BY MIKE LUCAS
UWBadgers.com Senior Writer
MADISON, Wis. — Reggie Love went into spring practice with some questions about his role.
To begin, what did he think it was?
"I don't know," he admitted. "I don't think I had a solid role."
Mind you, this was after four years in the program, including a redshirt season in 2013. During that time (31 games, 3 starts), he had more rushes (8) than catches (7).
Truth is, Love's most memorable play was a run — a 45-yard touchdown on a Jet Sweep against LSU. That was in the 2014 opener and, inexplicably, he didn't get another carry over the last 13 games.
Last year, he had seven rushes (5.4 yards per carry) and four receptions. While a majority of his snaps have been at wide receiver, he got some reps at H-back at the end of the 2015 season.
"I wanted to come out of the spring with the coaches knowing my role," asserted Love, a fifth-year senior from Boynton Beach, Florida, "and knowing that I can be a playmaker on this team."
Going into Saturday's 15th and final spring practice at Camp Randall Stadium, Love feels good about some of the strides that he has made, especially in staying alive on the depth chart.
"I kind of wanted to accomplish solidifying a role," he said. "That was one of the things that I wanted to work on. And I think I have a role.
"Right now, it's being a force in the blocking on the perimeter and making those tough catches. I'm going in on '11' (personnel) and I'm trying to get that No. 3 spot."
One running back, one tight end and three wide receivers make up the "11" personnel grouping. To no one's surprise, senior Rob Wheelwright and junior Jazz Peavy are clearly at top of the rotation.
Who's No. 3? Love and George Rushing have put themselves in the mix. Injuries have limited some others (Krenwick Sanders and walk-ons Henry Houden and Ricky Finco).
"At the beginning of the spring, I had a long way to go, and I still do," conceded the 6-foot-3, 220-pound Love. "But I think that I'm going in the right direction."
After Thursday's practice, Love consulted with an athletic trainer before heading to the locker room for some treatment. He was determined not to let any kind of injury prevent him from practicing Saturday.
The Badgers are woefully thin at that position group with Wheelwright limited by a leg injury. Moreover, Love wants to end the spring on a high note and show the coaches they can rely on him.
"We talk a lot about, 'Knowing your why,'" Love said of the team's player anthem under second-year head coach Paul Chryst. "Why do you do this?"
It's a fair question, he agreed, given his bumpy ride as a collegian.
"My 'Why' is my mom," Love said. "And that's going to keep me motivated throughout the remainder of my college career even though it's my last year and I still don't really have a role.
"But I'm always thinking about her and that's motivating me. She has gone through a lot. If you had a chance to meet her, you'd understand what kind of a great woman she is."
Love said that his mother, 47-year-old Dean Ellison, will need surgery for a brain tumor.
"It's a procedure that she went through previously when I was younger — I want to say five years ago — and it grew back fast," he said. "They're going to remove the tumor and hope for the best.
"I think about her a lot. But she's hanging in there. She has a positive spirit. Right now, my older brother is in school at FAU (Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton) and he's taking care of her."
The campus is 15 minutes from Love's home in Boynton Beach. Reggie Love will graduate from UW in mid-May and Dean Ellison is planning on attending the commencement exercises in Camp Randall.
Getting his degree has obviously been a priority. But he doesn't want to leave Madison with any regrets about football — "Or without making my mark or making some type of noise," he said.
You needed a scorecard to follow Love's progress throughout the spring. That's because he was constantly changing his jersey number. Up until now, he has always worn No. 16.
But he showed up at various practices in No. 84, No. 61, No. 46, and No. 22.
It was Chryst's way of sending a message to Love about an untidy locker stall.
"He (Chryst) was telling me that he did it with another kid at Pitt — he started him off with 90 something," said Love, who insisted, "I've straightened out my locker. It's nice and clean now."
Before spring ball, Love asked Chryst if he could wear No. 1. Chryst has delayed his decision. He believes Love has to earn that number — worn previously by receivers Brandon Williams and Luke Swan.
