Rand back at nose tackle in camp

MADISON – When Wisconsin closed spring ball in April, Garrett Rand appeared on his way to being a full-time defensive end after serving as a reserve nose tackle his freshman season. UW defensive line coach Inoke Breckterfield said at the time he wanted a bigger body behind starter Olive Sagapolu (6-foot-2 and 346 pounds).

Rand was strong enough but at 6-2 and 272 appeared better suited to play end. Nevertheless, Rand has worked at nose tackle with the No. 2 line for the first two days of camp.

The No. 1 unit Sunday again featured Conor Sheehy and Alec James at end and Sagapolu in the middle. The No. 2 unit again featured Rand and ends Chikwe Obasih and Billy Hirschfeld.

Hirschfeld, 6-6 and 305, worked at nose tackle in the spring.

He is back: Assistant Bob Bostad was known to bark out orders during his first stint at UW, when he worked with tight ends and offensive linemen.

In his first season coaching inside linebackers, Bostad was quiet on Day 1 of camp but on Sunday was in midseason form.

UW was working on a drill in which 11 defenders line up, do a pair of up-downs and then sprint as a unit to the sideline.

Bostad wasn’t pleased with the effort level of one group and shared some ... um ... colorful commentary.

Extra points: Walk-on wide receivers Ricky Finco and Henry Houden have left the team. Both players expect to remain in school.… Freshman wide receiver Deron Harrell appeared to suffer a shoulder or collarbone injury when he tried to make a diving catch on a deep throw.