CATCHING ON If DB Michael Trotter has the ball in his hands on game day — as in this drill — it’s good sign for the Badgers’ defense. Trotter and his teammates opened Fall Camp Monday with the first of 23 practices. PHOTO BY ROSS LADUE IN FOCUS IN FOCUS DOWN AND DIRTY Freshman goalkeeper Chase Rau hit the deck to stop a shot dur- ing the men’s soccer team’s opening practice Wednesday at the Badgers’ University Bay practice field. UW has a pair of exhibition matches before opening the season at Memphis on Aug. 24. PHOTO BY ROSS LADUE AUGUST 9, 2012 CONTENTS VOLUME 3, ISSUE 1 » THE SEASON TO COME Football head coach Bret Bielema sits down with Mike Lucas to discuss changes to his staff, les- 24 sons learned in winning back-to-back Big Ten titles and the Badgers’ drive for three in a row. DEPARTMENTS 10 LUCAS AT LARGE by Mike Lucas 12 BEHIND THE DESK by Barry Alvarez » CALLED TO THE HALL 14 THE VOICE 32 Cory Raymer came to Wisconsin as a defensive lineman by Matt Lepay and left as an All-America center. Dick Bennett came to UW with a 16 BY THE NUMBERS plan that led to one of the Badgers’ crowning achievements. The Facts and figures on UW duo lead a class of six inductees to the UW Athletics Hall of Fame. football, volleyball, men’s soccer and Badgers in the Olympics » OLYMPICS 18 ASK THE BADGERS 54 Nine athletes repre- Olympic memories sented Wisconsin at the 2012 Olympics in London. 20 BADGERING... Volleyball coach Pete Waite Take a look back on the efforts of those current and former 58 THIS WEEK IN HISTORY Badgers at the Games of the Badgers make mark in Beijing XXX Olympiad. 7 Wisconsin Athletic Communications Kellner Hall, 1440 Monroe St., Madison, WI 53711 Subscribe to Varsity View All Issues Brian Lucas Director of Athletic Communications Julia Hujet Editor Brian Mason Managing Editor Mike Lucas Senior Writer Matt Lepay Columnist Drew Scharenbroch Video Production Drew Pittner-Smith Advertising Ryan Sedevie Distribution Contributors Paul Capobianco, Tam Flarup, Patrick Herb, Ross LaDue, Diane Nordstrom, Anna Poulter-Hendrickson, Jeremy Wodajo Photography David Stluka, Greg Anderson, Del Brown, Bob Campbell, Dale Steenberg, Jacob Schwoerer, Rebecca Li, Jan Humphreys, Icon SMI, Getty Images, Associated Press Problems or Accessibility Issues? [email protected] © 2012 Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System. All rights reserved worldwide. LUCAS AT LARGE MIKE LUCAS • UWBADGERS.COM Grind of camp helps answer questions s a fifth-year senior, UW of- Wagner, who has 24 career the starting quarterback? Danny fensive tackle Ricky Wagner starts, is a fixture on the offensive O’Brien? Curt Phillips? Joel Stave? Ahas been conditioned to line along with center Travis Fred- Who’s going to complement Jared the rigors of a preseason training erick (17 starts). Left guard Ryan Abbrederis at wide receiver? camp. He knows the demands and Groy and right tackle Rob Haven- On defense, who’s going to re- challenges. But that doesn’t make it stein are pretty sure things, too. place Jordan Kohout in the defen- any easier. Who will wind up starting at sive tackle rotation? Who’s going to “Training camp is one of the right guard is far less certain. put consistent pressure on the op- hardest things you can do in the Senior Robert Burge and sopho- posing quarterback? David Gilbert? football world,’’ said the 6-foot- more Kyle Costigan, a converted Brendan Kelly? Other? 6, 322-pound Wagner. “It’s more defensive tackle, are the leading Some of the answers will be- emotionally and mentally drain- contenders for the job. gin to surface over the next three ing than it is physical. You can weeks of training camp. Yes, the get through the physical aspect. daily grind can be tough on the You train (in the offseason) to get “Training camp is one players. But the coaches are also through that. But just being emo- of the hardest things you dealing with challenges. tionally and mentally into every can do in the football “The toughest thing for me is practice is hard.’’ He smiled faintly world. It’s more emotion- just really not swaying, not com- and said, “I think after four years I promising,’’ said Azzanni, one of can do that fine.’’ ally and mentally drain- six new assistants on the staff. “It’s Wagner is carrying more weight ing than it is physical.” going to get hot and receivers run a — literally and figuratively — on lot (during practice). But we can’t the practice field than his freshman back off. You have to go with what year, when he was a 262-pound Two-a-days can be telling in this you believe in, and keep pound- walk-on tight end from West Allis. respect. Observed offensive line ing.’’ Potentially, he’s now a No. 1 draft coach Mike Markuson, “This is a What’s the best thing about pick. great time to really study the game, camp? “I absolutely love the fact But to get where he wants to go, especially for guys who take it seri- that there are no distractions,’’ said Wagner knows that he can’t take ous. It’s a great learning curve.’’ defensive line coach Charlie Par- any shortcuts; nor can any of his In addition, he said, “It’s the tridge, noting that the players are Badger teammates, especially dur- mental part that they have to get solely committed to football before ing the toughest part of any camp, over, and you have to help them the fall semester gets underway. two-a-days. “The toughest thing get through it — the mental grind “They’re all in, and it’s a great time for a player is not looking ahead — of the full days and all those days to move forward.’’ coming into it (training camp) and (practices) yet to come.’’ Azzanni is on the same page of going, ‘Oh, my goodness, we have No position group has been dealt the playbook. “I like the fact that three weeks of this,’’’ said UW wide a harder blow via graduation losses we’re all together, all the time,’’ he receivers coach Zach Azzanni. the last two years than the O-line. said. “There are no outside people “The toughest thing is getting The roll call: Gabe Carimi, John coming in, no outside forces. them to focus on one meeting at a Moffitt, Bill Nagy, Kevin Zeitler, Nobody knows what these kids, time, one drill at a time, one prac- Peter Konz and Josh Oglesby. coaches, trainers and managers tice at time because if they do look That’s a major storyline. To are going through but us, and I like ahead, they get overwhelmed.’’ be sure, there are others. Who’s that.’’ 10 » VARSITY AUGUST 9, 2012 MIKE LUCAS • UWBADGERS.COM BEHIND THE DESK BARRY ALVAREZ • UW DIRECTOR OF ATHLETICS National issues made for busy summer ’ve had two interesting experi- the 35-to-50-year-old range. member having so many meetings ences this summer with alumni More recently, I went to Boston or conference calls. Igroups in Chicago and Boston. with Mike Knetter, the head of the We’ve had more communication In both cases, I was impressed UW Foundation. We enjoyed a for a number of reasons, and I take with what I call “our young lions’’ similarly positive experience over my hat off to Big Ten commission- — former Wisconsin football play- two days with a smaller group of er Jim Delany, who kept everyone ers. our alums. aware and abreast on what was Matt Joki, Matt Unertl and The first night was very casual going on. young Lou Holland helped spear- and informative. We talked about There was the breakdown of the head the event in Chicago. They some projects that we have on scheduling consortium with the wanted to do something to rally campus and we let them know Pac-12. There was the new four- our alums, young and old alike, about some of the things that we’re team national playoff that will and they succeeded. doing in fundraising. debut in 2014. And there was Penn It was a first-class deal, a beauti- The next day, we had a func- State. ful night. They ended up having tion at Fenway Park. We met some Trust me, everybody is reading a group of about 200 people at great people and it was not just the Freeh Report; everybody is Trump Tower Chicago. There was limited to former athletes. taking a look at their chain of com- a Q-and-A, a raffle and a presenta- Graduates from the UW Busi- mand and their institutional con- tion from doctors that specialize in ness School and other colleges trol to make sure that they have a treating Alzheimer’s. were involved. checks-and-balances in place. Lou’s father, Lou Holland Sr., I did get to see one of my old Then, if something happens, you who was inducted into our UW players, Rob Roell, who was can deal with it in a proper way. Athletic Hall of Fame last year, recruited out of Iron Mountain, That was kind of the message has been battling Alzheimer’s in a Mich., and played on the defensive that we delivered to our people a Chicago-area assisted living facil- and offensive line with our Rose year ago after issues at Ohio State ity. Bowl teams in the late ‘90s. and Michigan and some other At the end of the day, they Rob has done very well in the schools like North Carolina, Cen- raised $200,000 for Alzheimer’s money management business, tral Florida and Miami.