Spring football means different things to different coaches. Some use it as a chance to just practice and get better. Others use it as a way to build their depth chart moving forward. Still others use it as a way to se the tone of the way they want the program to go.
The best coaches find a way to achieve all of those goals at the same time and for new Wisconsin head coach Gary Andersen it's all about setting a tone of competition that will allow them to get better and build a roster around his philosophy.
"I think that it's (competition) important in football, it's important in life," Andersen said during Thursday's conference call with the media. "We try to hit both of those areas. In the game of football… there is going to be a winner and a loser. There's going to be no days off and at the end of the day they've got to look in the mirror and we played well enough to win today or we didn't play well enough to win today.
"It brings a little bit extra. If you are a competitor – no matter what you are doing, if you are playing checkers or dominoes, you want to win. I want competitors and I want to try to help them to learn how to compete every single day and win on the football field and win in life."
Part of competition is doing it under pressure and there's nothing like having thousands of eyes on you while practicing to get better. To that end the Badgers have opened up a few practices to the public, this spring it's a move that Wisconsin fans can expect to be used to an even greater degree next spring.
"I'd like to include the fans more and more," said Andersen. "It's really important to me and I believe it's important to our kids on the team. Number one it's a chance for us to include everybody because a football program is not just centered around players, it's not just centered around coaches.
"At the end of the day it's centered around a university and alumni. I want them to be part of it, I want them to feel a part of it. Yes, I would like to open it up a lot more next year – not just practice either."
For Badger fans and for the coaching staff there may be no more important competition going on than that at the quarterback position. We've heard reports of two of last year's starters, Joel Stave and Curt Phillips, separating themselves. On Wednesday coach Andersen confirmed it.
"Joel and Curt have separated themselves, as far as two of them," said Andersen. "It's kind of a mixed bag back and forth as far as who takes snaps with the one's and two's. Whoever takes snaps with the one's has a little bit of an advantage now because the 2nd offensive line isn't as good as the 1st offensive line. But, Joel and Curt are taking the majority of the snaps and that will remain that way throughout the rest of spring."
How have Stave and Phillips separated themselves? According to Andersen it simply comes down to production and the team knows it, especially if they put aside personal friendships and the like.
"The way the kids have separated themselves is simply production…I think it's very clear those two young men have separated themselves throughout spring," stated Andersen.
"It's also their ability to carry themselves and lead the offense. They're both leaders in different ways, neither of them are rah-rah guys, but the key is they can walk in there and (everyone) can lock eyes on the Quarterback and they're going to have the belief that he can get it done."
As expected, there won't be a quarterback named heading into the fall – something Andersen has been consistent about – especially with Tanner McEvoy coming in to the program this fall.
If this spring is any indication, don't expect anything to be handed to anyone, but do expect everyone to be competing to win each practice and each day in life and ultimately that can only make a football team better in the long run.
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