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MADISON, Wis.—Entering the spring, replacing linebacker
Jeff Mack and Alex Lewis was a burgeoning questions for Wisconsin. At the end of
spring camp head coach Barry Alvarez is still answering those questions.
“I think the biggest concern is depth at quarterback and
the linebacker position,” he said.
With junior Elliot Goode and sophomore Mark Zalewski
sustaining injuries early in spring workouts, junior LaMarr Watkins, sophomore
Reggie Cribbs and sophomore Paul Joran filled starting roles throughout the
spring, including Saturday’s Cardinal-White scrimmage.
Watkins’ shining moment came in
the first quarter, when he picked off a pass from redshirt freshman quarterback
Tyler Donovan, who was playing with the White team at the time. The Cardinal
squad scored on the ensuing drive.
Junior Dontez Sanders, Watkins
backup at will linebacker all spring, had a number of solid tackles playing for
both teams. In the third quarter, he drilled junior tight end Jason Pociask on a
3-yard pass from Donovan, forcing a fumble that caromed out of bounds. Sanders
was unofficially credited with 10 tackles. Joran had three tackles, including
one for loss when he brought down sophomore tailback Phillip Fuller one yard
behind the line of scrimmage. Cribbs had four solo tackles and frequently
assisted on plays.
“I think we got much better at linebacker but we didn’t get
to work with two of the top three that were injured right away,” Alvarez said.
“So we are going to have to start from scratch there (in the fall).”
“We have some other guys coming in I think can help us in
the depth, some incoming freshmen that can help us depth-wise,” Alvarez added.
Two of those incoming freshmen were in attendance at the
spring game. Andy Crooks and Luke Lopas were finalists for an award offered by
the National Football Foundation and were honored at halftime. Each Wisconsin
school nominated a player for accomplishments on the field, in the classroom and
in the community. Menomonie’s Mike Gust was selected as Wisconsin’s
representative and was awarded the $1,500 George H. Chryst Memorial Scholarship.
He will attend UW-Madison in the fall. (see –
Gust chosen to represent Wisconsin)
Other freshmen linebackers who will join the team in the
fall include Jammar Crane, Nick Sutton and Josh Neal.
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