Fresh off the team’s bye week, Wisconsin Badgers head coach Luke Fickell addressed the media ahead of the team’s matchup with the No. 12 UCLA Bruins this weekend.
Here’s everything he said on Monday.
Opening Statement
I don’t know if there’s much of an opening after a bye week. Bye weeks can be really good. Bye weeks can, in some ways, to be honest, for me, early in the week, I love the bye week. You know, the Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, it’s like, oh, this is good. You need this. And then by Wednesday, it’s like, damn, I wish we were playing. You get into a little bit of a rhythm and get some things, getting some consistency in what you’re doing. And then you got to take a little bit of a break.
But nonetheless, I think that it gave us an opportunity to get away a little bit, do some recruiting, gave our guys an opportunity to probably relax a little bit over a weekend, watch some football. But all in all, get their minds right and understanding what’s ahead of us, and then get back at it. So it gives us a little bit extra this week. But, getting back into the routine is probably, I think, the biggest thing for all of us. But I love the maturity of how they handled it as we came back in here on Sunday and how we went out there today. So I feel like we’re in a good place.
On how UCLA defense is creating turnovers…
“Well, they’re aggressive, and they’re taking advantage of the opportunities that are in front of them. I think that we’ve talked about taking advantage of other people’s ugly, right? When they make a mistake, when you put a ball in jeopardy and you don’t take advantage of it, that’s on you. And so I think they’ve done a really good job at being aggressive, but taking advantage of some of the other things out there that are ugly.
If the ball goes on the ground, they’ve found a way to get it, but they’ve also obviously plucked it out of the air as the ball’s been tipped. So I think it’s a combination. Right, it’s a combination of the nature of their aggressiveness, I think, defensively, but also their consistency to be able to take advantage of people when they make those mistakes.
On effects of Sebastian Cheeks and how it opens up things for other guys…
I don’t know. I mean, I guess if you look at PFF and some of those things, there’s all different stats of things. I don’t know if people are really trying to do some things differently. I know I thought, beginning of the year, in the first few games, it was definitely, you could feel it a little bit of that position, Sebastian, in general, maybe some chips and some protection stuff. But as we get into the Big Ten, I mean, everybody expects guys to be able to handle their own. And I mean, I don’t know if we’re getting things completely different.
Give Sebastian a lot of credit. He has had consistency in all the things that he’s done. I know he’d like to see some more statistical— I’m sure all of us would— the actual sacks and things. But nonetheless, I think that he gives us a little bit of a force that people, if they haven’t, will need to make sure they understand where he is. And his ability to be able to move around for us, I think, in some of those packages, I think is only going to grow, which is going to give us better opportunities. And maybe if they are focused on it, going to give some other guys some opportunities to get some one-on-ones.
On growth from Marvin Burks alongside Matt Jung…
I think Marv’s grown a lot. You know, Marv was one of those guys that, [I was] curious as we started. I mean, he was here for spring, but missed a little bit of spring ball. Had played a ton of football. But you’re always trying to see how’s this thing going to mesh together? How are him and Matt Jung and Cairo [Skanes] and those guys in the back end going to kind of work together because nobody’s independent of the guys that are around him out there, and in particular in the back end.
And so I’ve seen a ton of growth from Marv. Obviously coming in, like I said, he played a lot of ball, but I think he played specifically in the post. I think he had done relatively less, maybe, I mean, than what we had expected of him. And I think that was one of those things that intrigued him about coming here is I want to be challenged. I want to do some more things. I want to play in some different ways. And so he has grown. I think there’s a consistency there that we’ve seen that has been really good for us. There’s no doubt there’s a leadership. There’s a confidence level with all the football that he’s played that I think has been really good for us, not just in our back end, but on our whole defense.
On the run game and explosives generated there so far…
You know what, I think there’s some consistency there. I think that’s the thing that I’ve been preaching as much as anything. I don’t spend an enormous amount of time in the offensive room. I think that there’s little things here and there, but it’s just like, hey, how can we continue to be consistent in things we’re doing? How can we continue to build upon the things that Colton [Joseph] does well? And how do we give him opportunities to be aggressive and to take some of those shots like I think we’ve done, but eliminating some of the issues that we’ve had?
And so obviously I talk about all the time about balance, but there’s a balance there as well. And so that was a big focus for us, I think, in the bye week of just saying, hey, we got to look at ourselves. We got to take some time, but we got to see how we need to grow this thing, not just with Colton, but with the offense as a whole. I think there’s some explosion there that I think has been seen, but I still think there’s a lot more that could be brought out here in the near future. And so we don’t want to get ahead of ourselves.
We know it’s still about those consistent things. And when he has protection, when he has the opportunity to be able to, I think, be a little bit more comfortable in a pocket, it becomes a little bit easier. I’m not saying it’s easy, but the idea that it’s not just Colton that creates those big, in particular, pass plays; it starts with the protection. And I think that’s where we’ve gotten better and more solid to give him some greater opportunities.
