September 29, 2016 | Football, Mike Lucas
Offensive coordinator’s call to bring in Connors, slide Deiter to guard worked well at MSU
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BY MIKE LUCAS
UWBadgers.com Senior Writer
MADISON, Wis. — Prior to his first collegiate start at Michigan State, Wisconsin center Brett Connors sought the advice of right guard Beau Benzschawel, who made his debut as a starter at Nebraska last season.
Before taking the field against the Spartans in the Big Ten opener, Connors admitted, "I was kind of getting those pregame jitters. Beau's locker is by mine and I leaned on him before the game."
Benzschawel was more than willing to share his experiences and offer some advice. Including his debut against the Huskers, he has started 12 straight games, six at right tackle and the last six at guard.
"It's a game," Benzschawel reminded Connors. "You know what you have to do. You just have to go out and play and not do anything over the top. Just be yourself and play football."
The temptation is to try and do more than you can. "That was the biggest thing for me," reflected Benzschawel. "Obviously, the nerves are going like crazy. Just do what you have to do."
Connors remembered something else from their locker room conversation at Spartan Stadium.
"He kept telling me, 'You have to play within yourself,'" he said. "He told me, 'You game-planned all week. You're fine. You know all the stuff. Get the jitters out and be confident in yourself.'"
The first series, by Connors' own admission, was by far the most challenging last Saturday. It ended with quarterback Alex Hornibrook losing a fumble while attempting to pass.
"I was a little bit off," Connors said. "There were some plays I missed."
UW offensive coordinator and O-line coach Joe Rudolph wasn't surprised.
"But he bounced back from some early stuff," he said, "and got back on track."
On the second series, the Badgers drove 65 yards for a touchdown and a 7-3 lead that they never relinquished. The 16-play drive burned 7:38 on the clock. Connors was officially baptized.
"I thought he did pretty good … (pause) … Actually, I thought he did really good," said Michael Deiter, who moved from center to left guard to make room for Connors.
"Obviously, there were some things here and there that you would expect out of someone making their first start in an atmosphere like that.
"But, overall, he did a really good job. He was tight with his communication. His technique was sound. He didn't get caught up in the emotions. He stayed on course. Never too high, never too low."
Rudolph expected no less out of Connors when he made the decision to juggle his starting combination to accommodate for injuries to a pair of left guards, Jon Deitzen and Micah Kapoi.
"I just thought it was time based on where we were health-wise," Rudolph said. "I had full confidence in him and he went out and competed.
"He's athletic enough, strong enough, tough enough. And he's really smart and helps himself with the details. Coming into this year, I had a lot of faith in him regardless of where we needed him."
Connors' versatility has been an obvious asset. He has played center, guard and tackle. "Shoot," Rudolph said, "he had to play the whole spring game at right tackle at the last minute."
With Connors and Deiter side by side, the Badgers have the equivalent of two centers on the field at once. That has benefited Connors, who's entrusted with reading the defense and making calls.
"Sometimes, we'd have the call and I would kind of look at him (Deiter) and he'd tell me, 'Keep it at what you have,'" Connors said. "It's kind of reassuring and it definitely helps."
Off the field, Connors has been taking advantage of another resource: former center Dan Voltz, who had to give up football because of injury concerns. Voltz, a fifth-year senior, had 27 career starts.
"I'm always in Dan's ear," Connors said. "After I come off the field, I think the first person I go to is Dan. He usually gives me some pretty good tips on what I did well and what I didn't do well."
On the 2016 roster, Connors is one of nine walk-ons who have earned scholarships. A three-year letterwinner at New Berlin West High School, Connors didn't have many college options.
"I was considering Western Illinois as a walk-on," he said. "I chose to stay close to home."
New Berlin is an hour from Madison. And miles and miles from the Big House in Ann Arbor.
"That's why guys come to Wisconsin," Connors said. "To play on the big stages."
• • • •
UW head coach Paul Chryst's recollection of Wisconsin's last trip to Michigan can be reduced to three sentences: "It was a good day. I liked it. It means nothing this week."Chryst has no interest in dwelling on the past because it can't help him win Saturday. But he was right about that last visit to the Big House. It was a good day, a very good day.
