Notes: Luke Fickell discusses RB hierarchy, 4th-and-1 call, more

MADISON — Head coach Luke Fickell met with the media on Monday, offering some final thoughts of the loss to USC before looking ahead to the upcoming matchup with Purdue.

BadgerBlitz.com has compiled the key takeaways.

Fickell was asked about Braedyn Locke’s performance in his first start of the season, and how they can build on the positives to improve consistency.

Locke performed well in the first half on Saturday, completing 6-of-10 passes for 130 yards and a touchdown. But he wasn’t able to handle USC’s adjustments in the second half, which can also be said for the rest of the team.

“We all have plays we want back. It's obviously highlighted at that position, but I think he’s done what we've asked him to do. We can all pinpoint. He'll be the first one to tell you, the first series he went in there against Alabama was not what he wanted. But I'd be honest with you, he's continued to grow. He's going to continue to grow. He's going to give us the opportunity to be able to move the ball around. He's going to give us the opportunity to play at the pace we want to play at,” Fickell said.

The upcoming matchup against Purdue should be a nice break for Wisconsin’s offense. The Boilermakers’ defense has given up 242.8 rushing yards per game this season, which is 70 more yards than the next highest team in the Big Ten.

The Badgers’ running game will almost certainly create some easy opportunities for Locke through the air.

“I just say, just rely upon the people that are around you. You know this isn't all on you,” Fickell said.

“The quarterback is the cog of everything that you do, in particular offensively, but it's not just on his shoulders. And I think he is growing. I think he's done a good job.”

Defensive end James Thompson’s pre-season injury created even more questions for what was already one of Wisconsin’s thinner rooms.

The coaches were open about the need for other players to step up. Based on the first four games, no defensive lineman has answered that call like Elijah Hills.

He was given a season high in snaps on Saturday against USC (50) and earned every single rep, finishing with four pressures and three tackles.

“What he's done through the offseason, what he's done in the first four games, has been impressive. And he's a guy that — as we keep looking at these winning habits — I don't know what his habits were when he walked in the door, but I would say that each and every week, each and every month, he's continued to grow. And I mean that through the first four weeks of the season as well, and he's done a really good job. He's going to continue to have more opportunities. But he's a guy that, when it gets down to it, we're talking about the ‘hunt or be hunted’, he has a hunt mentality. He didn't bat an eye and we played against Alabama, he didn't bat an eye this weekend when we played at USC. And that's an impressive thing,” Fickell said.

Hills has earned more reps every week and now sits just behind Curt Neal for most snaps amongst defensive linemen on the team.

The coaches haven’t shied away from gushing over Hills. Whether or not he continues to play 50 snaps per game, it feels fairly certain that he’ll remain a key member of the defense for the remainder of the season.

“[He] walked in the doors, coming from Albany, and you don't know a lot about him. You've seen minimal to a little bit of film on him. You had a 10 minute meeting with him, and he's part of your program. He's done a really good job, and he'll continue to grow for us. We need him to.”

Fickell was asked for his assessment of running back Chez Mellusi’s performance thus far this season. Instead of answering the question, he offered some insight into the struggles of managing such a deep room.

“It's such a tough position, and we got a little bit of a tough ride right now at the running back spot, meaning we've got a bunch of guys. And it's probably one of the things that [I’ve] put on the offense a little more to say, ‘Look, I don't know that you can play four and five running backs.’ We've got to focus in on who's going to be one, who's going to be the next guy, and then who's the spare. It doesn't give them an opportunity to get into rhythm,” Fickell said.

Mellusi currently leads all Badger backs with 56 carries, Tawee Walker trails him with 38, while Cade Yacamelli rounds out the top backs with 21. Although, freshman Darrion Dupree is slowly working his way up the list with 16 on the season, including 10 over the past two weeks.

But none of them have truly popped. No back has topped Mellusi’s 74-yard rushing total in the season opener. Yacamelli’s 29-yard rush is the longest run of the season.

They need playmakers. Or, at the very least, they must let their playmakers develop some rhythm.

“I just don't know that we're giving those guys enough opportunities to see if they can get hot, to see if they can create some things.”

