PLATTEVILLE – Luke Fickell believes his University of Wisconsin football players enjoyed their stay at UW-Platteville, although he doesn’t know if they would stay longer than the two weeks they were on campus.
The coach and his Badgers held their final practice at Ralph E. Davis Pioneer Stadium on Sunday night. Wisconsin’s stay in Platteville this year, which began July 29 and runs through August 12, is about a week longer than last season. They will finish the rest of their preseason training in Madison.
“Obviously, nobody enjoys training every day and stuff like that,” Fickell said. “But I think they enjoy getting away. I think they understand what we’re trying to do here. The lack of distractions is unique, and I mean that for us too, right?”
“The coaches don’t leave. They stay here with them, so there’s a lot more time invested. And the value of that is way more than just what you see on the football field, and those things pay off in the long run.”
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Here are three things that stood out from Fickell’s conversation with reporters after practice on Sunday.
Fickell spoke about the quarterback competition
Tyler Van Dyke, who transferred from Miami, was used in Sunday’s practice and Fickell explained his reasons for doing so after the session.
Fickell likes the depth of the inner defensive line
Wisconsin’s defense should improve significantly this season considering the length and athleticism of the linebacker and secondary positions. How the defensive line developed under assistant coach EJ Whitlow was a topic of discussion in preseason practice, but Fickell praised their depth.
Fickell gave an update on his injuries
Freshman Kevin Heywood recently played for the first team at right tackle in place of redshirt junior Riley Mahlman. Fickell provided an update on Mahlman as well as outside linebackers Aaron Witt and Thomas Heiberger.
