Three freshmen on the Wisconsin football team made a special visit to their hometown of Waunakee, Wis., to inspire elementary students at the Prairie Elementary School's all-school assembly on Wednesday

Derek Straus, Austin Maly and Jack Russell surprised more than 100 students when they walked into Prairie Elementary School's gymnasium Wednesday morning. During the half hour assembly, they answered questions about the importance of academics, goal setting, and balancing athletics with their studies.

"I remember when I was younger, in that same school, some badger players came to talk to us and I was just in awe by them," said Straus. "To get the opportunity to do the same thing for all those kids was a great feeling. It's important to me to remember where I'm from and to give back to the community."

No matter what you think of the onside kick replay reversal, and I have an idea what many of you believe, perhaps the best line on the subject comes from Wisconsin head coach Bret Bielema, who told reporters on Monday that the Badgers "never should have put ourselves in that position."

So, after further review, it is time to move on.

These are interesting and challenging days for Wisconsin football. There is a coaching change at offensive line. That is the big news of the week, and it certainly is understandable.

There also is another good opponent coming to town. It is becoming more and more clear that the non-conference schedule is more difficult than most expected.

Which sets up quite the contrast in perceived intangibles Saturday night.

On one side is Utah State, a team riding high after last Friday's victory against in-state rival Utah. Through the first two games of the season, dynamic sophomore quarterback Chuckie Keeton has completed 77 percent of his passes. When the Aggies choose, the offense is up-tempo and features a little bit of everything.

Add to that an aggressive defense and a special teams unit that scored a touchdown on a blocked punt against the Utes, and you probably have the ingredients for a confident bunch coming to Madison this weekend.

On the other side is Wisconsin. The Badgers are in search of answers to fix an ailing offense. It probably was unrealistic to assume they could continue to put up the historic numbers of the past couple of years, but no doubt even neutral observers were surprised at what happened last weekend in Corvallis.

First, give some credit to Oregon State. It is a proud program with a proven head coach who is determined to get his own program back to its winning ways.

Second, maybe we should take a step back and understand there are three new primary starters on the offensive line (I say primary because Ryan Groy did have four starts last year, but gone are Peter Konz, Kevin Zeitler and Josh Oglesby). The wide receiving corps is very young, and became younger when Jared Abbrederis was injured in the second quarter last Saturday.

Beyond the adjustment to a new offensive line coach, it seems logical to suggest that the lack of established threats outside can result in an opposing defense to focus even more on the running game.

Hopefully sooner than later, those young guns can become established threats.

One more thing to consider before jumping off the ledge: While those of us in the media can spend a lot of time writing and talking about what is wrong these days, and while some fans do the same, a team just moves ahead.

An easy reference is the 1999 Badgers, which lost at Cincinnati, then dropped the Big Ten opener the following week to Michigan. At that point Wisconsin was 2-2 overall, 0-1 in the conference. It never lost again.

An easier reference is last year, after back-to-back setbacks to Michigan State and Ohio State. If I remember correctly, things improved a bit after those two games.

Yes, sometimes teams are unable to get back on track, and the above examples are different teams in different years. But perhaps the lesson isn't so much for the Badgers themselves, but for those of us who follow them.

I am not even close to being smart enough to know how this season will unfold, but I would like to believe there are plenty of folks out there who are open-minded enough to give this team a chance to fix what needs fixing.

The Badgers will have that next opportunity beginning at 7 p.m. Saturday evening.

As much as I enjoy a home game at Camp Randall Stadium, it is always interesting to see a team hit the road for the first time. Prior to Big Ten play last year, the Badgers' only trip outside of Madison was a "road neutral" game at Soldier Field in Chicago against Northern Illinois.

This week figures to be a little different.

It seems the folks at Oregon State are billing this Saturday's tussle as the biggest non-conference game ever played in Corvallis.

"I think it's an opinion, but it's arguable," Beavers coach Mike Riley told reporters. The Corvallis Gazette-Times quotes Riley as saying "I'd take them (UW as the best team) over anyone else who has come in here."

