UW football: Defensive line getting healthy.
James, Sheehy should return
Madison — Wisconsin defensive line coach Inoke Breckterfield should have a deeper unit for the Cotton Bowl than he did in the Big Ten championship game, when ends Alec James (ankle) and Conor Sheehy (thumb) were held out.
James, who leads the linemen in sacks (31⁄2) and is second on the unit in total tackles (23), has been practicing and expects to play against Western Michigan Jan. 2 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
“I’m all good,” said James, who suffered an ankle injury in the regular-season finale against Minnesota. “That whole week leading up to the Big Ten championship game I was pretty much just living in the training room trying to get back.
“I feel like I maybe could have played but I would have been hurting more than I was helping. So it was good they kept me out.”
Sheehy leads the linemen in total tackles (27) and tackles for loss (four). He has been wearing a large cast on his right arm to protect his thumb and has not been participating in the portions of bowl practice open to reporters. However, head coach Paul Chryst said Friday he is optimistic Sheehy will be able to play.
“I think both of them give you a ton of energy,” he said. “They’re good football players. They’re guys that have played a lot of snaps. It is good having them . ...
“It feels like we’re healthier than going into the championship game. So that part is good.”
UW fans lukewarm: According to a UW official, the school has yet to sell 2,500 tickets for the Cotton Bowl. UW was allotted 12,000 tickets.
StubHub has tickets for as low as $6 for the game. Listed capacity of AT&T Stadium is 80,000.
Curiously, according to the Cotton Bowl site, fewer than 1,000 tickets are available. Those tickets cost $150.
According to a Western Michigan official, the school has sold about 7,500 tickets.
Wrong guy to ask: Both UW quarterbacks — redshirt freshman Alex Hornibrook and redshirt senior Bart Houston — are expected to play against Western Michigan.
The staff has been coy about who will start.
Houston started the first three games of the season; Hornibrook started all nine Big Ten regular-season games; and Houston went the distance in the Big Ten title game because Hornibrook was still battling the effects of a concussion.
Hornibrook has passed for 1,243 yards and Houston has passed for 1,086, giving UW two players with at least 1,000 passing yards in the same season for the first time since 2001. That season, Brooks Bollinger (1,257) and Jim Sorgi (1,096) surpassed 1,000 yards.
Houston was asked this week whether he knew the plan is for splitting reps in the Cotton Bowl.
“Nope,” he said with a smile. “No idea.”
Houston, who handled losing his starting job with grace, didn’t sound like a player pining to start his final game.
“It would be awesome,” he said. “But I also understand whatever it takes to help this team — it doesn’t matter whether I am starting or coming in for the last series in the fourth quarter — I am down for it. We’re ready to roll.”