February 23, 2012

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O’Brien to Madison?

February 14, 2012 By

Maryland released quarterback Danny O’Brien from his scholarship, allowing

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him to sign with another school. 

According to the Baltimore Sun, the list of schools that O’Brien is considering includes Wisconsin, as well as Vanderbilt, Stanford and Michigan State. 

O’Brien is reportedly on track to graduate in the spring and would be eligible to play immediately in 2012, just like Russell Wilson did last year.  The difference is, O’Brien would have two years of eligibility remaining while Wilson had just 1-year at Wisconsin.  The Badgers do expect to have a scholarship available if necessary.

O’Brien was named a freshman All-American by the Football Writers’ Association of America in 2010.  He went 7-3 as a starter, passing for 2,438 yards and 22 touchdowns with just 8 interceptions.

OBrien struggled last season under a new offensive coordinator (Gary Crowton), who was fired after the Terrapins finished just 2-10.  O’Brien’s numbers dropped to 1,648 yards passing with 7 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. 

At the moment, Wisconsin has no clear-cut candidate to start at quarterback going into spring practice.

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Bielems competes his coaching staff in Madison

February 6, 2012 By

Wisconsin head football coach Bret Bielema completed his coaching staff on Monday.  Eddie Faulkner has been hired to coach the

Bret Bielema

Badgers’ tight ends. 

Faulkner was a running back at Wisconsin from 1996 through 2000 and spent last season as the running backs coach and special teams coordinator at Northern Illinois, working with current Wisconsin offensive coordinator Matt Canada. 

As running backs coach at NIU, Faulkner produced All-MAC tailback Jasmin Hopkins, who rushed for 956 yards and 15 touchdowns on 187 carries (5.1 avg).  NIU boasted the nation’s No. 12 rushing attack with an average of 234.14 yards per game.

Overseeing NIU’s special teams, Faulkner’s punt coverage unit ranked second nationally, yielding just one yard per return. 

Prior to NIU, Faulkner spent eight seasons at Ball State (2003-10). 

Faulkner was a member of two Big Ten championship teams as a running back at Wisconsin.  He rushed for 1,064 yards in his career and seven touchdowns. 

After graduating from UW, Faulkner signed a free agent contract with the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2001 before going on to a pro career with the Edmonton Eskimos of the Canadian Football League.

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Bret Bielema’s 2012 recruiting class

February 2, 2012 By

Bret Bielema’s 2012 recruiting class is complete, 12 scholarship players and 7 preferred walk-ons.

Wisconsin lost out on a couple of big time offensive lineman, Kyle Dodson who signed with Ohio State and J.J. Denman, who bolted for Rutgers. 

But the Badgers were able to find help by signing 6’6, 320 pound Jake Meador out of Whiteland, Indiana.  Meador chose the Badgers over Florida. [Read more...]

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Bret Bielema to announced 17 player class this afternoon

February 1, 2012 By

Wisconsin coach Bret  Bielema will discuss his 2012 recruiting class this

Bret Bielema

afternoon in Madison. 

The group includes 12 scholarship players and 5 additional walk-on’s.  Three of the 12 scholarship players are from Wisconsin, while all five walk-on’s are from inside the state’s borders.

Here’s the updated list of scholarship players:

Bart Houston  -  QB  -  Concord, CA
Walker Williams  -  OL  -  Tacoma, Wash.
Vince Biegel  -  LB  -  Wisconsin Rapids, WI
Hugs Etienne  -  CB  -  Plantation, Fla.
Arthur Goldberg  -  DT  -  Mount Lebanon, Pa.
Vonte Jackson  -  RB  -  Kenosha, WI
Reggie Love  -  WR  -  Boynton Beach, Fla.
Jake Meador  -  OL  -  Greenwood, Ind.
Reggie Mitchell  -  CB  -  Pittsburgh, Pa.
Leo Musso  -  ATH  -  Waunakee, Wis.
D.J. Singleton  -  S  -  Union, NJ
Dan Voltz  -  OL  -  Barrington, IL

Here is the list of walk-on’s:

Trent Denlinger  -  DE  -  Cuba City, WI
Jake Rademacher  -  LB  -  Wales, WI
Jack Russell  -  K  -  Waunakee, WI
Logan Schmidt  -  DE  -  Gotham, WI
Alex Walker  -  TE  -  Glendale, WI

 

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Badgers recruiting class hits 15

February 1, 2012 By

The Wisconsin Badgers 2012 recruiting class now has a total of 15 commits, 10 via scholarship and 5 more as walk-on’s.

Scholarship players that signed with the Badgers today follow:

Vince Biegel  -  LB  -  Wisconsin Rapids, Wis.
Hugs Etienne  -  CB  -  Plantation, Fla.
Arthur Goldberg  -  DT  -  Mount Lebanon, Pa.
Vonte Jackson  -  RB  -  Kenosha, Wis
Reggie Love  -  WR  -Boynton Beach, Fla.
Jake Meador  -  OL  -  Greenwood, Ind.
Reggie Mitchell  -  CB  -  Pittsburgh, Pa.
Leo Musso  -  ATH  -  Waunakee, Wi.
D.J. Singleton  -  S  -  Union, N.J.
Dan Voltz  -  OL  -  Barrington, Ill.

Walk-on’s

Trent Denlinger  -  DE  -  Cuba City, Wis.
Jake Rademacher  -  LB  -  Wales, Wis.
Jack Russell  -  K  -  Waunakee, Wis.
Logan Schmidt  -  DE  -  Gotham, Wis.
Alex Walker  -  TE  -  Glendale, Wis.

The Badgers could still get a few more commitments yet today.

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