Training Camp Confidential: Bostad taking notes on ’backers
August 07, 2018 | Football, Mike Lucas
Headlined by veterans, inside linebacker group using camp to build depth
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BY MIKE LUCAS
UWBadgers.com Senior Writer
MADISON, Wis. — Many players and assistants lingered on the field after Monday's practice.
But since Bob Bostad didn't have any formal media requests, the inside linebackers coach made a beeline to his eighth-floor office at Camp Randall Stadium.
While everything was still fresh in his mind from what he had just seen during the workout, he put down his thoughts on paper. He frowned at the suggestion of using a computer or tablet.
"I long-hand everything," said the 52-year-old Bostad.
Obviously, he has filled up a lot of notebooks over nearly three decades as an assistant.
"I wouldn't say I have a lot," said the Pardeeville native, "but I have my share."
Later, he kiddingly conceded of his handwriting, "It's not as a bad as a doctor's."
At that, his bedside manner is straight to the point and his post-practice routine is clinical.
"As soon as that (practice) film comes off the computer, I've got a form and I'm ready to go," said Bostad, a copious notetaker. "I'll go right up until we meet with the players."
Bostad has a checklist for everything that happens or doesn't happen on the field.
"The first thing, 'Did we know what we were doing?' That comes down to assignment," he said. "The second thing, if we did the assignment right, 'Are we getting (understanding) how you do it?'
"So, it's, 'What you do and how you do it.' And that comes down to technique. Are we using the proper footwork? I like to coach from the bottom up – I like to watch the feet first.
"And, then, the game is about the hands. Are we using our hands? Are we coordinating our feet and our hands? … For linebackers, it's a lot about proper angles and depth.
"And, obviously, great vision," he stressed without raising his voice. "Where are our eyes?"
Bostad doesn't feel like his attention to detail and note-taking is out of the ordinary.
"I don't think it's rocket science or anything," he said. "But I do think you learn by writing things down. You retain twice as much by taking notes.
"When my players sit down," he said of the linebacker room, "they have a notebook. They don't have a computer or an iPad. That's on their own time, that's for their additional library material.
"Here, you take notes. We're not just going to give it to you and everybody gets to watch TV."
Bostad is entering his second season as a defensive assistant after spending his first 27 years on offense. While there was an understandable adjustment, he made a smooth transition in 2017.
"Just being exposed to the things and having a year under your belt – studying it – I definitely feel a lot more comfortable with it," he said Monday. "At the same time, there's always something new.
"I'd be a fool to think I've even remotely close to mastering it."
It's a good lesson for his inside linebackers given their advanced experience levels. T.J. Edwards, Ryan Connelly and Chris Orr have combined to appear in 104 games with 68 starts.
"Yes, we have some guys who are pretty weathered and have played a lot of football," said Bostad, adding, "We're going to be smart as far as a rep count (during training camp). You always worry about going too long – an injury can set you back.
"But, at the same time, you have to make sure they're sharp and ready to go (for the season) … We're out here practicing for a reason. There's always something you can get better at."
Versatility would be an operative word in their continued growth. "That core unit right there," Bostad said of Edwards, Connelly and Orr, "will be able to play Mike and Will linebacker."
Edwards and Connelly are both fifth-year seniors. Orr is a redshirt junior. "Because those guys are advanced, it's a great opportunity to fill in that window," Bostad said.
In this context, he has begun grooming the backups and spreading the reps when he can among redshirt sophomores Griffin Grady, Mike Maskalunas and Mason Stokke, who was injured last season.
"These are really his first true reps," he said of Stokke, a state wrestling champion at Menomonie. "He has sat and watched and been a part of it. But there's nothing like doing it.
"This is really a good time for him."
The same holds true for Bostad, who enjoys "locking in" during training camp. There's no better time of the year, from his perspective, than these August practices in preparation for another season.
"You don't have any distractions. Recruiting dies down a little because it becomes a dead period. And there's no school," he said. "There's just more of that pure football part that I really like."
Take note of that. He has.