So much for Bucky playing the "no respect" card.

Reser Stadium is the home of Oregon State football. It seats 45,674 fans. Not the biggest stadium, but my guess is it can get plenty loud in there.

It might be safe to assume that the crowd will be ready for a showcase game, with hopes of an upset that could spark a program that is not all that far removed from being very good.

The last two seasons have been a struggle for Oregon State. Last year in Madison, the Badgers trounced OSU 35-0.

However, in recent years, Coach Riley has had a couple of teams on the brink of winning the league title and earning a trip to the Rose Bowl. While few folks out west are expecting a run to the Pac-12 championship, many believe the Beavers will be much improved.

Quarterback Sean Mannion gained a ton of experience last fall, and entering his sophomore season, he knows he has one of the league's top targets in Markus Wheaton (73 receptions for 986 yards in 2011).

A year's experience should help the defense, as well, led by sophomore defensive end Scott Crichton, who is on the Lombardi Award watch list. Cornerback Jordan Poyer also is a big-time player. Last year he had four interceptions. In his career he has returned two picks for touchdowns, and in 2011 returned a punt 85 yards for a score against UCLA.

Since I don't play, it is easy to say this -- I'm hoping for a loud house on Saturday afternoon. After this week, the next road game is the conference opener at Nebraska. At night. You think it might be a tad noisy in Lincoln?

Might as well get a preview of coming attractions, right?

This week the Badgers get to test the old saying about how teams can make a big jump from the first game to the second. The mistakes from the opener were well-documented -- from a choppy offense to a defense that had costly breakdowns in the second half.

However, both sides were able to close the deal. The defense, with pressure from Warren Herring and a deflected pass from Ethan Hemer, stopped Northern Iowa on a critical fourth-and-1. Then the offense ran out the clock.

A work of art? Not really, but the Badgers will take it and learn some valuable lessons.

What they learn will come in handy as they make their first road trip of the season to face an opponent eager to show the college football world that it can roll with the big boys.

This Friday evening, the University of Wisconsin Athletic Hall of Fame will add six new members -- Jim Haluska, Jim Haines, Lawrence Johnson, Karen Lunda, Cory Raymer and Dick Bennett.

In Varsity magazine a couple of weeks ago, Mike Lucas took us down memory lane with Raymer, the All-America center who helped the Badgers to their first-ever Rose Bowl victory, as well as with Coach Bennett, who no doubt is best known for leading the Badgers on the magical run to the 2000 Final Four.

In addition to being a great player, Raymer was a reporter's dream. Maybe the best way to describe Cory Raymer is by saying he was John Moffitt before we ever heard of John Moffitt. During a media day, some photographers were gathering players for various photos. Raymer emerged from the tunnel and heard his name. The center responded "I answer to anything with 'dumb' in front of it."  

Raymer was dumb like a fox.

The media loved Bennett, as well. He liked to tell fans that he could show Barry Alvarez's football team how to pass, while Coach Alvarez's boys could teach the basketball squad how to run.

But never confuse their sense of humor with their competitive nature. No doubt the desire to maximize his or her potential is what drove each member in the Class of 2012.

Wrestler Jim Haines overcame a knee injury and competed in the 1976 Olympic Summer Games. The following season at Wisconsin, Haines became an NCAA champion by beating Big Ten rival Mike McArthur of Minnesota.

Former coach Duane Kleven says Haines had a combination of toughness and smarts that made him extra special, referring to him as a "mental giant."  When his wrestling days were done, Haines became a coach -- of girls' softball at Pepin High School. He led his team to two state titles.

With this year marking the 40th anniversary of Title IX, one could make a strong argument that Karen Lunda is one of the more important athletes in UW history. Lunda lettered both in field hockey and soccer. While attending Madison West High School, she also played tennis, softball and competed in speed skating.

