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MADISON, Wis.—Call it a coronation. Wisconsin is officially
John Stocco’s team.
The sophomore quarterback was nothing short of exceptional
in Saturday’s annual Cardinal-White spring game, played this season at Madison
La Follette’s Lussier Stadium due to construction at Camp Randall.
Stocco unofficially completed 12 of 18 passes for 241 yards
and two touchdowns, all in the first half. He led the Cardinal squad, which
spotted the White 24 points, on three touchdown drives, helping it overcome an
early 31-0 disadvantage for a 38-34 win.
“I feel very comfortable with John Stocco,” head coach
Barry Alvarez said. “I think he has what it takes to be an outstanding
quarterback in this league…I think he’s a good decision maker. There is no
question about his physical ability. He has a strong arm, he has good feet, he
can run and physically he can take a hit.”
Fortunately for Wisconsin, Stocco did not need to show off
his ability to take hits Saturday. Rather, he smoothly dropped back and picked
the White defense apart, delivering the ball at a pace that made it impossible
for opposing pass rushers to put any pressure on him. Stocco was very efficient,
placing the ball accurately to all parts of the field and throwing the ball
harder than the team’s previous starter, Jim Sorgi.
“He has a quick release and there is a lot more velocity on
the pass,” junior receiver Jonathan Orr said. “We had to get in and out of
routes faster and (you had to) get your head around faster.”
Stocco completed his first four passes, the second a
63-yard touchdown to Orr. Soon after a 21-yard pass to junior Owen Daniels,
Stocco threaded the needle between two defenders to connect with sophomore Jeff Holzbauer on a post-corner route for 22 yards. That set up junior fullback Matt Bernstein’s 5-yard touchdown run.
“I thought the one throw, a touch throw between two
defenders on the boundary, really said a lot about how (Stocco) played and how
accurate he was when he threw the ball,” Alvarez said.
It was a far cry from last spring when, in his first spring
game, Stocco completed just 6 of 11 passes for 49 yards and an interception.
“I felt like I did a lot of things this game that I set out
to do whereas last year was a little uncomfortable for me,” Stocco said. “This
is definitely 100 times better than last year.”
Saturday, only one of Stocco’s completions went for less
than 10 yards and he completed six passes that went for more than 15 yards.
“I would have thrown it deep every play but we’ve got
offensive coordinators for a reason,” Stocco said with a laugh.
Who will back Stocco up, though, remains a concern. Senior
Matt Schabert started for the White team but played just one series, completing
2 of 4 passes for 22 yards. Redshirt freshman Tyler Donovan played the rest of
the first half with the White squad, going 3-for-12 for 33 yards and an
interception. He replaced Stocco at the helm of the Cardinal squad in the second
half and was 4-for-9 for 102 yards and two touchdowns. Freshman Sean Lewis
quarterbacked the White squad in the second half, going 2-for-3 for 18 yards.
“I think Tyler made strides (this spring). I’m anxious to
take a look at some of our younger guys as they come in,” Alvarez said, alluding
to recruits Bryan Savage and Marcus Randle El, who will join the team in August.
“I’m not as comfortable as I’d like to be right now.”
“I thought Schabert did some good things when he was in
there,” Alvarez added. “He is smart, knows where to go with the football.
“Those other two guys, they have a long way to go yet.”
A number of receivers on the Cardinal squad had impressive
afternoons. Orr had two receptions for 76 yards and the touchdown, Daniels had
four catches for 68 yards and a touchdown and Holzbauer had four catches for 73
yards. Brandon White caught both of Donovan’s second-half touchdown passes,
which went for 40 and 48 yards, respectively.
“Brandon White had a very good day. I thought those last
two catches were really big time,” Alvarez said.
As he did last season and throughout the spring, Daniels
played both tight end and receiver Saturday. In the past year he has undergone
knee surgery and a position change from quarterback.
“I think he’s developed himself into being a good receiver,
a good route runner,” Alvarez said. “He’s worked on his hands. And he really is
a guy that presents matchup problems for a defense.”
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