Love was No. 19 at Spanish River High School. But he wants to wear No. 1 in memory of Daniel Wallace, who was gunned down at a Boynton Beach block party in late December. He was 18.
Wallace had played two years of varsity football at Palm Beach Lakes High School.
"We kind of grew up together," Love said. "My mom and his mom were like sisters."
In light of this backdrop, Love doesn't lack inspiration.
"It's weird," observed senior quarterback Bart Houston, "but every year Reggie has taken on a different role with this team. But he's playing well and I think that he's finding his niche."
If Love can practice Saturday, he said, "It would give me a chance to showcase what I've been working on and all the steps that I've taken in that right direction.
"That's why this spring has been important to me and why it's kind of hard to walk away now or just settle for a small role. I don't have that mindset."
"That's why this spring has been important to me and why it's kind of hard to walk away now or just settle for a small role. I don't have that mindset."
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On Saturday, whether he can scrimmage or not, Love will be wearing No. 16.
Rushing, a 6-1, 191-pound junior from Miramar, Florida, will be No. 17.
"I think I'm starting to define myself," he said. "I went into the spring with an open mind and I tried to take to take it day by day — I tried to improve myself and get better each day."
Through 25 career games, Rushing has nearly as many rushes (6) as catches (7). But all of his experiences, good and bad, he said, "Have helped me grow as a person and a football player."
Because of the depleted receiving corps, Rushing should have an impact during Saturday's scrimmaging. "I'm going into it like a practice," he said, "and I want to be the best me and represent."
Tight end Kyle Penniston, No. 49, might echo that thought.
You may remember Penniston from the 2014 recruiting cycle. He verbally committed in February of that year — picking Wisconsin over Florida State, Washington State and Miami (Fla.).
Oklahoma, USC, UCLA and Ohio State also had some interest in Penniston, a four-star recruit out of Mater Dei High School (Santa Ana, California), one of the top programs in the nation.
Penniston, an early enrollee last spring, was hoping to contribute as a true freshman.
"But you can't do it," he said, "when you can't even walk."
Penniston injured his foot during practice the week following the 2015 season opener against Alabama. He was subsequently lost for the season with a Jones fracture.
That's a break at the base of the fifth metatarsal connecting the small toe to the foot. It's not an uncommon injury. NFL wide receivers Dez Bryant and Julian Edelman have both dealt with it.
So has NBA superstar Kevin Durant.
"It's a big basketball thing," Penniston said.
Sure enough, former UW point guard Traevon Jackson had a Jones fracture during his senior year. Freshman shooting guard Brevin Pritzl missed most of last season with the same thing.
"It was hard redshirting because of the injury," Penniston said. "But I tried not being a Debbie Downer about it. I tried to turn it around and take advantage of the opportunity, I guess.
"I think that I took it the right way by trying to get bigger and stronger in the weight room. But it was still hard being on crutches and not being able to travel with the team."
The Badgers have only three scholarship tight ends who are healthy: Troy Fumagalli, who had 28 catches for 313 yards last season; Penniston, and 6-7 redshirt freshman David Edwards.
Eric Steffes, who will serve as the blocking tight end, is injured.
"I ask him (Fumagalli) questions non-stop," said the 6-4, 237-pound Penniston. "He knows the position well and he's a really good player. I'd like to think we have a lot of similar traits.
"Whenever I have a question about the run game, I go straight to Eric (Steffes). He's a really smart player and understands the game really well. If you're lost, he's the guy you ask."
What is Penniston's expectation for Saturday's practice?
"A couple of catches, a couple of blocks," he said. "Just help the team any way I can."
That applies for a couple of tailbacks: Taiwan Deal, a 6-1, 223-pound redshirt sophomore from Capitol Heights, Maryland; and Bradrick Shaw, a 6-1, 220-pound redshirt freshman from Birmingham, Alabama.
"All spring," said Deal, who rushed for 503 yards last season, "me and Bradrick have taken a lot of the reps in scrimmages. And we want to come out and show what we can do."
They're not alone.
