The Wisconsin football team has finally gotten to put the pads on and begin to participate in live practices during camp.
Yesterday, Wisconsin engaged in their fifth practice of the 2024 camp and their first practice where they had pads on. Wisconsin Badgers football Head Coach Luke Fickell spoke to the media after practice and expressed excitement in being able to finally practice at live speed. Fickell has been vocal about the players and the team as a whole challenging each other, and feels the best way to do that will involve plenty of live practicing.
Wisconsin Football Throws the Pads on, Practices Live For First Time During Camp
During the practice, the Wisconsin football players received their first chance to both put on pads and play football at full speed. Wisconsin did not participate in a large amount of live practices last season, which the staff feels resulted in the team being unprepared for certain situations and scenarios. Throughout the 2024 camp, however, the Wisconsin staff plans placing a focus upon playing football at live game speed.
Following the practice at his media availability, Wisconsin football Head Coach Luke Fickell was asked specifically about running back Tawee Walker and the effect of playing live football. However, Fickell took the time to answer the question in a more broad manner.
Fickell stated, “There is definitely a difference you see, and it is hard to see those things unless you go live. Even in full pads when you are going thud, you never really know.” The staff leader also mentioned in his answer that going live allows the staff to see what players are willing to do on the field.
Luke Fickell: “We Did Not Do It Last Camp to Be Honest With You”
When asked the first question of media availability about what the day had consisted of, Fickell stated, “This was an opportunity for us to play some live ball today, and that is what we have to do.” Fickell also added, “We did not do it last camp to be honest with you, and you know we get nervous sometimes when we say we are going to go live.”
The Wisconsin football Coach added that “There is a little bit of difference between what we do every single day and going live. Other than the pressure, there are more things that are going to happen in space.” Fickell stated that the team had gone through 75 snaps of live football during practice, which also marked their first situational football drills of camp.
Wisconsin feels playing live and focusing on situational football drills will allow the staff to see how momentum will affect the team. A season ago, the staff feels that momentum played a major part in their struggles throughout the year, especially at times on defense.
Wisconsin Badgers Football Staff Correcting Mistakes Made at Full Speed
For the Wisconsin football staff, going live during practice is a time for the players to be able to showcase what they can do in space, without any restrictions on the drill. Coach Fickell noted that there is added pressure when going live and playing at full speed, but also believes that the team needs to ‘challenge’ themselves at times.
Watching the Wisconsin football team play last season revealed a team that never quite seemed like they were confidently playing at top speed. One of the biggest and clearest changes between each level of play is the speed of the game, and playing collegiate football at a slower speed causes a team to struggle. The Badgers are aiming to correct this issue through both better preparation and also an abundance of live play throughout camp.
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