BY MIKE LUCAS
UWBadgers.com Senior Writer
MADISON, Wis. — Punter Anthony Lotti plans on reviewing some video clips of his better punts.
Wide receiver Quintez Cephus plans on watching the "Friday'' film series.
Safety Patrick Johnson plans on eating and gaming.
That's the plan for Friday night in Green Bay for these three Wisconsin freshmen.
Get to know their numbers: No. 15 (Lotti); No. 87 (Cephus); No. 22 (Johnson).
Lotti will be making his college debut on Saturday against LSU. That's a given.
Cephus and Johnson are both in line to see some action. That's a possibility.
All three are from the 2016 recruiting class, which has been drawing raves in training camp.
Take it from Lotti, Cephus and Johnson — the first-year players already have a strong bond.
Key Matchups
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LSU's No. 7 (Leonard Fournette)
vs. UW's front seven
Physically, the 6-foot-1, 235-pound Leonard Fournette is the reincarnation of Adrian Peterson, the former Oklahoma tailback who finished second to USC's Matt Leinart on the 2004 Heisman ballot. Fournette, a 21-year-old junior from New Orleans, is one of the frontrunners to win the award this season.
"He's a tough back who can bounce around the edges and he can put it in the middle," said UW outside linebacker T.J. Watt. "We're going to have to form tackle and swarm to the ball."
In the 2014 opener, the Badgers got a small taste of Fournette, who had eight rushes for 18 yards and five kickoff returns for 117 in his college debut. Since then, Fournette has been the show stopper. In 25 career games, he has rushed for 2,987 yards and 32 touchdowns.
In 2015, Fournette rushed for over 100 yards in 10 of 12 games. Four times, he went over 200. The Tigers lost both games that Fournette was held under 100. Alabama completely shut him down limiting him to 31 yards on 19 carries. Arkansas held him to 91 on the same number of carries. His longest run in those back-to-back losses was 18 yards. But he still led the nation in rushing (162.8).
Alabama's Derrick Henry was the only running back among Power 5 programs to collect more yards after contact than Fournette, who had 829 yards and led the FBS in broken tackles.
"He (Fournette) is very unique," said UW inside linebacker Jack Cichy. "He's got great balance and he's very powerful. We've got to go low and we've got to swarm."
How much will LSU attack the perimeter with Fournette? Especially since the Tigers are replacing both starting tackles? Most defenses have tried to force Fournette to run East-West. Most have failed. The Tigers are structured offensively to feature Fournette as a physical downhill runner, a strategy that Miles endorses by utilizing a fullback, John David Moore (6-4, 241) who was injured midway through last season.
The fullback snaps may be divided between the former walk-on Moore, who had successful ACL surgery, and Bry'Keithon Mouton, who started five games in Moore's absence.
Over the last 40 games (the Dave Aranda era as DC), the Badgers have allowed just nine players to rush for over 100 yards, including the aforementioned Hilliard. But Aranda is now mapping strategy for LSU. Moreover, Joe Schobert is in the NFL and T.J. Edwards is working his way back from an injury.
Despite their losses — Edwards is expected back before the Big Ten season — the inside and outside linebackers are still the strength of the Wisconsin defense, now in the hands of Justin Wilcox.
Vince Biegel is an emotional rallying point, a team captain. He has moved into Schobert's role on the field side of the formation while Watt will take over on the boundary. It will be interesting to see how they operate off the edge against LSU tackles Toby Weathersby and K.J. Malone, a first time starter.
Garret Dooley and Zack Baun will be the backups to Biegel and Watt. Even though the Badgers obviously miss Edwards, they feel good about the aggressive inside linebacker combination of Cichy and Chris Orr. A key reserve is Ryan Connelly.
Wisconsin's defensive front will be challenged to hold its ground against LSU's best players on the offensive line: center Ethan Pocic (6-7, 302) and left guard Will Clapp (6-5, 309). The right guard Josh Boutte (6-5, 346) has just one career start.
Olive Sagapolu is a proven anchor at nose tackle. And he will be flanked by a couple of experienced D-linemen in Chikwe Obasih (27 games, 20 starts) and Conor Sheehy (27 games, 8 starts). Alec James (27 games, 3 starter) is the equivalent of a fourth starter in the rotation.
If the Badgers are going to contain or slow down or limit Fournette, who excels as a cutback runner, they will have to get numbers to the point of attack. Swarm is the operative word.
LSU's defensive backs vs.
UW's receivers
Morris Claiborne. Tyrann Mathieu (Honey Badger). Patrick Peterson. The hat trick of first-team All-America cornerbacks on Les Miles' watch.
LaRon Landry. Craig Steltz. Eric Reid. Jalen Mills. The Mt. Rushmore of first-team All-America safeties under Miles.
Although 2015 was boon-or-bust, mostly the later for the secondary, LSU is still DBU, they say. Defensive Back University.
"We're not out to compete with nobody. People out to compete with us," Donte Jackson boasted to the Baton Rouge newspaper The Advocate. "We're DBU strictly off talent."
