MADISON — Wisconsin continued its spring practice period Saturday morning, working outside for the first time. BadgerBlitz.com was once again on hand to compile the key takeaways from the Badgers' fourth session of the spring.
Big hits galore
The pads came on Saturday morning, and the Badgers waisted little time utilizing them. There were a number of big hits dished out by both sides of the ball in what was the most physically intense practice we've seen this spring.
Two safeties, Austin Brown and Charlie Jarvis, were involved in the majority of the big blows. Brown found himself on the wrong end of a couple of collisions. On one play, running back Tawee Walker caught a pass in the flat and had only Brown in front of him. The powerful back lowered his shoulders and bulldozed over Brown right in front of the offensive sideline, who understandably went wild. In a later 11-on-11 session, tailback Jackson Acker found a crease on the edge, with Brown once again the lone defender in the area. Acker accelerated, put his head down and put Brown on his back. The safety has had a solid spring, but he got rocked multiple times on Saturday.
Jarvis, meanwhile, delivered what may have been the hit of the day. Walk-on receiver Grady O'Neill caught a pass over the middle and was immediately flattened by the sophomore safety, who stood over O'Neill while his teammates hyped him up. He would soon get a taste of his own medicine, however, as in a later session he was plastered by freshman running back Gideon Ituka on a handoff up the middle.
On a day with scores of recruits and onlookers in attendance, the physicality and intensity were both extremely high.
