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Henry learns from former Wisconsin safeties
MADISON — This is your deal now, take over. Take it on, and go get it.
With those words former Wisconsin free safety Chris Maragos, who was forced out in the final minutes of the Champs Sports Bowl with an injury, handed over the reins to Aaron Henry as he watched from the sideline.
Henry has not looked back since.
“That was it, he went out there, we won the game and ever since then, he’s really taken hold of the position, and he’s really taken ownership of it,” Maragos said. “I couldn’t be any more proud of him.”
When asked who has helped him in the transition from cornerback to free safety, Henry quickly admits he could run off a long list of names.
Among those that have given Henry advice is current teammate and fellow safety, Jay Valai. What did Valai have to say?
“Always be true to yourself, man,” Valai recalled. “Just go out there and play football and don’t overthink. You over think stuff, that’s how you get beat. Big Ten football’s here now, concepts pick up a lot more, teams are going to be better for the most part and you’ve just got to be ready to play.”
Narrowing down the list of names, Henry recognizes the two most influential on his progress at the position.
Fortunately for Henry and the Badgers, those two athletes, Jim Leonhard and Maragos, happen to be playing the position professionally, for the New York Jets and San Francisco 49ers, respectively. Though advice from Leonhard was invaluable for Henry, it was Maragos who truly had the greatest influence on the move from corner to safety.
The strong bond between Henry and Maragos led the two to grow even closer as they worked to help each other improve, both physically and mentally.
“You probably can’t see the resemblance, but Chris and I are like brothers,” Henry said. “If anybody’s going to be critical of me, that I can take, it’s him, because we’re like family. He’ll call me up and be like, ‘Aaron, this is something you need to work on. Aaron, when you see so and so coming on a boot, you’ve got to make sure you cut that.’ It was just small things like that to help me fine tune my game.”
For Maragos, the decision to help Henry was a no-brainer based on their already close relationship and the strong work ethic possessed by the current UW free safety. While he was working on earning a position of his own with the 49ers, Maragos passed along whatever he could to help Henry.
In the process, Maragos found himself on the other side of things from where he was just a couple years earlier.
“I know for me, Jimmy made things real clear for me,” Maragos said. “He kind of has that ability to say like, ‘Listen, I’m in it right now, I’m playing these same coverages as you, these are some of the small things that help me out.’
“Now, things that I’ve acquired through playing the position, that’s what I’ve tried to pass on to Aaron and try to be the same help that Jimmy has been to me than I can be to Aaron.”
One of the biggest things Maragos did to help Henry had little to do with the physical nature of the position and everything to do with all the information that comes along with it.
As one of the leaders on defense, Henry had a lot more to learn than as a cornerback.
“I remember talking to Maragos and he was just telling me about how free safety in our defense, it’s like a code you’ve got to crack,” Henry said. “Once you’ve cracked the code, everything is going to be pretty easy. I feel like I’ve cracked that code, so things are starting become a whole lot clearer and smoother.”
“As a safety you have to know so many different things and I think a lot of things can kind of run together,” Maragos added. “But when you get it and when things click, it’s like the code has been broken and you can see how clear everything is, and you can know how to play everything exactly how it should play out.”
So far, the early results would indicate Henry has in fact cracked the code.
Through five games, Henry has already matched his total from a year ago with 18 tackles. His five pass breakups are already a career-high, and his first two career fumble recoveries have come this season. On top of all that, he added his second career touchdown at UNLV.
Not only is Henry making plays, he’s made a name for himself with big hits on opposing receivers. The biggest difference in Henry now compared to when he first made the switch?
“Confidence,” Valai said. “Confidence is everything. If you don’t have confidence in yourself, it’s tough to be out there making plays on the football field because you don’t believe in yourself. I think confidence is probably the biggest thing at any position, and once Aaron’s gained his confidence, he’s been great.”
‘D’ focused on third downs
MADISON – Were they going to get off the field? Were they going to give their offense a chance to get back on the field?
Those questions, posed rhetorically by Aaron Henry while fielding questions in a trailer just outside Spartan Stadium last Saturday, likely were going through the mind of many Badger players and fans as Michigan State marched down the field late in the game.
In the end, the answers to the questions were, ‘No,’ and ‘Not really.’
Trailing by three points with 10 minutes remaining in their Big Ten season opener, all the Badgers had to do was hold the Spartans to a field goal. Do that, and they had a chance to escape with a late, game-winning touchdown drive.
