Eric Burrell and his Wisconsin teammates have stayed ready throughout the summer in hopes the Big Ten would reverse its decision to cancel the fall season.

Now in a little over a month, the Badgers will be back on the field for the first time since their loss to Oregon in the Rose Bowl on Jan. 1.

“The motto I’ve been living with is 'stay ready so you don’t have to get ready,' ” Burrell said Friday in a Zoom call with reporters. “When the time presents itself, you have to be ready to go.”

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Now more than ever, Wisconsin will have to tap into that mindset to get into football shape. With a plan and protocols in place for the Big Ten, UW will need to be ready to suit up in late October.

“I feel very comfortable. They’ve been doing a lot of work to keep us safe, so I trust everything that they have us going through," senior defensive end Isaiahh Loudermilk said. "Not one bit of me is questioning anything that they’re telling me to do.

“We want to play and we’ll do anything.”

Just last week, players were under the impression there would not be football in the conference until at least January. But now, teams have a little over a month to prepare for a season during a pandemic. And because UW wasn't able to start camp in the spring, the last time players participated in live tackling was against the Ducks.

“We haven’t played football since the Rose Bowl," Loudermilk said. "We weren’t able to have spring ball or anything like that, so I think, physically, it’ll take some time to really get into it again. We have to get used to hitting again and stuff like that.

“Mentally I think everyone has stayed prepared. We made sure to stay prepared the last couple of months just because, who knows what was going to happen?”

For an offense having to replace five starters - three of which are now in the NFL - spring and fall camp were critical to the development of the entire unit. Senior quarterback Jack Coan, however, isn’t too worried about a group that lost its leaders in receiving yards (Quintez Cephus), rushing yards (Jonathan Taylor) and top offensive lineman (Tyler Biadasz).

“Spring is definitely a good time for development for everybody. But, honestly, I am not too worried about it,” Coan told reporters. “Every team is in the same situation as us and I think this team did a good job of staying together and working out on our own.

"Personally, the receivers and I have done great work throughout this whole off-season, so I feel pretty comfortable with everyone.”

On the other side of the ball, both Loudermilk and Burrell pointed out tackling as the biggest adjustment when getting back on the field.

"Something on the defensive side of the ball we have to make sure we do, and being so long since we’ve played football, that is definitely something we’re going to have to catch back up on,” Loudermilk said.

When it comes to meetings - much like everyone else - the coaches and players have been limited to Zoom calls. For leaders like Burrell, that’s been “upsetting.”

“Me being a captain and senior, I don’t really know all the freshmen, so it’s kind of tough," he said. "I know a couple of DBs that are freshmen, but on the offensive side of the ball or even any other position, it’s been tough. But when fall camp rolls around, I’ll definitely try to build relationships."

For as unique and challenging as the 2020 season will likely be, the Badgers are ready for the opportunity.

“Last couple days, I’ve been ecstatic just ready to get back out there," Loudermilk said. "I know the rest of the guys are, too."