MADISON, WIS. -- Wisconsin concluded its spring schedule on Friday evening inside the McClain Center with a fully-padded practice that featured a significant amount of 11-on-11 work.
BadgerBlitz.com breaks down our observations and the notable events that took place during UW's 15th spring session. As a disclaimer, these respective recaps highlight just one practice and do not wholly encompass players' entire performances for the spring. For that matter, this time from late March through late April allows the staff and players to test their limits, so mistakes can happen without immense penalty.
RELATED: Practice No. 13 Recap | Practice No. 14 Recap |
Key Observations
*The session lasted well over two hours, and the team participated in plenty of 11-on-11 reps.
*Offensive play of the day could go to a number of deep completions on Friday night, but we'll go with quarterback Graham Mertz hitting Chimere Dike for a 60-yard touchdown on a beautiful play-action call. Defense was duped, and no one was around Dike for at least 15 yards.
*Quarterback Chase Wolf found success against the second-team and reserves. He hit wide receiver Skyler Bell for a 49-yard touchdown. He also delivered a 45-yard score to wide receiver Markus Allen later on.
*Allen also pulled in a contested touchdown catch during red zone 11-on-11 work with cornerback Avyonne Jones in coverage.
*Wide receiver Dean Engram was a popular target for Wolf and the reserve quarterbacks on the day. That included the converted cornerback snaring a deep pass from UW's QB2 during the second 11-on-11 team segment.
*Pressure in the backfield again showed up. That included BadgerBlitz.com crediting unofficial sacks to Maema Njongmeta, Darryl Peterson and T.J. Bollers. Bollers in particular appeared to record three would-be sacks against the second-team/reserve offensive line.
*Wisconsin's cornerback room continues to impress this spring. BadgerBlitz.com credited unofficial pass breakups to Alexander Smith, Al Ashford III, Justin Clark and Max Lofy. It's still early, but this group could be one of the, if not, the deepest in the program with Smith, Clark, transfer corners Jay Shaw and Cedrick Dort Jr., and Ricardo Hallman. You could lump in Amaun Williams and Lofy as well.