Instead, they let Kirk Cousins lead Michigan State down the field for a 15-play, 84-yard touchdown drive that took more than eight minutes off the clock. Not only was UW then trailing by 10 points, it also had little time in which to mount a comeback.
“Of course, of course you’ve got to get off the field. Definitely, man,” Henry said. “The game is won on defense, believe it or not. Anytime you play a team, if you can’t get off the field, if you can’t force the team to punt, you put yourself in a bad situation.”
While they secured three turnovers on defense, the Badgers only forced the Spartans to punt once in the game. Every other drive that didn’t result in a turnover ended with MSU putting points on the board.
Much of that had to do with the Badgers’ inability to get off the field on third down, which allowed Michigan State to string together a few long scoring drives. After allowing the Spartans to convert on 9 of 18 third-down conversion attempts, it’s no surprise that third downs have been a point of emphasis in practice this week.
What may not be as apparent is the focus put on having success on first and second down, to avoid tough third down situations.
“It’s a big issue when on first and second down you’re giving up three or four yards and they’re in third and short, third and three to five,” said defensive end J.J. Watt. “Third and three to five is a hard down to play, and I know it’s a hard down for him to call, so we really can’t put the defensive coordinator in situations like that.”
Though last week’s shortcomings have certainly been a point of emphasis, there’s no lack of motivation on the Wisconsin sideline as they prepare for this week’s opponent.
With border rival Minnesota coming into Camp Randall for Saturday’s homecoming game, the Badgers know exactly what’s at stake. Considering the way they played in East Lansing to open the conference season, the Battle for Paul Bunyan’s Axe could not come at a better time.
“You can’t think of a better game to have. If we’re going to go out there and play the game of our lives, this week would be a great week to do it,” Henry said. “I think this Axe is something that motivates everybody in the locker room. You would hate for a team to run over on your sideline and take it.”
Despite the Gophers’ lack of success so far, the UW defense will not be taking them lightly. It’s been seven years since Minnesota held the Axe, with the last six contests being decided by an average of 12 points.
In their last three matchups — two in Minneapolis and one in Madison — the Badgers have won by just over four points a game, and by just three in each of the last two.
With no one on the current Minnesota roster having touched the Axe in their careers, the last thing Wisconsin wants to do is see the Gophers celebrate with it on their home turf.
“They’re a hungry team. This is like the Super Bowl for them,” safety Jay Valai said. “So I know we’ll play them just the same way. It’s going to be a fun game.
“We don’t want anybody to come on our sidelines and have that feeling we felt a couple years ago at Iowa.”
Spartans’ big plays hurt UW
EAST LANSING — Every time you looked up, it seemed like Michigan State had the ball, and down-and-distance was in the Badgers’ favor.
More often than not though, it also seemed as though the Spartans picked up enough yardage to earn a new set of downs. As if that weren’t enough, many of those third-down conversions turned out to be big gains, dramatically changing the course of the drive and the football game.
“Big plays on defense hurt us,” said Wisconsin head coach Bret Bielema.
“We’re a team that if we do things uncharacteristic of what we are, we’re going to meet failure and not have success in critical situations.”
Wisconsin’s defense was not the only unit hurt by big plays. The Badgers were hurt yet again on special teams in the second quarter when MSU returner Keshawn Martin returned a Brad Nortman punt 74 yards for the touchdown.
While it may not have won the game for the Spartans, Martin’s touchdown changed the momentum in a hurry.
“I wouldn’t say it got us beat today,” free safety Aaron Henry said of the special teams. “But it didn’t help.”
On their three touchdown drives, the Spartans converted on five third downs and two fourth down attempts. Those three drives also featured nine plays of 10 yards or more for the Michigan State offense.
All told, MSU went for 10 or more yards on 17 plays in the game, including three that were at least 20 yards and three more of 30 yards or more. On third down, the Spartans went 9-for-18, while converting two of three fourth downs.
“We need to get it together, man,” Henry said. “It’s just the small things that we’ve got to correct. We know we have a ton of talent, we know we’ve got a real good football team, we know we can play with anybody in the country.
“But today, Michigan State was a little bit better than us.”
On no drive were the Badgers’ third down struggles more evident than the Spartans’ final trip down the field. Reeling off 15 plays over 8:03 for 84 yards, Michigan State delivered a devastating knockout punch to Wisconsin.
Crucial to their success on that drive were three successful third-down conversions, from third-and-9, third-and-11 and third-and-5. The first was converted on a 12-yard pass from quarterback Kirk Cousins to Mark Dell. That was nothing compared to the back-breaking pass that came just three plays later.