After starring in field hockey in her first three years at UW, the school dropped the program, so she turned her attention to the new varsity sport on campus, soccer.

In 1981, Lunda became the first Badger women's soccer All-American. More than three decades later, she remains the UW single-season leader in goals (22), assists (18) and total points (62). Her coach, Craig Webb, believes if Karen Lunda played soccer today, she would be an Olympic gold medalist.

Lawrence Johnson also was a two-sport athlete. A Big Ten champion in four events in track, Johnson was an All-America defensive back for the Badgers in 1978. His coaches said he played man coverage better than anyone on the team, and opposing coaches must have agreed. Johnson's interception total was modest, in large part because quarterbacks would tend not to test him.

Johnson also likes to tell the story of how, in his freshman year, there was a 100-yard dash after a practice. Before the race, his new football teammates must have had little if any knowledge of Johnson's speed. Halfway through the race, they found out. Simply put, Lawrence Johnson was more than a track star who could play football, or vice-versa. He simply was a star in both sports.

Today, Badger football fans are well aware of transfer quarterbacks, but the story might not be as new as you think.

In 1950, Jim Haluska enrolled at Michigan. In time, he decided that Ann Arbor was not for him, so the Racine native returned to his home state. In 1952, he went from being the fifth-string quarterback to the starter. A few months later, Haluska led the league in completion percentage, and the Badgers were Rose Bowl-bound for the first time in school history.

Each inductee should be very proud to be a UW Athletic Hall of Famer. That elite group grows to 190 members. What already is a good "team" is about to get even better.

By his own admission, Jack Russell sank to a new personal depth on the same day that Wisconsin's first fall depth chart was released and Russell was listed on the top line as the Badgers' No. 1 placekicker, ahead of Kyle French.  By contrast, French began the day on a "low'' and finished on a "high.''

None of it was a coincidence.

After Russell made only 2-of-4 field goal attempts at the end of last Monday's practice, he admitted, "I didn't necessarily feel pressure (to validate being No. 1 on the depth chart) but I felt that I needed to be more focused and that caused me to make a couple of mistakes.''

After French went a perfect 4-for-4 in the same drill, he said, "When I saw that I was listed as the No. 2 field goal kicker -- actually Coach (Charlie) Partridge told me that morning -- it kind of gave me a bump. But the other thing that it did was it kind of relaxed me.''

Wisconsin natives Russell, a freshman walk-on from Waunakee, and French, a redshirt sophomore from Menomonee Falls, have been volleying back and forth throughout camp in a spirited, but friendly, competition punctuated by good days and inconsistent ones -- to the learning benefit of each kicker.

"Jack and I love competing,'' French said.

"I've tried to learn something out of every drill,'' Russell added.

The Badgers are looking to replace Philip Welch, who finished with the second-highest career field goal percentage (.776) in school history behind Matt Davenport (.868); the second-most field goals made (59) behind Todd Gregoire (65); and the second-most career points (384) behind Ron Dayne (426).

While Welch was sidelined with an injury at the start of the 2011 season,  French got some valuable game experience and converted on 3-of-5 field goals and 26-of-27 extra points. (Welch returned for Big Ten play and made 5-of-6 overall, including a season-long 52-yarder against Purdue.)

It was generally assumed that French would replace Welch and handle all the placements this season while Russell would be the kickoff specialist; an assignment that was split between Welch and Alec Lerner last year. At least that was the assumption going into the training camp.

When the depth chart came out, the roles were reversed.

"The first week I felt very confident and I was kicking well,'' French said. "But once I ended up having a 2-for-4 day, I just got kind of overwhelmed. Once you brought the adrenaline-type of situations into it, I kind of -- not really freaked out -- but my body started doing things that it didn't normally do.''

French noted that he got positive reinforcement from UW assistant coach Charlie Partridge, who's in charge of the field goal operation. "Working with Coach Partridge,'' he said, "we worked on 'calming yourself down and keeping your composure' before each kick and that's helped a lot.''