Of the 14 scholarship DBs, there are three 5-Stars and 10 4-Stars. Six were ranked among the top three at their position coming out of high school. Eight were among the top 10 nationally.
The leader of the group is senior Tre'Davious White (6-0, 197), who has 35 career starts. White, who also returns punts, will wear No. 18 for a second consecutive season.
An LSU tradition since quarterback Matt Mauck led the Tigers to a national championship in 2003, the No. 18 goes to the player who personifies what it means to play at LSU, on and off the field. The other starting cornerback is Kevin Toliver (6-2, 193), who started eight games last season as a true freshman. Backing up Toliver is Jackson (5-11, 173), a nickel back and sprinter on the track team.
The safeties are Ricky Jefferson (6-0, 209) and Jamal Adams (6-1, 213). Jefferson is the brother of former LSU quarterback Jordan Jefferson. Adams is the son of George Adams, a former NFL player.
The Tigers were their own worst enemy last season with eight busted coverages that resulted in six touchdowns. Overall, they ranked No. 65 in pass defense; their worst mark since 2008.
The Badgers will likely get a lot of man-coverage. How many battles can they win? Especially as they try to establish an identity without their leading receiver Alex Erickson, now with the Bengals? Rob Wheelwright, Jazz Peavy and George Rushing hold down the top three spots in the rotation. Wheelwright has had his special moments. But he has also been inconsistent. Peavy may be on the brink of a breakout season. He's a versatile athlete who will also contribute on special teams. Rushing had a strong spring game and fall camp.
Three freshman wide receivers have been impressive in training camp: A.J. Taylor, Quintez Cephus and Kendrick Pryor offer some different skill sets that the Badgers hope to capitalize on.
Quarterback Bart Houston can take a spread-the-wealth approach to the pass offense when the tight ends and the running backs are factored into the attack.
Troy Fumagalli has already proven to be a reliable target (28 catches in 2015). Kyle Penniston showed promise in the spring. Eric Steffes is more of an on-line blocker. But he can't be totally ignored. Because of a numbers concern, the Badgers moved Zander Neuville from the defensive line to tight end during training camp. He helps the depth.
With 36 receptions, tailback Dare Ogunbowale was the second-leading receiver behind Erickson. He can pose some challenging matchups for safeties and linebackers. In 30 games, Corey Clement has 17 catches, 14 for 119 yards and two TDs in 2014. He has pretty good hands. Taiwan Deal might fall into that category. But nobody knows for sure. He has one catch.
Houston can target his fullbacks, too, starting with Austin Ramesh, who has four career receptions. Neither Alec Ingold nor Leon Jacobs (a converted linebacker) has caught a pass.
Even the short or "quick" game will be predicated on how Wisconsin's offensive line handles LSU's blitz packages orchestrated by Dave Aranda who's always looking for a matchup to exploit. Houston will have to be aware of these numbers:
No. 49, Arden Key, a 6-6, 238-pound sophomore edge rusher — Rangy. Athletic. Aranda will use him like he used Joe Schobert. Has set the bar high. Key wants 20 sacks this year.
No. 57, Davon Godchaux, a 6-4, 299-pound junior defensive end — A two-year starter who can play inside or outside. Has drawn comparisons with Glenn Dorsey, a former LSU All-American.
No. 92, Louis Neal, a 6-2, 272-pound senior — Led team with eight sacks in 2015. Had 3 vs. Florida. Must pick up slack for injured Christian LaCouture, a three-year starter.
No. 45, Michael Divinity, a 6-3, 234-pound freshman linebacker — Also on the spot because of an injury to projected starter, Corey Thompson, a converted safety.
No. 52, Kendell Beckwith, a 6-3, 247-pound senior Mike linebacker — Has 19 starts. Prep QB. Burned the Badgers in '14 with first down run out of fake punt formation.
No. 55, Travonte Valentine, a 6-4, 356-pound sophomore nose tackle — Beastly size and athleticism. Academically ineligible as frosh. Later kicked off team. Two layovers at community colleges.
In sum, what's the most important number for Houston and the Badgers' offense?
The number of turnovers. Can't afford to have any.
— Mike Lucas |
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"We've actually got a tight, close-knit group," said Lotti, who's from Flowery Branch, Georgia (40 miles from Atlanta). "All the freshmen hang out. Whenever we go out, we go out with each other."
"We're going through the same things mentally and physically," said Cephus, who's from Macon, Georgia (two hours from Flowery Branch). "So we've been able to come together (as a group)."
"I started classes with them, I went through camp with them," said Johnson who's from Washington, D.C. "There's no better way to bond with someone than going through camp with them."
Each had a personal expectation when they arrived on the UW campus in June.
"Every freshman's dream is to play as a true freshman," Johnson said. "But my mindset was to just work hard, show that I love the game, keep a smile on my face and just keep moving forward."
"I had the mindset that I wasn't going to get redshirted, that was my drive," Cephus said. "I wanted to show every day that I was ready to maybe have a chance to help the team."
"I was pretty much raised to be a punter," Lotti said.
