April III happy to be at UW after one-year hiatus
MADISON – Despite enjoying a oneyear hiatus from coaching football in 2017, Bobby April III didn’t stray too far from the game.
“I stayed on top of my stuff,” said April III, in his first spring as Wisconsin’s outside linebackers coach.
April III coached linebackers for the Buffalo Bills in 2015 and ’16 but was out of work after head coach Rex Ryan was fired.
April III mulled a couple job offers after the season but after discussing the matter with his wife, Laura, decided to take a year off.
“It was awesome,” said April III, who has a 2-year-old daughter. “We had an opportunity to move back to New Orleans and be close to family. We said: ‘You know what? That will never happen again.’
“My daughter is 2 years old. So she is right at the stage where a lot of developmental things are going on. So we decided that the best thing for us to do as a family is to move back down south, rent a house in New Orleans and be close to family and be a mom and dad for a year.”
Tim Tibesar’s decision to leave UW after the Orange Bowl to run Oregon State’s defense left UW with an opening.
April III was familiar with defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard and the overall success of the UW program. Leonhard’s first three seasons in the NFL were spent with the Buffalo Bills. Bobby April Jr., the father of Bobby April III, was the team’s special teams coordinator in each of those seasons.
April III knew all about Leonhard and began following the UW program more closely after Dave Aranda arrived in 2013.
“I’ve always been a fan of Wisconsin football and when Dave Aranda got here I’ve really followed them,” April III said. “The defense has been so dominant here over that span I followed it almost as a fan.
“Then when Jimmy came I became even more of a fan. And then when I sat out last season I had the ability to watch every game.”
Tibesar was a defensive consultant at Northwestern the year before he joined the UW staff in 2015. He turned out to be an excellent teacher and good fit with the rest of the staff.
UW coach Paul Chryst believes April III will offer the same strengths.
“I think he can add a lot to our team, not just the outside linebackers,” Chryst said. “It has been a good transition. Certainly was impressed with his knowledge but mostly was impressed with who he was. We felt like he would be a great fit and make a big impact on not just our players but on our staff.”
Learning on the fly: Two of the five freshmen participating in spring practice are wide receivers – Aron Cruickshank of Brooklyn, N.Y., and Taj Mustapha of Southfield, Mich.
UW’s top four wide receivers – who accounted for 100 catches, 1,573 yards and 17 touchdown catches last season – are back so it is too early to tell whether Cruickshank or Mustapha can help in ’18.
Yet with Quintez Cephus (right leg) out all spring and Danny Davis (abdominal) out indefinitely, the freshmen are getting extensive work this spring.
Cruickshank, 5-foot-9 and 152 pounds, played quarterback and wide receiver in high school. His quickness and ability to quickly change direction against defenders have been impressive.
Mustapha, 6-0 and 192, is bigger but runs well.
“Taj and Aron are in positions this spring that they are getting even more reps,” wide receivers coach Ted Gilmore said. “Obviously, they are paralyzed a little bit right now.”
Cruickshank and Mustapha are suffering from paralysis by analysis, a typical freshman affliction. In short, they are still thinking too much because they aren’t completely comfortable with the offense and the college routine.
“The physical tools, that’s not an issue,” Gilmore said. “But I’ve got to get them to the point where the physical tools can show.”
Extra points: Practices last Friday and on Sunday were closed to reporters. When UW returned to practice Tuesday, the team’s injury list had grown. Offensive tackle David Edwards (abdominal), wide receiver Kendrick Pryor (left leg), defensive end Garrett Rand (back), nose tackle Bryson Williams (left leg) and wide receiver Emmet Perry (left leg) were held out . ...
With Pryor and Perry held out, UW had only six of its 12 wide receivers available for practice. That meant an increased workload for the lone veteran, A.J. Taylor. “I thought I was going to get less reps but I’m getting more now,” Taylor said. “I felt it today. I was winded today.”…
UW officials have applied for a medical waiver for safety Patrick Johnson, who played four games last season before suffering a season-ending arm injury. If the appeal is upheld, Johnson would be a redshirt sophomore in 2018 rather than a junior.