Although he was disappointed last Monday to be listed No. 2 on the depth chart, French hinted that it served as the equivalent of a wake-up call. "It was a big motivating day for me,'' he said, stressing, "This is your time to prove to them (the coaches) and yourself that you belong in the No. 1 spot.''

French had nothing but praise for Russell's competitiveness."Throughout the summer, I definitely thought he was much better at kickoffs than field goals,'' French said. "Field-goal wise, he surprised me a lot. When he came out here (to training camp), he just had that confidence.''

Russell was definitely riding a wave of momentum. In mid-July, he kicked a 49-yard field goal in the Wisconsin Football Coaches Association All-Star Game for divisions 1-3 in Oshkosh. In his final prep game, he kicked a 48-yarder as Waunakee won its third straight WIAA Division 2 state championship.

"My expectation was to just compete,'' said Russell, a preferred walk-on. "I didn't come in necessarily with any expectations that I was going to start (off as the No. 1 placekicker). I knew that I had to come out and compete and give it my best and go from there.

"I try not to put pressure on myself. But I know my family and friends -- Waunakee is close (to Madison) -- are really keeping tab on the Badgers. And after the depth chart came out, I got a lot of texts, calls and comments on Facebook that made me feel really good.''

One of those calls was from former UW placekicker Taylor Mehlhaff, who has been serving as a mentor to Russell. Only Gregoire and Welch kicked more career field goals than Mehlhaff (50), a two-time first-team All-Big Ten pick and a sixth-round draft choice of the New Orleans Saints in 2008.

Mehlhaff, who has been conducting camps and tutoring kickers around the country, recently joined the University of Tennessee coaching staff as an administrative intern for special teams.

"I actually consider him family with as much as he's taught me,'' Russell said of Mehlhaff. "I talked to him for about a half-hour Monday. He congratulated me and told me, 'Just because that's what it is (No. 1) on the depth chart right now, it doesn't mean that I can take any breaks.'''

Shortly after Russell made the conversion from soccer to football -- a transition that has only been three years in the making -- he was introduced to Mehlhaff at a kicking camp on the UW campus. "He asked if he could work with me privately,'' Russell said, "and it has taken off from there.''

There's one piece of advice that has stuck with him, too. "Keep your eyes back, not necessarily your head, when kicking,'' he said. "You want to try and watch your foot and make contact with the ball. Even if you have a bad swing, if you're good with your eyes, you'll make most of your kicks.''

French also has a mentor in Jamie Kohl, a former Iowa State kicker who's the director of the Kohl kicking, punting and snapping camps, one of which is based out of Waukesha. "I worked a lot with him,'' French said, "and any time I have questions, he's very good about responding back.''

Russell and French subscribe to the same motivational author, Tim Gallwey, who has written a series of books that focus on mind-over- matter training methods related to "The Inner Game.''

French has read "The Inner Game of Golf.''

"I believe golf and kicking are very similar; no matter where you are, it's always the same stroke, obviously except when you're chipping,'' French said. "The book has allowed me to kind of clear the mechanism in pressure situations. I've applied a lot that I've learned from the book to my kicking game.''

Russell is currently reading "The Inner Game of Tennis.''

"Taylor (Mehlhaff) was the first one to introduce me to the book,'' he said. "He has been a big proponent of the mental side of the game and I finally got around to reading the book this summer. Last Monday, I just picked up where I last left off, and where I picked up was exactly what I needed (to read).''

This was after missing a couple of field goals at the end of Monday's practice.

"I needed to relax my mind,'' Russell said, "and not be too focused on kicking.''

Between now and the Sept. 1 opener, Russell and French will each be working on writing the next chapter to their competition, which could very well continue throughout the 2012 season, barring any more unexpected plot twists.

At about the same time Tuesday that Wisconsin linebacker Chris Borland was sitting in a team meeting and learning that he had been named one of six captains for the 2012 season, ESPN college football analyst Kirk Herbstreit was announcing the winners of his 12th-annual "Herbie Awards."