Facing third-and-11 on his own 28-yard line, Cousins found Larry Caper for a 35-yard completion, moving the ball down to the UW 37-yard line.
“We did a great job on first and second down,” cornerback Antonio Fenelus said. “We’ve just got to be able to convert and stop them on those third and longs and just [eliminate] those big plays they had.”
Caper struck again later in the drive, rushing for 11 yards on third-and-5, which set up a first-and-goal at the 10-yard line and gave Michigan State a shot at a game-winning touchdown a few plays later.
Wisconsin’s inability to prevent big plays and stop Michigan State on third down was reflected in the final statistics for the Spartan offense. On the ground, MSU outgained UW 175 yards to 165. Through the air, Sparty put up 269 yards to just 127 for Bucky.
All told, the Spartans tallied 444 yards to 292 for Wisconsin. Both numbers were far from the Badgers’ season averages of 484 yards per game offensively and 265.2 given up on defense.
“That’s all on the players, we’ve got to pick it up,” safety Jay Valai said. “It was very frustrating because we’re a better defense than that. We’ve got to be able to stop them eventually.”
Five things to watch: Michigan State
EAST LANSING, Mich. — Finally, after four weeks of nonconference opponents, Big Ten play begins. There will be no easing into the conference slate for the Badgers either, as they head into Spartan Stadium for a battle between undefeated Big Ten squads.
Before things kick off on ABC this afternoon, BadgerBlitz.com offers a number of things to watch during today’s game, as well as a prediction.
1.) Man in the Mirror
When they take the field against Michigan State, the Badgers will see plenty of familiar looks on the other side of the line of scrimmage.
Between their two-headed rushing attack — including a rising freshman star — an efficient quarterback and their defensive styles, the home team has a lot in common with Wisconsin.
The key to the game may be which team better takes advantage of the familiarity between the two teams. Considering the Badgers rank ahead of the Spartans in most offensive and defensive categories, the mirror image effect may work out in their favor.
2.) TOOOOOOOOOOOOOON
One of the most encouraging aspects of the Badgers’ first four games is how they performed in the absence of top receiver Nick Toon. With its No. 1 receiver having pulled in just four passes for 54 yards through four games, Wisconsin continued to beat teams both through the air and on the ground.
With the return of No. 1, quarterback Scott Tolzien should only perform better than he already has in completing 64 of 84 passes for 851 yards and five touchdowns.
In particular, the Badgers’ immediately become a bigger threat to throw the ball deep down the field with Toon back in the lineup.
3.) Many happy returns
While it was not an issue in their dominating performance against Austin Peay, the Badgers’ special teams units remain the team’s biggest question mark. With a more formidable opponent in Michigan State this week, the need for strong coverage and return units is as high this week as it has been all season.
In particular, the punt return unit draws some intrigue as David Gilreath is expected to return to action this week. Gilreath is not expected to return punts in his first game back since suffering a concussion against San Jose State, which leaves that opening for at least another week.
Taking advantage of the opportunity appears to be free safety Aaron Henry who picked up 30 yards in his only punt return late in last week’s 70-3 win over Austin Peay. Henry will share the duties with Jared Abbrederis, but head coach Bret Bielema seems intent on giving Henry an opportunity at the position.
4.) Two-way player
For the second straight week, freshman Manasseh Garner is set to see action on both sides of the ball for Wisconsin. In fact, Bielema alluded to a potentially increased workload for Garner defensively after getting his feet wet a week ago.
With linebacker Chris Borland out, the UW head coach envisions Garner being able to have a similar, if less frequent, impact as a pass rusher in the Wisconsin defense. In his first two defensive plays against Austin Peay, Garner was impressive, finding his way into the backfield and putting pressure on the Governors’ quarterback.
If Garner can have a similar impact against a bigger, stronger Michigan State squad, it will pay huge dividends for the Badgers defense.
5.) No longer under the radar
Through four games, tight end Lance Kendricks has shown why he’s become his quarterback’s favorite target. Thanks to his size, speed and catching abilities, opposing defenses have done little to slow him down.
Kendricks leads the team in both receptions with 17 and receiving yards with 299, while adding three touchdowns. With the start of Big Ten play, however, Kendricks will no longer pose quite the same matchup nightmare for opponents.
That’s not to say Kendricks will be easy for conference foes to stop, but they’ll have a better chance than a team like Austin Peay or San Jose State.
