Will Pauling shares one of his goals and four other things we learned from UW football media day

MADISON – Soon the questions swirling around the Wisconsin football team will begin to be answered.

Who will emerge as the starting quarterback? Can the defense pressure signal callers? Will the depth necessary to compete with the top teams in the Big Ten be developed?

Fall camp begins Tuesday morning at UW-Pletteville, but before the Badgers left town they held their local media day at the McClain Center where UW coach Luke Fickell, defensive coordinator Mike Tressel and offensive coordinator Phil Longo and a host of players met with reporters.

Here are four things we learned.

Will Pauling is committed to more YAC

Pauling led the Badgers 74 catches, but his average yards per catch was a modest 11.31 yards. Fickell has said he hopes Pauling has fewer catches and more yards this season.’

Pauling also wants to boost his average this season, in part by doing a better job of fighting through contact after making a grab.

“It’s just mentality after you get the ball of not letting the first guy tackle you, making the first guy miss,” Pauling said. “(Wide receivers) coach (Kenny) Guiton has been on us big this spring (about) no spot catches and that is basically catching the ball and not getting any yards after the catch.”

Part of the reason Tyler Van Dyke holds an edge in the race for the starting quarterback job entering camp is that Braedyn Locke has forced the transfer from Miami to be on top his game when it comes to mastering the playbook.

“Braedyn is a savant,” Longo said. “He’s really, really intelligent. I can’t keep him out of the office. He studies everything. He’s obsesses with it.”

Locke, meanwhile, has been pushed to match Van Dyke’s ability to throw the ball even though his arm isn’t as strong.

“That challenges Braedyn,” Longo said. “He’ll go out there and he’ll lay one on. He hit a…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/pauling-shares-one-goals-four-230604833.html

Author : Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Publish date : 2024-07-29 23:06:04

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