Borland won in the category for "Best Instincts'' beating out Kansas State's Arthur Brown, USC's Dion Bailey, Notre Dame's Manti Te'o, and Mississippi State's Cameron Lawrence.

After Wednesday's practice, Borland was quick to point out that the captaincy outweighed just about everything else, including the "Herbie.''

"Not even close,'' Borland said. "No disrespect to Kirk Herbstreit, but it's not even close. He was just looking out for a fellow Daytonian. He's from the next town over.''

Herbstreit is from Centerville, Ohio, while Borland is from Kettering.

Both are Dayton suburbs, and they're about two miles apart.

Another UW player, wide receiver Jared Abbrederis, was also nominated for a "Herbie'' in the category of "Best Backyard Player.'' The award went to Virginia Tech's Kyle Fuller.

Herbstreit, who turned 53 last Sunday, selected UW tailback Montee Ball as his Player of the Year in the Big Ten. That, too, was trumped by a far greater honor: Ball was elected a Badger captain.

"That's very important, very important,'' Ball said. "It shows how much respect the team has for you, and it's an honor and a blessing that they nominated me. I'm not going to let them down.''

While deliberating over whether he should enter the NFL draft or return for his senior year, Ball reminded himself that "it was always a dream of mine to be a captain of a Division I program.''

But did he wonder how his off-the-field incidents might now factor into the voting for captain?

"It was in the back of my mind,'' he said. "But I shouldn't have thought that way because of the team we have. They're a bunch of great guys and they've been behind me 100 percent the whole time.''

Borland confirmed as much. "I thought Montee would be a captain,'' he said. "And he deserves it by the way he has worked and the way he conducts himself. He's one of our leaders.''

Joining Ball and Borland as captains are offensive tackle Rick Wagner, center Travis Frederick, linebacker Mike Taylor and safety Shelton Johnson. Borland and Frederick are juniors.

"I voted for Travis and myself during the team vote,'' Borland said. "I felt we were two good guys for the job regardless of our age.

"It's an honor (to be named captain). It's not something that we take lightly here and I certainly don't, either. So it means a lot to me.''

Borland was a captain of his Archbishop Alter High School team as a senior.

"The situation is pretty similar,'' he said. "We've got a lot of guys this year who aren't captains but who are good leaders. It was the same way in high school.

"There are differences (in all six captains). But we all work hard and we treat each other with respect --  from Montee Ball, a Heisman candidate, to the last guy on the roster.''

Borland agreed that Taylor and Wagner are more reticent than the others.

"They're both smart with their words,'' he said. "They're not chatterboxes. When they speak up, it's because something is really important and they say it with conviction. The guys believe in them.

"We all lead by example. There's not a very vocal guy in the group. Montee's probably the most outspoken. Everybody has just worked hard their whole careers; we try to do all the right things.''

Ball was raised in Wentzville, Mo., and was a three-year captain at Timberland High School.

"As a captain, everyone is looking to you when adversity strikes on the field,'' Ball said. "And, of course, adversity is going to strike this season just like it did last season and the season before.

"When it does, I'm going to make sure I show up and be a playmaker.''

Noting the diversity in personalities of the Badgers' captains, Ball said, "We all bring something different to the table. What we have in common is that we show up every day and you know what to expect from us.''

Nobody is shy about expressing their opinion, either.

During Wednesday's practice, for instance, the Badgers were sporting the all-red helmets that they will be wearing for the Big Ten opener at Nebraska. Ball liked them, Borland didn't.

"I actually do like them; they fit comfortably,'' Ball said. "It changes it up a little bit.''

When Borland was asked about the helmets, he smiled and said, "Off the record?''

Shrugging his shoulders, he stressed, "I really don't care. I'd play in a purple helmet.''

Later, he explained, "I'm kind of a traditionalist. I like our jerseys and our helmets the way they are. But it's all good. It's a nice changeup and I think the fans will like them.''

