UW’s Cephus takes leave of absence
MADISON – Wisconsin will be without junior wide receiver Quintez Cephus indefinitely.
Cephus, who missed the final five games of the 2017 season after suffering a broken leg, announced on Twitter he has been informed he faces charges in Dane County in the wake of an incident that occurred in April.
“I have been wrongfully accused of unlawful conduct,” Cephus wrote, “and I am innocent of any allegations associated with this consensual relationship.”
Cephus informed UW coach Paul Chryst earlier Saturday that he wanted to take a leave of absence until the mat-
ter is resolved.
Chryst acknowledged after practice he met earlier Saturday with Cephus but declined comment on the matter.
With Cephus out indefinitely, UW will rely on A.J. Taylor, Danny Davis and Kendric Pryor. That trio blossomed in Cephus’ absence last season.
Taylor led the unit in catches (31), was second in receiving yards (475) and tied for second in touchdown catches (5).
Cephus finished second on the unit in catches (30), first in receiving yards (501) and first in touchdown catches (6).
Davis was third in catches (26) and receiving yards (418) and tied for second in touchdown catches (5).
Pryor finished with 13 catches for 179 yards and one touchdown.
Their combined 17 touchdown catches is the No. 2 mark in program history for wide receivers, behind the mark of 19 set in 2011. That season, Nick Toon had 10, Jared Abbrederis eight and Jeff Duckworth one.
Wide receivers coach Ted Gilmore, speaking early in the week before Cephus’ announcement, noted he needed to build more depth within the unit.
The ability to do that is more critical now.
“We had more depth last year,” Gilmore said, referring to then-seniors Jazz Peavy and George Rushing, who eventually left the team. “Regardless of what happened with that scenario, we had more depth then.”
Freshman Aron Cruickshank likely moves up to the No. 4 wide receiver, with players such as redshirt sophomore Adam Krumholz, redshirt freshman Cade Green and freshman Taj Mustapha vying to crack the rotation.
Cruickshank and Mustapha enrolled at UW in January and participated in spring practice.
Krumholz, a walk-on from Stoughton High School, played in six games last season. He did not record a catch.
Groshek displays versatility: No member of the Wisconsin football team knows Garrett Groshek as well as Tyler Biadasz.
Both are redshirt sophomores. Both played for Amherst High School.
Both were key members of the team that won the 2015 WIAA Division 5 state title after falling in the ’14 title game and in the ’13 semifinals.
So Biadasz, who started all 14 games at center last season, isn’t surprised to see his former high school teammate find a niche at UW.
“He is a football player,” Biadasz said. Groshek, who played outside linebacker, safety and quarterback at Amherst, served as UW’s scout-team quarterback in 2016.
Moved to tailback before camp last year, Groshek surprised by averaging 4.9 yards per carry. He finished with 297 yards on 61 carries, the third-highest mark on the team in both categories.
Groshek lined up as a Wildcat quarterback, caught four passes for 30 yards, completed his lone pass for 9 yards and recorded three tackles on special teams.
UW’s staff believes Groshek, recently awarded a scholarship, could play linebacker if needed.
Show me more: Redshirt sophomore Dontye Carriere-Williams opened camp as the most experienced cornerback on the UW roster.
As UW’s No. 3 cornerback last season, Carriere-Williams started five games and played in all 14.
Yet with the bulk of camp over and the Aug. 31 season opener approaching, Carriere-Williams is spending the bulk of his team on the No. 2 defense.
Defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard has been mixing his cornerback pairings throughout camp but he made it clear recently Carriere-Williams’ play has been too uneven.
“The highs are high,” he said. “It is just consistency and effort in practice.”