stave can provide the consistency that Badger fans are looking for…
I think if he can stay healthy – then yes. I think if he stays healthy, he will have a good season and could throw for over 3,000 yards. If he keeps his interceptions down, they should do well. Whether they say he has competition in camp or not, there is always competition. They’ll be looking to put the best player in there who will make the best decisions. It may sound like things are settled, but believe me, every day those backups are fighting to take his job. If he slips up, they will be right there waiting for him.
On who will emerge from the wide receiving corps…
I think [Robert] Wheelwright is one of those guys I see emerging and taking a big step. He has all the physical attributes and made all the big plays last year and seems like he’s trying to take another step in making some more plays. The freshmen from last year will play a lot faster because they’ll understand the speed of the game, they’ll understand the offense a lot more and they’ll just be able to make more plays. So I think Rob, and the three freshmen from last year will be able to step up and make more plays.
On running back Corey Clement replacing Melvin Gordon…
I really like Corey. I think last year Corey played good, but he didn’t play great. I think it’s because he knew his touches were limited and Melvin was the number one guy. He knew when he got the ball he had to try and make something happen on every single play. I think coming in this year, he knows he’s the number one guy even though he knows he has some young guys who are hungry right behind him. He knows he’s going to get the bulk of the carries if he stays healthy. I think his patience and his vision will allow him to take over. He’s by far one of the most explosive backs in the country. He can catch the football out of the backfield and understands the passing game pretty well from a schematic standpoint. He’ll be involved in the pass game a lot more this season. That’s an attribute that Coach Chryst will include in the offense. He’ll use his running backs in the passing game to catch balls out of the backfield and throw screen passes with those guys. I think that suits Corey very well. He’s just as explosive as Melvin was last year, I just think he rushed a lot of things last year because he was so anxious to get on the field.
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