While the running game and the return of Toon certainly are important to the offense, the better the performance of the Badgers tight end, the more likely they’ll be to come away with a road win.
Schelling’s prediction
Sure, things got interesting against Arizona State, but Michigan State clearly poses the biggest test yet for Wisconsin. Fortunately for the Badgers, there should be few surprises from Sparty.
With confidence built through last week’s dominant performance, Wisconsin will outlast Michigan State, and return home with their spotless record intact. UW wins 34-31.
Michigan State style bears resemblance to UW
When he looks across the line of scrimmage on Saturday, linebackerMike Taylor may need to do a double take just to be sure he’s at Spartan Stadium and not on the Badgers’ practice field.
Beginning behind center and extending to the backfield, the Michigan State offense bears a striking similarity to the one the UW linebacker faces during the week. Last year, that worked to Taylor’s advantage, as he led Wisconsin in tackles with eight, including a sack, while also grabbing his first career interception.
“It’s like kind of like the same offense,” Taylor said. “When they’re similar like that, you’ve got a little more experience with it.
“This week, we practiced more against our offense than the scout team to kind of get us ready for the physical play, the running play and the play action.”
Quarterbacks Kirk Cousins and Scott Tolzien rank sixth and seventh in the Big Ten in passing yards per game, separated by a mere three yards. On the ground, running back John Clay ranks third in the conference with 125.2 yards per game, just ahead of the Spartans’ duo of Edwin Baker and Le’Veon Bell, who rank fourth and fifth.
Averaging 233.2 yards through the air and 231.5 on the ground, the Spartans have the most balanced, and potent, attack the Badgers will have faced this season. Fortunately for Wisconsin, its defense ranks fourth and fifth in the Big Ten in stopping the run and pass, respectively.
With such a balanced Spartan attack, the key for Wisconsin — regardless of how Michigan State is moving the ball — is simple.
“We need to be consistent, that’s the biggest thing,” said defensive backs coach Chris Ash. “That’s been the biggest issue with us for all four games, just being consistent. If we do that, then we’ll go out and give ourselves a chance to win.”
One area in which Ash sees a need for greater consistency, especially against Big Ten competition, is tackling.
In particular, while he appreciates the confident, hard-hitting nature of his safeties, he’d like to see them do a better job of wrapping up when necessary.
“Every week we go, our tackling is important,” Ash said. “It might be more so this week just because they’re bigger backs and the way we have to tackle them is a bit different. But every week our tackling has to improve.”
With the Spartans’ size, the Badgers on Saturday will deal for the first time this season with something similar to what opponents face in trying to bring down guys like Clay and tight end Lance Kendricks.
While the similarities may make understanding the Michigan State attack easier, it doesn’t do anything to lessen the talent and balance possessed by the Spartans. Just as opposing teams have to do with their offense, the Badgers will need to defend equally against the run and the pass.
“They’re pretty balanced and they’re going to keep us in check,” Taylor said. “We’ve got to focus on what we do, be our best selves, do our job and hopefully that’ll take care of it.
“They’re a complete team. They can throw the ball, they can run the ball. It’s going to be a challenge. We’ve got to focus, play our football and hopefully rise up to the challenge.”
When he looks across the line of scrimmage on Saturday, linebackerMike Taylor may need to do a double take just to be sure he’s at Spartan Stadium and not on the Badgers’ practice field.
Beginning behind center and extending to the backfield, the Michigan State offense bears a striking similarity to the one the UW linebacker faces during the week. Last year, that worked to Taylor’s advantage, as he led Wisconsin in tackles with eight, including a sack, while also grabbing his first career interception.
“It’s like kind of like the same offense,” Taylor said. “When they’re similar like that, you’ve got a little more experience with it.
“This week, we practiced more against our offense than the scout team to kind of get us ready for the physical play, the running play and the play action.”
Quarterbacks Kirk Cousins and Scott Tolzien rank sixth and seventh in the Big Ten in passing yards per game, separated by a mere three yards. On the ground, running back John Clay ranks third in the conference with 125.2 yards per game, just ahead of the Spartans’ duo of Edwin Baker and Le’Veon Bell, who rank fourth and fifth.
Averaging 233.2 yards through the air and 231.5 on the ground, the Spartans have the most balanced, and potent, attack the Badgers will have faced this season. Fortunately for Wisconsin, its defense ranks fourth and fifth in the Big Ten in stopping the run and pass, respectively.