Danny O'Brien didn't bring a written resume to his job interview, a 16-practice Q&A on the X's and O's. But his play on the field, even his presence in the huddle, spoke to his 17 starts at Maryland. That game experience shaped him and helped him earn the job, the quarterback job at Wisconsin.

There were other factors, too, not the least of which were O'Brien's "field awareness'' and ''ball security'' the last two weeks. That was the evaluation of tailback Montee Ball, who guesstimated that O'Brien "threw about 350 passes with just two interceptions in all those practices, and that's amazing.''

Once it became official that O'Brien had beaten out Curt Phillips and Joel Stave for the starting assignment in the UW's season opener, Ball said, "I've seen a side in him today (Monday) that I hadn't seen before. His confidence level has shot up and he's taking more of a leadership role.''

Left guard Ryan Groy saw some of those things in O'Brien's make-up  from the very beginning, which extended all the way back to O'Brien's recruiting trip to Madison in late March. "He knew what he was talking about when we talked football,'' recalled Groy, one of his campus hosts.

On the field, Groy said that O'Brien let his actions do the talking and they also spoke loudly to those 17 starts. "I saw a player who had experience,'' Groy observed. "I could tell he wasn't worried in the pocket, he wasn't skittish. He knew his looks and where he was going to go (with the ball).''

Groy added that the competition with Phillips and Stave may have brought out the best in O'Brien. "Competition helps the whole team regardless of what position it is,'' he suggested. "A couple of other places told Danny that he'd come in and start right away.

"Here, they told him, 'You're going to have to fight for the spot.' He knew that coming in. He even asked me what I thought about the other quarterbacks.  I told him the same thing, 'It's going to be a fight.' Now that he's got the spot, I think he's going to bring a little more leadership to the position.''

There are obvious benefits to naming a starter. Besides the receivers who can develop their timing, Groy said, "We can all start jelling together and start getting use to each other. It's different having different quarterbacks in the huddle all the time; different cadences, different ways they say it.''

O'Brien, who has two years of eligibility, was saying the same thing after Monday's practice.

"It's nice, honestly, getting all the No. 1 reps,'' he admitted. " You can get more and more comfortable, not only with the game plan, but with the guys. Every day the chemistry is going to get better and better. It's something I'm used to -- preparing as a starter -- you can't get too good at that.''

Don't expect him to change anything about the way he conducts his business.

"You have to be the same guy every day if you're a quarterback,'' said O'Brien, a Minneapolis native. "You don't want to win the job and, then, all of a sudden, be a different guy in the huddle. I'm the same guy from Day One until now in terms of how I lead, and everything like that.''

Acknowledging that Phillips and Stave pushed him daily in practice, O'Brien said, "I don't think you can take that for granted. You're heading down the wrong road, if you think, 'I'm going to be given the spot.' It's something that me and Coach B (Bret Bielema) talked about before I committed here.

"He told me, 'You're going to have to work for it' and I came in with that mentality, and I'm going to continue with that same mentality. You never want to take things for granted in football.''

Asked how Phillips and Stave have handled the situation since he was appointed the starter, O'Brien said, "Anyone who didn't win (the competition) would be disappointed. But they're great guys and they congratulated me and I said, 'Let's keep working' because you still want to push each other.''

At Maryland, he was named the starting quarterback the fourth game of his redshirt freshman season and he went on to be honored as the 2010 ACC Rookie of the Year. O'Brien went into 2011 as the Terps' starter, lost his job, regained his job, and then broke his arm, ending his season in mid-November.

"I've been in quarterback competitions since my true freshman year, whether it was for the third string spot, the back-up spot, or the starting spot,'' he said. "In terms of pressure, I might not have felt it as much (here) because this is something I'm very used to.

"The great thing about being here now is that it's clean slate. I've been through a lot -- really high and really low at Maryland -- so being here with a new set of guys is really special. That's the way it feels but we have to go out and keep earning it now.''

