MADISON, Wis. – The Wisconsin Badgers don’t generally recruit junior college transfers, but they found a good fit in Andrew Van Ginkel, a 6-foot-4 outside linebacker originally from Rock Valley, Iowa.
Van Ginkel signed with UW as a four-star JUCO prospect from Iowa Western Community College, and BadgerBlitz.com caught up with him after practice to talk about his move to Madison. Our questions and his answers are included below.
What would you say was the most challenging part of moving to Madison and joining the football team? Was it a little disorienting at first to take that step up?
Andrew Van Ginkel: Just adapting to this big city. Getting used to meeting all these brand-new people I’d never met before. Coming in, getting used to the campus, it was all an adjustment for me to make. But I think it went pretty smooth and these guys really took me under their wing and just helped me learn the defense and learn the city and everything about it. They really helped me out.
What was it about Madison that made you decide to pick UW when you were going through the recruiting process?
Andrew Van Ginkel: This place is just different. It’s unique. There’s no other place like it. It’s just way above everywhere else that I visited. From the atmosphere on game day to the city and the academics, just the people here have been so kind and friendly. They really help you out through everything.
What has it been like to work with coach Tibesar and the other linebackers since you arrived on campus? What has Tibesar tried to impress on you so far?
Andrew Van Ginkel: Coach Tibesar is such a great coach. He really pushes each of us every day to become a better person and to grow as a football player, and also to grow as a person. Just learning every aspect of this game – there’s a lot of information and stuff that you need to know. But coach Tibesar does a good job of making sure you understand the concepts and making sure you’re in the right spot to make plays.
Was there anything in particular that you wanted to work on between spring camp and the start of the season?
Andrew Van Ginkel: There’s always stuff I’m trying to improve, whether it be against the run or improving my pass rushing technique or just being able to drop back in to coverage, which is something I haven’t done very much of in my college football career. That’s one thing I really worked on – just getting a better understanding of the defense and knowing where I need to be and what my job is.
What’s the biggest difference between playing 3-4 outside linebacker now compared to when you were a 4-3 defensive end at Iowa Western and earlier in your career?
Andrew Van Ginkel: Coverage would be the biggest thing. Honestly, defensive end and outside linebacker are pretty similar. The other thing is that at defensive end I had my hand down on the ground pretty much all of the time. That’s another thing I’ve been working on is my get-off from a two-point stance instead of a three-point stance. I’ve just been trying to work on getting off the ball and being able to work on my footwork and taking the right steps.
Now that you’ve done both do you prefer to play linebacker?
Andrew Van Ginkel: Yeah, I like it a lot. It took a little bit of time to get used to it, but now that I’m more used to doing it, it has gone pretty smooth. I think it helps me out a little bit more.
Do you think you’ve done enough to establish yourself as a rotation player for this defense? Or are there a few more things you could do to show the coaching staff that they can and should trust you?
Andrew Van Ginkel: We’ll see what happens. But whatever my role might be I’m just going to step up and do what I can do. I’m going to accept my role and do what’s best for the team. That’s the big thing is being consistent every day. Not having mental errors. I’ve got to keep improving and not making the same mistakes and just leave it all on the field.
Finally, are you excited for your first game at Camp Randall? And does having it be a night game make it a little more special?
Andrew Van Ginkel: Yeah, I can’t wait. It can’t come soon enough. It’s closing in now – I’ve been thinking about that day ever since I got here to the stadium, imagining it being filled and running out of the tunnel. When I came to visit it was a night game against Nebraska last year – I got a little glimpse of it, but just running out of the tunnel, I can’t wait to say the least.
--
John Veldhuis covers Wisconsin football, basketball and recruiting for BadgerBlitz.com on the Rivals.com network. Follow him on Twitter at @JohnVeldhuis.