Let's start with the given. Lotti, a first-team allstate punter in Georgia, will replace Drew Meyer, a four-year fixture (54 games, 256 punts, 10,125 yards, 39.5 average).
"I played quarterback (frosh and soph) and tight end (soph and junior) in high school," said the 6-foot, 186-pound Lotti. "But I've always pretty much focused on punting."
Lotti's coach at West Hall High School was his father, Tony Lotti, an All-American punter at Tennessee Wesleyan (1985-89) and a member of the school's Hall of Fame.
Tony Lotti is also an author of two books: Fourth Down and Long: Everything is Possible When You Believe and A break in the Rain: A Boy, his Coach and a Special Wish.
The latter was a true story based on the relationship between a coach and a child with Down syndrome. Lotti has a master's of education degree in Cross Categorical Special Education.
Lotti has turned around the fortunes of the West Hall program with three straight playoff appearances. His son has been an integral contributor. He averaged 45.2 as a junior and 45.4 as a senior.
During a recent practice, Lotti walked along the sideline, dropping a football at a kicking angle and catching it on first bounce. He repeated the drill from end zone to end zone.
"If you have a bad drop, if it's inside, outside, or anything like that, it's going to screw up the whole rest of your kick," he said. "So the drop is the most important part of it.
"I try to get as much reps as possible — that's muscle memory. And when I'm walking that line, I can usually tell if it's set up to be a good ball."
Lotti will also work off the Jugs machine.
"We practice catching and molding the ball — getting it set over the foot," he said. "There's also one step and no step (drills) hitting punts just to get that fluid leg motion."
On Friday night, Lotti will go through a visualization exercise.
"I'll put together a film of my punts — when I felt like my form was really good — and I'll watch it, usually the night before a game," he said, "so I get that in my mind on what I need to do."
There will be punts from this training camp and punts from his final season as a prep.
Does a good punt make a certain sound off his foot? Like a hitter getting the barrel on a pitch.
"From the contact, you can tell," said Lotti, who just turned 19. "If it looks easy, like you're not even trying, that's how you know it's one of your best (punts)."
Lotti didn't get to know Cephus until after he verbally committed to Wisconsin.
"When I found out that they were recruiting him," Lotti said, "I started reaching out to him to see if there was anything that he wanted to know, things like that. We're both Georgia boys."
Cephus verbally committed last September … to Furman … for basketball.
At Stratford Academy, he set the single-game playoff record with 53 points. As a junior, Cephus averaged 22.7 points, 8.9 rebounds, 4.3 assists and 3.2 steals.
Cephus was planning on making it official with Furman during the early signing period in November. But he had a dramatic change of plans and decided to focus on football.
As a senior, he was All-State in Georgia with 42 catches for 872 yards and 12 touchdowns. All along, Cephus wanted to test himself at a Power 5 school. "It was my dream forever," he said.
Wisconsin gave him that opportunity. His basketball background is still paying dividends. (He finished his career as Stratford's all-time leading scorer with 1,960 points, 462 assists, 388 steals.)
"It helps tracking the ball (the pass)," he said. "Also in basketball, if you mess up one play, you've got to get back on defense. It helps my mind not dwelling on something that might be bad.
"It has been more of a mental adjustment here — just learning how to focus at this level and I'm still learning. I've been adjusting to how much you run and how you have to take care of your body."
A.J. Taylor, a first-team all-state running back out of Kansas City, and Kendrick Pryor, a first-team All-State receiver out of Illinois, are also pushing for playing time with Cephus.
Lambeau Field looms as a priceless experience for all three.
"A lot of great people have played there and I'm going to look up the history," Cephus said. "It's going to be amazing to be in that locker room and to run out of that tunnel."
On Friday night, he will try to take his mind off the game by watching "Friday" — a series of films starring Ice Cube and John Witherspoon and Mike Epps. He'll get some laughs.
On Saturday, he will be all business. Same for Johnson, who has been taking second team reps in the secondary with another true freshman, cornerback Caesar Williams (Grand Prairie, Texas).
Defensive coordinator Justin Schultz has been encouraged by their early development.
"Every time you sign somebody, you kind of hope (they can play as a freshman)," he said. "You're cautiously optimistic, I guess. But you never really know until they get here.
"It's a change for them. They're leaving home (for the first time). It's new. It's new terminology. It's a new setting with new coaches. All of that stuff. But the freshmen in general have done a nice job."
Johnson is still dealing with some of the mental demands.
"There are more meetings and a lot more film and learning the playbook," he said. "You're reading your keys, reading the blocks, reading the release of the receivers. It's more of a mental battle.
"But Coach (Jim) Leonhard has made it real smooth breaking the game down."
Johnson will go over his playbook on the eve of Saturday's opener. He will visit with the other safeties (Leo Musso, D'Cota Dixon, Arrington Farrar) and he will eat.
"I like to eat good to get my mind off things," he said. "You have to treat your body right."
He will also get into some video gaming — another diversion before potentially realizing his dream on Saturday by playing as a true freshman.
Lotti and Cephus and some of their classmates can relate.