In the end, how much weight did O'Brien's previous experience in a BCS program carry in the competition with Phillips and Stave? "I think with 17 starts, you kind of get a vibe for how real game situations go and all that kind of thing,'' O'Brien said. "It's something you can't get too good at again.''

Before tweeting his choice, Bielema called O'Brien into his office Sunday and broke the news. "I thanked him for the opportunity,'' O'Brien said, "and I told him that I wasn't going to let him down.''

- Preseason Depth Chart (PDF)

After spending two weeks and 16 practices with his team, Wisconsin head coach Bret Bielema has decided who will line up for the Badgers in their Sept. 1 season-opener against Northern Iowa.

Bielema released his preseason depth chart Monday, naming 52 players to his initial two-deep.

Despite some of the suspense being removed Sunday when Bielema took to Twitter to announce that junior Danny O'Brien would be the Badgers' starting quarterback, there were some mysteries solved with the release of the depth chart.

Redshirt freshman Jordan Fredrick and sophomore Kenzel Doe join the veteran of the group, junior Jared Abbrederis, as starters at wide receiver.

Junior Brian Wozniak gets the nod as a No. 1 tight end alongside junior and returning starter Jacob Pedersen.

While LT Rick Wagner, LG Ryan Groy, C Travis Frederick and RT Rob Havenstein were all but set as starters on the offensive line, sophomore Kyle Costigan won the No. 1 job at right guard.

Sophomore Sherard Cadogan and redshirt freshman Derek Watt, a recently-converted linebacker, share the No. 1 line at fullback.

The choices at tailback should come as no surprise, with senior Montee Ball the Badgers' starter and junior James White the backup.

On defense, the Badgers will line up with junior David Gilbert and senior Brendan Kelly at defense end, with both sharing the No. 1 lines with junior Pat Muldoon. In between, juniors Beau Allen and Ethan Hemer occupy the No. 1 spots at defensive tackle.

The Big Ten's top tacklers from last year return, with junior Chris Borland the starter at middle linebacker and senior Mike Taylor on the top line at the will linebacker spot. Junior Ethan Armstrong fills out the group as the No. 1 sam linebacker.

The secondary is an experienced one, with seniors Marcus Cromartie and Devin Smith holding down the No. 1 spots at cornerback and senior Shelton Johnson and junior Dez Southward back as the No. 1 safeties.

On special teams, Bielema will tab sophomore Drew Meyer to handle punts, with freshman Jack Russell the No. 1 kicker on field goals and sophomore Kyle French handling kickoffs.

Sophomore James McGuire will snap with freshman Stephen Salata as the holder.

Abbrederis, a preseason All-America returner on many media lists after an impressive season running back kicks last year, is UW's No. 1 returner for both punts and kickoffs.

One moment, Wisconsin wide receiver Jordan Fredrick was sprinting down field in a "combative'' -- a special teams drill pitting a kickoff cover man versus a retreating blocker.

 The next moment, Fredrick's heart was racing.

"I was thinking the worst -- a broken leg,'' he said.

You can understand his angst during last Wednesday night's practice at Camp Randall Stadium; especially since Fredrick spent last fall and spring rehabbing after shoulder surgery. Now, he was contemplating another worst case scenario following his collision with fellow wideout Chase Hammond.

"It was a scare,'' said Fredrick, a redshirt freshman from Madison Memorial High School. "I had a guy in high school who had the same thing happen to him in the same area (calf) -- it happened in a summer practice and it was pretty bad -- and it went through my mind.''

Fredrick was helped to the training room. "It was pretty painful,'' he said. "They wanted to give me X-rays because they weren't sure if it was broken or not. I was nervous. With the surgery last year you don't want to miss another year and you're always nervous about having that happen again.''

The X-rays were negative, and Fredrick didn't waste any time getting back on the practice field the very next day; bruised calf and all. There was an urgency to do so; and not only because he didn't want to lose any precious ground in his quest to secure a spot in the rotation at wide receiver.

