April 21, 2008

Madison, WI (UWIRE) -- In the final practice of the spring, the Cardinal defeated the White squad 28-3 in the annual spring game in front of 22,000 fans at Camp Randall Stadium.

And the best news coming out of the game was that the team - which had been depleted with injuries all spring, especially on defense - left the field without suffering any major injuries.

"Another big thing that we wanted to do was to get out of the game relatively injury-free," UW head coach Bret Bielema said. "The only guy that suffered anything was Zach Brown. The X-rays have already come back negative, so he just has a bruise on his outside shin."

The Cardinal squad got things going right away on the first drive when quarterback Allan Evridge connected with tight end Lance Kendricks on a 40-yard pass. However, in what would become the story of the game, the drive stalled at the 5-yard line and the first-team offense had to settle for a Phillip Welch 22-yard field goal.

Missing seven starters to injuries, including the entire defensive line, the defense for both squads only allowed two touchdowns all day despite giving up a combined 512 yards of offense between the two sides.

"I think it showed a sign of toughness," linebacker DeAndre Levy said of the defense's performance. "We're responsive, and we were able to hold it together despite missing so many guys. [The offense] drove down a couple of times, but the big thing is we stopped them from scoring."

The defense was able to stall the offense by intercepting the quarterback three times. Chris Maragos made a nice play on a ball intended for David Gilreath on the Cardinal's second drive to pick off Evridge. Niles Brinkley stepped in front of a pass from Scott Tolzien and retuned it 25 yards.

But sophomore Jay Valai made the most athletic interception of the day. With the White squad moving the ball down the field to start the second half, Valai made a one-handed pick in mid-air to end the White scoring threat.

Even Gilreath, who finished the game with three catches for 79 yards, including a 35-yard over-the-shoulder catch from Evridge, had to give the defense credit for their performance Saturday.

"They played tremendous," Gilreath said. "I didn't know how they were going to do because they have some injuries and first-time players out there, and they did well."

Even though the defense played well, the running game, as expected, showed why it will be a strength come fall.

None of the four backs made it easier for the coaches to decide how to get everyone playing time, as all four played well Saturday. Starter P.J. Hill looked good in limited action, carrying the ball seven times for 33 yards. Zach Brown was able to break a few tackles before being sidelined with a shin bruise. Lance Smith showed his quickness and agility in leading the team in rushing with 98 yards on 17 carries and a touchdown running the ball for both sides.

Newcomer John Clay also showed why he was highly recruited out of high school. Carrying the ball for the White squad, Clay ran 19 times for 90 yards and had a few runs in which he carried defenders on his back while picking up a few extra yards.

"Everybody wanted to see [Clay]," Bielema said. "What we wanted John to do was be consistent. ... If you look at those plays, they were very similar plays called over and over. We wanted to teach the principle of what we want to get done. I thought he got better as the game went on and that's what we are trying to get out of them."

Clay was also happy with his performance in his first time playing in front of the Wisconsin faithful.

"It felt pretty good," Clay said. "They wanted me to work on my footwork, so they just kept giving me the ball and I kept doing what I was supposed to do."

While the running game was a strong area during the spring game, special teams left much to be desired.

The White squad got on the board during the two rapid-fire kicking sessions. During the first session before the start of the second quarter, Welch and Matt Fischer attempted four field goals from different lengths. Welch, kicking for the Cardinal, made three of four from the left hash. Fischer got the White squad on the board making two of four field goal attempts.

Wisconsin continued the rapid fire between the third and fourth quarters, with neither kicker faring as well as the first time around. The two combined to go 3-8 during the second session.

"That's what we do every day in practice," Bielema said of the rapid-fire kicking. "I wanted those kickers to kick in live situation. I was trying to create as much game simulation as possible. It was the first time all eyes were on them. Ironically, I think the first segment went better than the second. I don't know if they had more time to think about it. There were a couple snap issues as well."

The punting game wasn't much better. Brad DeBauche, who punted for both squads, had five punts for an average of 35.4 yards per punt. The net average would have been even lower had Bielema allowed his players to return the punts.

Overall, Bielema was happy with his team's performance in their final spring practice.

"Out there on the field today, the one thing we wanted to stress to our guys was to keep moving forward with what we are doing-on offense, defense and special teams," Bielema said. "There were certain things that we said at the beginning of the spring we wanted to accomplish with these 15 workouts. I think a lot of kids took a positive step in the right direction. There weren't a lot of negative things out there."

(C) 2008 Badger Herald via UWIRE