On thinking about the significance of this opportunity vs. UCLA…
I don’t know. I mean, I guess you’d say if you’re really trying to evaluate like, oh, you’re in primetime, like I was probably looking at it more like, hey, hurry up and get us a time so we can start to wrap our head around when we’re playing. Not that as much of, oh my gosh, it’s 4-1 against 5-0 and it’s in primetime and it’s on NBC or whatever.
I think the idea that we feel like we’re growing, and this gives our guys a greater opportunity. If that means to play in front of the national stage and the national audience in primetime, That’s great. But for us to think about it any differently, I think, would be crazy in our minds. But nonetheless, I think it’s great for our guys. I think they recognize it. I think after having a bye week and watching some of the games and seeing primetime in particular, they understand what this thing has gotten to. And now we have an obligation to keep it going that way.
On Bryce West’s physicality…
I think he’s grown a lot as well. He’s a guy that I think can do some different things for us. He’s playing the nickel spot, but he’s given us an opportunity to leave him on the field in some different personnel groupings because he has to have some versatility. He’s a guy that has a little bit of a knack for understanding leverage and being bigger than maybe he really is. And I mean that because he has an aggressive nature, because he’s physical, and because he loves to play the game.
But the best thing I can say about Bryce is where he is right now is different than where he was 6 months ago, which will be a hell of a lot different than where he’ll be another 3, 4, 5 weeks. Because every day he goes out and competes, every day he goes out and practices, and every day, he goes out and gets better. And I think that for us, that’s a great sign. For our back end, that’s even a better sign because like we’ve talked about Marv, we talk about Bryce, some of these newer guys. They do set a different tone, I think, every single day. And so guys like him that aren’t delusional, aren’t arrogant, that they’re confident, they’ve been a great asset for us in really helping to not just grow the entire program defense, but the culture in particular.
On any tips/tricks for preparing for the West Coast games…
No, I mean, obviously you look at what happened. We’re not going across the country with the NFL game with somebody going out early and somebody going out late. I don’t know that there really is. I mean, I know that we’ve talked about and studied and visited with other people. I don’t know that there’s one. It would have been a little bit different if we were playing the late-night game out there. That’s something that I don’t know I’ve had a lot of experience in. Would have been something I think we would have definitely tried to look at some things a little bit differently.
But I think when we first started going west, when I first started coaching, we went out 2 days early. I never felt like that was a good thing. I think just, just the routine of the things that you can do within your own facility, I think, are most important. I think it affects the coaches more than it affects the players. I think the thing we’ve got to be aware of is obviously we haven’t played in 85-degree weather. It’s going to be warmer. It’s going to be hotter than we’ve probably experienced. And so we’ve got to make sure that we’re prepared in that way, probably for something that we haven’t seen at all this year.
On how Badgers run defense can combat UCLA rushing attack…
I don’t think it changes. I think that the thing that they have done a really good job of is yards after contact. I think that their backs in particular have been really, really good in a way that they’re very patient and people have had them bottled up. And then that’s some of their biggest plays in the short-yardage situations, they’ve hit some big-time home runs. And I think that you see a combination of they’re willing to run the football, but the patience of the backs, the consistency of the backs, has been really good.
I don’t know that it changes for us. I think for us, the biggest thing is our ability to gang tackle. Our ability to swarm with discipline is what I’ve said. Because if there’s one thing that they do a better job than we’ve seen this year, it’s finding ways to get the edge and ways to bounce the edge. People have had edges set on them, but their backs have done a really good job when they feel like they have an opportunity to, I’d say, outrun guys to the edge. They’ve been really successful at it.
And so there’s a little bit of a balance there where, hey, you got to set the edge as deep as the back, but you also don’t want to create inverted seams. And so that’s where the greatest challenge, I think, that they have that I’ve seen on film from them is not just their ability to run the football, but their ability to make you pay. Run the thing up inside. But if you get overaggressive and try to squeeze things too much, they have the speed to be able to bounce things, and they’re willing to do it.
On approach to retaining recruits during crucial time in Fall…
Well, I don’t know that it ever changes. I mean, if we recruited them, we want to retain them. I don’t think that’s a whole lot different. I think it can be a hell of a lot easier to retain them when you have greater success on Saturdays. There’s no doubt about that. But it’s still about continuing to build the relationships. It’s not letting up. That doesn’t ever change. So I think that’s as things have gone a little bit better and as we’ve had more success, yeah, it’s a little bit easier to talk, but I think it’s all about the relationship. It’s all about, hey, what you started, whether it was in the summer or even last year, you got to continue throughout the season.
I think that’s where some misconceptions can be not realized in recruiting. It’s like, yeah, if you stop having, you know, those conversations with guys and stop doing a really good job of building a relationship even during the season, yeah, there’s going to be a lot of other opportunities out there for guys. And so for us, it’s about consistency in everything that we do, and recruiting is no different.
