UW quarterbacks impressive in practice
Both Mertz, Wolf move ball against No. 1 defense
MADISON – The sight of No. 2 quarterback Chase Wolf throwing the ball with ease for the second consecutive day on Wednesday had to be reassuring for the Wisconsin coaching staff.
Wolf did not throw on Monday so he could rest his right arm, a move head coach Paul Chryst called precautionary.
Yet the more interesting development involving the quarterbacks was the play of projected starter Graham Mertz, who put together arguably his best day of camp.
Mertz generally was accurate on basic throws most quarterbacks have to make but also made several throws that were outstanding.
Perhaps the best throw came when Mertz stood in against pressure and fired a strike to wide receiver Chimere Dike for what would have been a gain of at least 20 yards. Mertz didn't flinch in the face of a blitz and released the ball long before Dike made his cut to the sideline. The ball arrived on time and on the mark.
UW closed the practice, which was held on the shorter grass field north of Camp Randall Stadium, with full team work featuring the No. 1 offense vs. the No. 1 defense and the No. 2 offense vs. the No. 2 defense.
The offenses failed to move the ball on each of the first four possessions before Mertz got hot and led a touchdown drive.
He completed passes to Kendric Pryor, Danny Davis and Pryor again to help move the ball to the 2.
Then on second and goal he hit Davis for a touchdown with a perfect throw on a semi-rollout.
Wolf 's next chance came with the No. 2 offense starting at its 2-yard line. On third and 4 from the 8, Wolf fired a strike down the field to tight end Jack Eschenbach for what would have been a gain of at least 40 yards.
Later, Mertz threw a gorgeous deep ball to Dike, who was covered by cornerback Caesar Williams, for a gain of about 35 yards.
Wolf added two touchdown throws, a 4-yarder to Jordan DiBenedetto and what would have been a 60-yarder to tight end Jaylan Franklin. The latter came on a blown coverage but Wolf still needed to put the ball on the mark and did.
Kickers perfect
Kicker Jack Van Dyke, who opened camp with the No. 1 unit, remains out with a right leg injury. That has allowed Collin Larsh to work with the top unit and has given freshman walk-on Nate Van Zelst valuable work.
Larsh made 4 of 4 attempts, from 21, 34, 42 and 34 yards. Van Zelst made both his kicks, from 28 and 38 yards.
From the infirmary
Tailback Jalen Berger (right leg) was held out Wednesday.
Inside linebacker Tatum Grass (head) returned to practice wearing a yellow no-contact jersey. Grass had been on the No. 2 defense with Mike Maskalunas before suffering the injury.
Outside linebacker Aaron Witt (right leg), who was injured during spring practice, remains out.
Extra points
UW special teams coach Chris Hearing and several players have noted the Badgers likely will deploy two return men against teams that feature rugbystyle punters who can spray the ball all over the field. The goal is to prevent a loss of field position after a long roll. The top two pairings Wednesday were wide receiver Jack Dunn and cornerback Dean Engram and wide receivers Dike and Davis. …
Tailback Isaac Guerendo is known for his speed but on Wednesday he showed the ability to lower his pads and move the pile. Fellow tailback Julius Davis, who had one carry last season, ripped off his most impressive run in camp. He finished the long run by giving Maskalunas a stiff-arm along the sideline . ...
Right guard Jack Nelson, who tends to draw the ire of his defensive teammates with his physical play, got into another tussle on Wednesday. This time his dance partner was inside linebacker Jordan Turner.