When asked about the development of his offensive line dating back to last season, Fickell didn’t hesitate to praise them. They’ve allowed just three sacks and 19 pressures this season.

Yet Fickell also emphasized that a successful offensive line is the standard at a school like Wisconsin.

“It (offensive line) has got to continue to be the strength of what it is that we do. There's still more out there for those guys. And I really do believe that. I mean, if you're going to be the strength, which you know they are, and if you're going to be the historic group that you know is expected around here, we still have to ask for more,” Fickell said.

“They can understand that, yes, they might be the cog, and they might be the crux of our team and our program. But if you really look back at that second half, we need them guys to be better. And not trying to point a finger, but they can handle it. If we're going to continue to grow and have continued baby steps that eventually become large leaps, it's going to start with that group.”

After starting in each of Wisconsin’s first three games, nickel cornerback Max Lofy didn’t appear at all against USC. Fickell offered some clarification on why.

“Something happened in the pre-game warm up, but [he] tweaked his back, and he came in from warm ups and couldn't go. It was a very tough, difficult situation,” Fickell said.

Safety/do-it-all defensive back Austin Brown started in his place, finishing with 80 snaps after entering with 31 on the season. He was targeted four times and allowed two receptions for 45 yards, per Pro Football Focus. Fickell praised his work as a replacement.

“We had to make some adjustments on the fly. And to be honest, Austin Brown went in there and really did a very good job. He played well and he made some plays. Obviously, there's some things people can pinpoint and pick on and say, ‘You can do better.’ But I think, for the situation and things like that, Austin went in and did a really good job. Obviously, he's played a lot of ball for us, so we have an expectation. But he also has played a lot of positions, and where Max was playing at that nickel and kind of established himself, we've been using Austin a little bit more in the back end for things, so he hadn't taken nearly as many reps at the nickel position in an hour before game time, we had to flip things, and he went in there and did a really good job,” Fickell said.

One of the biggest reasons for Wisconsin’s early lead on Saturday was the work of receiver Vinny Anthony. On the fourth offensive play of the day for the Badgers, Locke uncorked a bomb that fell right into the hands of Anthony, who had already burned his defensive back, leading to a 63-yard touchdown.

It was the first touchdown of his career and almost twice as long as any other play he’s ever made.

Fickell was asked about Anthony’s growth, dating back to last season.

“[I’ve] kind of been waiting for it. We've seen a lot in the off season, and I don't just mean his play. He's a bigger, stronger, faster guy over the last year and a half, and you kept kind of wanting and waiting to see when those things were going to pay off. And this weekend in particular, you saw it,” Fickell said.

“I think this week was the first time where we've all had an opportunity to see him take one of those things to the house, and whether it's on offense or on special teams, he’s a guy that we're gonna have to rely upon as well to continue to find ways to get the ball in his hands and give him opportunities to make some of those plays.”

In the middle of the third quarter, on a crucial 4th-and-1 play, the Badgers called a run out of shotgun formation. It didn’t work, which led to quite a bit of complaints on social media from former players and alumni.

Fickell was asked about the decision immediately after the game and mostly chalked up the failed play to poor execution rather than formation.

He was asked again about the play, and whether or not his perspective changed.

“I know that there's a lot of opinions for situations like this. When it comes down to short-yard situations, when it's 4th-and-1, 4th-and-3, you gotta do what it is that you do best. And if we believed that the best thing for us to be was under center, if we believed the best thing for us to be with a fullback behind us, then we would. But it still comes down to execution, and as you look back at the entire game, we had opportunities. There were things that were in front of us. We made enough plays to give us a chance to win a football game and a really big football game on the road, but when it comes down to it, we didn’t execute. That's one of those plays that you can pinpoint to say as a big, big part of lack of execution,” Fickell said.

“Dropping a punt is a lack of execution. Are you going to switch punt returners because you dropped a punt? Are you going to switch exactly what it is that you think you do well in short yard situations? No. I mean, we have to continue to grow and be better. But if there's two things that stand out to me that we continue to harp upon… is in the last two games, fourth down situations that are, you know, probably put us in a, really, you know, a situation where we would expect that this is something that should be a strength for us, and what we do in the last two weeks, the last two games, it hasn't been.”

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