MADISON -- On the nicest day of the year so far, the Wisconsin Badgers scrimmaged outside in Camp Randall Stadium on Saturday, a week prior to their annual spring game.
Wide receivers Reggie Love and George Rushing both caught the ball well and delivered impressive performances on the afternoon. Love caught three touchdown passes, all by quarterback Bart Houston, including two with the No. 2 offense versus the No. 2 defense and a nice catch as a member of the first team. Rushing made a great catch after he slipped and fell on the ground, putting both hands up to snag a pass later in the scrimmage. Along with Jazz Peavy and Robert Wheelwright, the emergence of either upperclassman would be a welcomed sight for the passing offense.
Both quarterbacks appeared on point, as Houston and southpaw Alex Hornibrook hit their receiving targets well. Houston fit some balls in tight spaces in team drills and in the scrimmage, including a couple of the touchdowns to Love and a 15-to-20-yard strike to Peavy in team drills. Hornibrook may have taken more "sacks" (if hitting was legal). The West Chester, Pa., native started off with the first team for the afternoon, but the two competitors for the starting spot interchanged with the No. 1 and No. 2 offenses.
Some unofficial stats from today's situational, non-tackling scrimmage. A lot of Houston to Love connections today. pic.twitter.com/fp7BMIrYVx
— Jason Galloway (@Jason_Galloway) April 16, 2016
Highlights/observations
- A couple of scuffles broke out, but quickly subdued. The first one appeared to be between right guard Beau Benzschawel and defensive lineman Conor Sheehy. After the play, they hugged it out.
- Outside linebacker T.J. Watt had another deflected pass in practice. Someone's taking after his older brother.
- Leo Musso stepped in front of a Hornibrook pass and would have taken it for a pick-six in the skeleton 7-on-7 drill.
- Houston hit Wheelwright for a long gain off a corner flag route in modified team drills
- Houston also had one of the prettiest naked bootlegs seen since Nate Tice took a snap 17 yards for a touchdown against Indiana back in 2010. Like Tice's score, it went for a touchdown.
- Running back Corey Clement ran hard today and made some great runs with the help of his offensive line.