"I didn't want to be that injury-prone guy that's sitting out practices and missing games throughout my career,'' Fredrick explained. "I was done with that during my redshirt year. So I wanted to come back right away. It (his left calf) was a little tender, but nothing to slow me down.''

The 2011 season had to seem like it was in slow motion to Fredrick, particularly after he got off to such a fast start during the first week of training camp. UW coach Bret Bielema was so encouraged by his early showing that he singled out Fredrick as a potential contributor as a true freshman.

"I didn't even know playing was an option that first year,'' admitted Fredrick, an all-state receiver and all-city linebacker as a senior at Memorial.  "I just came in trying to play my game and hopefully it would go well for me. And it ended up going pretty well in the beginning.''

Not unexpectedly, he wound up hitting a wall, like most freshmen. "That last week of camp was pretty rough on me -- just mentally,'' said Fredrick, who also missed some practice time because of a sinus infection. "I wasn't mature enough to handle it all.''

The Badgers decided to redshirt Fredrick, and he went to work on the scout team simulating opposing receivers for the No. 1 defense. But his effectiveness was limited because of shoulder pain. In mid-October, he had surgery to repair two tears in his labrum, one of which may have existed for years.

Looking back on his freshman season, Fredrick said, "It was a perfect experience for me; almost getting a shot to play and it not working out in the end; the decision to redshirt; the time I got on the scout team; and then that surgery. I got pretty much every perspective there is.''

In meetings, Fredrick became a good listener, and observer. "I was watching a lot of film, and doing a lot of cut-ups with the receivers who were playing that week,'' he said.

But there was also a negative to his inactivity which carried through spring practice. "You don't ever want to be sidelined ever again after that,'' he said. "So there's a lot more drive since then.''

Since he had never been injured to this extent, Fredrick relied on UW trainer Mike Moll and others to guide him through the more challenging stages of rehab. The support group included his girlfriend and his mom and dad, Andree and Craig, a former UW tight end in the early '80s.

"I got back faster,'' Jordan Fredrick said, "and almost stronger than ever.''

At Memorial, he possessed multiple strengths as a receiver, linebacker and defensive back. During his prep career, he had 113 catches for 1,216 yards and 15 TDs plus 163 tackles and 14 interceptions.

"My real passion was DB,'' said Fredrick, the Big 8 Conference Defensive Back of the Year as a junior. "Obviously, though, I'm not a college-level DB with quickness and all that stuff. But in high school I loved sitting back there and going up for balls and competing with wideouts.''

In making the jump to the collegiate level, Fredrick was given the option of playing on offense or defense. His response was swift and from the heart. "I always loved wideout,'' he said.

But there has been an adjustment period; which is still ongoing for UW's young receivers.

"It takes a lot more effort here (Wisconsin),'' he said. "You have to run all the time. In high school, to be honest, maybe if it was a run play, you'd take some off -- because a lot of high school players go both ways (offense and defense).

"At wideout here, you can't slow down at all. The game is obviously a lot faster and the DBs are a lot quicker, so you have to go 100 percent every play, all the time. If you give that effort, you will keep getting better every day, and you will get better in every aspect.''

When his players are on the field, first-year UW receivers coach Zach Azzanni is constantly reminding them to be violent. "That's always being sudden, always being violent with your hands and body movement,'' Fredrick said. "Everything you do in this game has to be violent, sudden.''

CTT is something else that has become ingrained: Catch, Tuck, Turn.

"A lot of guys want to catch, turn and tuck,'' Fredrick said. "When we watch on film, that's where we get a lot of our drops, myself included. Before you get to the tuck, you want to turn up field. It happens all the time.''

Azzanni's teaching points and high energy drills have clearly won over Fredrick. "I love it for sure,'' he said. "He doesn't let you slow down, which is great. His expectations are high.''

So are Fredrick's -- especially since that starting job opposite Jared Abbrederis is still open.

"I'm just trying to take advantage of that opportunity right now,'' he said.