The Wisconsin Badgers continued spring practice on a chilly Wednesday night in Camp Randall Stadium. With only three days to go until the much anticipated spring game on Saturday, a number of players stood out during the two and a half hour practice session.
Senior quarterback Joel Stave was up and down during the 11-on-11 session of practice. He threw a few interceptions and overthrew receivers on a number of occasions, as the defense continued to look impressive.
However, it seems that the Stave-to-Alex Erickson connection has not lost a step with the coaching change. Stave connected with the senior wide receiver on a number of passes -- including ones of 25, 20, 18, and 15 yards.
"I like the way he works," Wisconsin head coach Paul Chryst said of Erickson. "I think he's certainly been our most consistent receiver. He gets in and out of his breaks. I think that's one thing that having been on the field with him this spring seems better than I thought maybe on film."
The senior signal caller also connected with junior wide receiver Reggie Love on a beautiful back shoulder throw for a touchdown in the red zone.
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Sophomore wide receiver Jazz Peavy also had an impressive practice on Wednesday. Peavy received some reps with the first team and made a few catches during 11-on-11, including an impressive 35-yard touchdown pass from junior quarterback Bart Houston. Peavy is a receiver to keep an eye on during the spring game on Saturday.
As noted earlier, the defense was in fine form. Redshirt freshman inside linebacker T.J. Edwards continued his stellar spring and was all over the field during 11-on-11 drills. Edwards finished with two interceptions, including one that halted an offensive drive in the red zone. He also had two sacks and was constantly making tackles on running plays.
Wisconsin head coach Paul Chryst noted the progression of Edwards, and how he's becoming more comfortable on the field.
"T.J.'s done a nice job, and I love the way he's approached it, and I think because of his approach -- and he's had some things that he's done well so it gives him confidence -- I think he's building on that," Chryst said. "I like the way he's going about it."
Injury notes
- Did Not Practice: Arthur Goldberg, Keelon Brookins, Jordan Frederick, AJ Jordan, Eric Steffes, Jake Stengel, Austin Ramesh, Peter Roy, Dan Voltz
- Senior left guard Ray Ball left practice about halfway through with what looked like a lower body injury. As a result, junior Walker Williams replaced Ball and Beau Benzschawel played right guard. The Wisconsin State Journal's Jason Galloway also noted true freshman and early enrollee Jon Dietzen also received snaps at right guard.
- Senior cornerback Devin Gaulden and senior fullback Derek Straus both returned to practice.
Other notes
- Chryst said they'll divide players up in a "first-group versus our second-group" nature for the spring game, but all players will be on the same sideline.
- Chryst confirmed former Wisconsin basketball players Duje Dukan and Josh Gasser as guest coaches during Saturday's spring game. Chryst joked there may be some surprises, including Gasser taking some snaps at quarterback. "He's pretty good," Chryst quipped.
- When asked if Chryst would like another week with players, he laughed and said no -- he'd rather have another month. "The biggest thing is I've enjoyed getting to know this team, and it's just the start of it," Chryst said. "I really do. I wish we had another 15-20 practices. It'd be pretty fun."
B5Q's Jake Kocorowski also contributed to this report.