With such a balanced Spartan attack, the key for Wisconsin — regardless of how Michigan State is moving the ball — is simple.
“We need to be consistent, that’s the biggest thing,” said defensive backs coach Chris Ash. “That’s been the biggest issue with us for all four games, just being consistent. If we do that, then we’ll go out and give ourselves a chance to win.”
One area in which Ash sees a need for greater consistency, especially against Big Ten competition, is tackling.
In particular, while he appreciates the confident, hard-hitting nature of his safeties, he’d like to see them do a better job of wrapping up when necessary.
“Every week we go, our tackling is important,” Ash said. “It might be more so this week just because they’re bigger backs and the way we have to tackle them is a bit different. But every week our tackling has to improve.”
With the Spartans’ size, the Badgers on Saturday will deal for the first time this season with something similar to what opponents face in trying to bring down guys like Clay and tight end Lance Kendricks.
While the similarities may make understanding the Michigan State attack easier, it doesn’t do anything to lessen the talent and balance possessed by the Spartans. Just as opposing teams have to do with their offense, the Badgers will need to defend equally against the run and the pass.
“They’re pretty balanced and they’re going to keep us in check,” Taylor said. “We’ve got to focus on what we do, be our best selves, do our job and hopefully that’ll take care of it.
“They’re a complete team. They can throw the ball, they can run the ball. It’s going to be a challenge. We’ve got to focus, play our football and hopefully rise up to the challenge.”
Into the great ‘White’ open
MADISON—On the Badgers’ fourth play from scrimmage Saturday, running back James White missed a blitz pickup that led to a sack on quarterback Scott Tolzien, and a seven-yard loss.
It would be the only loss White was responsible for during the game.
“I knew I had to pick it up from there and just had to be focused in and gain my yards and pick up all the blocks,” White said.
“On the blitz, I was waiting for the mike declaration. I missed it, so I needed to look out to my right, I walked up to the line of scrimmage and the guy came right behind my back and sacked him.”
White heeded his own advice throughout the rest of Wisconsin’s non-conference game against FCS opponent Austin Peay, picking up a career-best and game-high 145 rushing yards on 11 carries with four touchdowns, including one on a 66-yard run down the sideline.
His 13.2 yards per carry was good for the fourth highest yards per carry average in school history.
Simply put, it was a breakout performance for the true freshman.
“He’s a special player,” Tolzien said. “He can break one at any snap.”
With the way he had been praised throughout fall camp by the UW coaching staff and the local media, White’s performance also was proof there might be something to all the hype.
After fumbling away a chance at his first career touchdown two weeks earlier, four trips to the end zone against the Governors added a measure of redemption as well for White.
“I wasn’t expecting it, I was just going out there trying to gain yards and just happened to break it a couple times and ended up with four touchdowns,” White said.
White became the seventh Badger in school history to rush for four touchdowns in a game and the first since P.J. Hill had four on Sept. 15, 2007, against The Citadel. Putting his name alongside an even greater former UW running back, White tied Ron Dayne’s record of four touchdowns in a game as a freshman.
With John Clay adding 118 yards on 15 carries, Clay and White gave the Badgers a pair of 100-yard rushers in a game for the first time since Nov. 7, 2009, when Clay and Montee Ball achieved the same feat at Indiana.
Those that have seen White’s exploits since early August were impressed by his performance Saturday as well.
They might not have been as surprised as some fans while watching White run right through the Austin Peay defenders, the Wisconsin coaches and players liked the extra dimension White brought to the offense
“I was excited because we thought that first third and short he was going to get that play around the edge,” said head coach Bret Bielema. “When we called it, I go, ‘Watch him go,’ and that’s exactly what happened.
“James is a very gifted football player with great speed and again, because he’s not out there every down, he comes in with those fresh legs and it really benefits everybody.”
While the total yards and touchdowns certainly were impressive, the play that stood out in the game for White was the 66-yard touchdown in the second quarter.
On third down with two yards to go, White took a toss to the left side where he was led by fullback Bradie Ewing blocking the only defender and nothing but green grass between himself and the end zone once he got around the corner.
“I didn’t get touched at all,” White said. “As soon as I got the ball it was just Bradie and the corner out there. As soon as he cut him, it was just me and the open field, and I just had to run away with it.”
Did he sense the Governor defenders trailing close behind?
“I felt somebody coming as I got a little slow towards the end,” White said. “He dove at my feet, I felt him miss and I was like, ‘Thank goodness.’”
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