On Nov. 20, 2010, Wisconsin overpowered Michigan, 48-28. It was 24-0 at halftime.
Montee Ball and James White were a lethal one-two punch on the ground. Ball rushed 29 times for 173 yards and four touchdowns; White had 23 carries for 181 yards and two scores.
Chryst, then the offensive coordinator, called run after run after — 58 rushes overall. In the second half, quarterback Scott Tolzien attempted just one pass. He finished 14-of-15 for 201 yards.
Lance Kendricks was the leading receiver with four catches for 74 yards. Defensive end J.J. Watt also caught a pass. It was thrown by Michigan's Denard Robinson and Watt returned the pick 15 yards.
The Wolverines were no match for Wisconsin's offensive line featuring Gabe Carimi and Rick Wagner at tackle; John Moffitt and Kevin Zeitler at guard; Bill Nagy at center. All played in the NFL.
"I remember all the times I've been over there (Ann Arbor)," Rudolph said.
As a UW player, Rudolph was on teams that beat Michigan in back-to-back games, home and away, in 1993 and 1994. As a coach, he hasn't forgotten the one that got away in 2009 at the Big House.
Despite holding a 19-0 lead in the third quarter, the Badgers were painfully aware of all their squandered scoring opportunities, settling for four field goals on five Michigan turnovers.
Sure enough, the Wolverines rallied for 27 straight points, 20 in the fourth quarter, to pull out a 27-25 win that wasn't sealed until they got a stop on the UW's second two-point conversion attempt.
The first try was good but erased because of a penalty.
For the record, it was the last time Michigan defeated a top-10 opponent. Wisconsin was ranked No. 9. Since then, the Wolverines are 0-11 against teams in the top 10 of the Associated Press poll.
Rudolph knows that there's a degree of the unknown whenever you go on the road. But he also knows, "You have to be ready to fight each play."
Through the first games, Rudolph has liked the "fight" shown by his offensive line.
Start with the veteran, Deiter, a redshirt sophomore and a vet of 17 starts in 17 games.
"He's strong, he's physical," Rudolph said. "He's one of those guys that you put in different spots and he jumps in and he competes his tail off."
Asked if he favors guard or center, Deiter said, "I don't have a preference."
There are differences. "At center, you're making contact faster than you do at guard," he said. "At guard, you have more time to see things, to see a pressure and adjust to a movement."
Rudolph has the utmost confidence in Deiter and Benzschawel as pulling guards.
"I do like how both of those guys can get out and run," Rudolph said. "We have total trust in them running the whole offense in either direction."
Benzschawel, a redshirt sophomore, has more of a comfort level at guard this season.
"I've grown up a ton," he said, "as far as seeing defenses and knowing what pressures they're bringing and knowing what we're going to do against it."
On starting tackles, Ryan Ramczyk and Jacob Maxwell, Rudolph said, "Ram has been really consistent. I like what he has done. We still have some steps to take but he's competing.
"Max had the most plays where he kind of flashed in this last game. But there are still things with his consistency that we have to clean up. Both guys are fighting."
David Edwards, who's making the conversion from tight end to tackle, has begun to emerge over the last couple of weeks of practices. Edwards is a 6-foot-7, 285-pound redshirt freshman.
"It has been really encouraging," Rudolph said. "He just hasn't put it all together yet. But if we needed him to step in a game, I'd expect him to jump in and I wouldn't expect us to miss a beat."
No. 5.
That will be one of the focal points for Wisconsin's offensive line at Michigan.
No. 5 is Jabrill Peppers, a 6-1, 205-pound junior linebacker-safety-corner-blitzer on defense.
"He's incredibly fast," Benzschawel said. "He's not crazy as far as size but he's very athletic and very fast. You have to know where he's at because he has the potential to do good things for them."
"He's a special player, no doubt," said Deiter. "You have to be aware of him and you have to trust your technique and trust your talent when you're going against a guy like that."
"They do a great job of putting him in a position to make plays," Rudolph said. "You'll see him all over the field and it's hard to get a bead on where he's going to be and line up."
Rest assured, the Badgers will have their heads up for No. 5.