On how special it will be to play at the Rose Bowl…
You know, obviously there can be some differences. I don’t know how many of our guys have been out there. We will actually on Friday go to the Rose Bowl. So we’ll get an opportunity when we land to go to the stadium to be able to walk around to see it, to spend a little bit of time there. Not that we’ll do a walkthrough or anything there, But just to get a lay of the land, let those guys recognize, see some of the history if they haven’t been there. And then make sure we get our minds back into it and recognize what the business trip behind it is.
I don’t know. I mean, I’ve played out there in a regular season game. I’ve played out there in Rose Bowl games. It can be a little bit different. But then again, I don’t put anything behind a team that’s rolling as well as they are. I mean, they’re 5-0. They’ve got a primetime game. I would imagine that the atmosphere and the energy within that stadium will be really, really good, and it’s something we’ve got to be prepared for.
On how defense has been excelling on third downs…
I don’t know that there’s one thing in particular. I know last year was one of those things where third-and-long was not Great for us statistically. And if you give up a few of those, I mean, obviously statistically you’re not going to be in a good place in the third-and-long stuff. I think what we did do a better job of is recognizing throughout fall camp what the defense needed and what the offense needed.
And by nature, when you go into fall camp, you don’t go into a day and say, hey offense, we’re going to focus on third and long today and put you in third and 10, 11, 12, 13. That’s not something that you want to practice a whole lot offensively, but then you don’t get a variety defensively. You don’t get better at it. So I thought at least the plan was, as we went into fall camp, to be able to do some things a little bit differently, say, okay, what does the defense need today? They need 3rd and long. We’ll go ones versus twos, give them an opportunity to get a hell of a lot more reps at some of the 3rd-and-long stuff where the offense doesn’t want to spend a whole lot of time working on their 3rd-and-long. The most important thing is to stay out of 3rd and long. So I think it’s twofold. I think it’s recognizing what we have and who we are, but working at it much differently as we went through spring and fall camp.
Updates on Abu Sama, Austin Kawecki…
No, not just yet. I would expect that Abu is good. I would have expected Abu to be good last week and the week before. So as of right now, I would hope and believe that he’ll be okay. Austin, I don’t really know yet. He’ll have a club on his hand right now. But as the week goes, we’ll see what else he can, he can do and how much he can be able to do.
Which hand for Kawecki is hurt?
It is [his snapping hand]. I think it is. It’s his right hand. He’s ambidextrous. Good. It’s nice on a bye week. You don’t have as many things to nitpick.
On how momentum can be coming off bye week after big win…
There’s definitely a different feel within your program. But I think that as we’ve talked about, it’s the idea that guys recognize that there’s a growth. And when you can see a growth, I mean, it’s easier to see through wins. But I think that everybody has recognized within our program, whether it’s outside the program or not, I don’t listen. But I think our guys from inside have recognized a growth, feel that there’s a growth.
And I’d be curious if you ask them. I mean, yeah, they love a bye week, but they also love the routine that they were in and the rhythm that things were going. So it’s kind of twofold. But I did have a few guys say to me that, Coach, I really thought we got a lot done in the bye week. Guys that hadn’t been here before and just felt like, hey, we got some things done.
We didn’t like beat each other up, but yet we had some 3 really good practices and feel like we got better at what we’re doing. And so whether that’s real or not, it felt good, even guys saying that. But they also recognize the idea that, like, look, yeah, there’s a break here as a bye week, but there’s a couple steps that need to be taken in a bye week as well.
On the upsets in the Big Ten, take on the conference…
I think that there you do see some teams that are building consistency. And I’ve mentioned it to our team. You see guys when you watch a little bit, this is most I’ve watched college football, I think on this past Saturday too. And so you see the guys that are having some consistency that are getting better. And when you’re doing that, you have a chance to win. And I think that’s what we’re seeing a little bit more even within our own conference, that there’s building some consistency, which gives you a chance.
But I think there are some others that are riding the wave of the arrogance and delusion, which I’m trying to make sure doesn’t happen to us based on how the one week goes to the next. And it’s been uniquely different the last few years of trying to figure out and build and know your team well enough. And so I’m sure that there are people that are dealing with that now. If you don’t have really, really solid, consistent quarterback play, you got to find other ways. And I think that if you really break it down, and I don’t study it as much other than just our opponents of things, but I’d be curious with some of those things if you’re not getting some consistent quarterback play where you’re seeing some consistent growth in some of those teams or maybe upsets that you’re talking about.
I thought you maybe were talking a little bit about a couple weeks ago where we had to retract, we missed a point in the Big Ten (with the Rutgers game). I thought you were going to be referring to some of the things within the conference that maybe we’re still trying to get worked out, just consistency for us as teams, but also consistency in getting things done the right way on the field too. I think that we’re all seeing some of that. I’m glad you didn’t really ask me about that because that could get you in a position where you don’t want to, you know, but coming off a week where we didn’t have any of those, any calls that I had to talk about.
Well, what did they say 2 weeks ago? They missed a point in the Rutgers game? Wasn’t it 11 to actually a point goal that they shouldn’t have? Yeah, and then we had a 4th-and-4 where it was a phantom PI that was a 3-point difference. So they’re out there all over the place. Just depends on how you look at them.