According to reports out of the Badgers 2nd scrimmage of the spring camp Joel Stave was with the No. 1 offense for the entire scrimmage and most of the past week, but does that mean he’s asserting himself as the No. 1 QB as we head into the summer/fall?
It certainly appears as if he’ll head in to the fall as the main competition to the incoming Danny O’Brien after hearing coach Bret Bielema speak to the media following Saturday’s scrimmage.
When asked what was the difference between Joel Stave and Joe Brennas Bielema hinted at the talent level that Stave has.
“Really the only advantage Joey (Brennan) had was the fall because Joel came in (last) winter,” Bielema said. “Stave has impressed me from Day 1, just his composure, his presence. He’s got that little bit of ‘it’ to him. He does a nice job of just taking the big picture.”
That “it” factor is something we all saw on display even last year as a walk-on in the Spring game. Stave was the only QB that really stood out and while no one has been super impressive coming out of the gate this spring it’s clear that Bielema trusts Stave’s leadership and command of the offense a bit more than what Brennan brings to the table.
Bielema was a bit cautious of using the term “ahead” when explaining the play of Stave so far this spring, but said “He gave a little more contiuity to the ones and we wanted to stress to Joe (Brennan) to keep going forward. He’s got to be more consistent.”
It also helps Stave’s case that Brennan had a major issue taking snaps from No. 2 center Dan Voltz. He had 4 of the 6 bad exchanges in the scrimmage on Saturday according to reports and Bielema mentioned that it was a combination of Dan being brand new at Center and that Brennan wasn’t staying in the pocket long enough.
Obviously a lot of attention will be on the performance of the QB’s in Saturday’s spring game, but now that Stave seems to be getting more reps with the No. 1 offense there may be even more scrutiny of his performance. Either way we should have a better idea if we’ll see any real competition to O’Brien by the end of the Spring game that’s for sure.
Other Notes for Saturday’s scrimmage:
– Melvin Gordon continued to impress once again and broke off quite a few longer runs and he’s seen a lot more action with Jeff Lewis and James White being held out of action along with Montee Ball. Walk-on and Appleton, WI native Kyle Zuleger also got some quality work at the RB position because of all the injuries at the position.
– Tight End may have a really good second option behind Pederson as Sam Arneson continued to impress with his all around play, not just pass catching abilities either.
– A.J. Fenton continues to impress at the SAM linebacker spot and could well be the starter coming out of the spring at that position with a good spring game performance.
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