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Beckum Has Won Over His Coach

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: December 30, 2007

Updated: 12/29/2007 09:33 pm

TAMPA - By any yardstick, Wisconsin TE Travis Beckum is having a pretty good year.

The 6-foot-4, 224-pound junior was a finalist for the John Mackey Award, which goes to the nation's top tight end. He caught 73 passes for 960 yards and six touchdowns. He recorded four 100-yard games, including an 11-reception,160-yard performance against Illinois.

And he has won over Badgers coach Bret Bielema.

After, what you might say was a slow start when he arrived as a freshman defensive player.

"There may not be a guy who has grown as a person as much as he has," Bielema said. "From where he came, from the first meeting where he called me 'dude,' to where he is now, he's just grown so much as a human being, and that's the fun part to watch."

So what was Bielema's reaction to being called dude?

"We had a very good, quick, get-right meeting," said Bielema, whose message to Beckum was: "There's no dudes here, you've got coaches."

HAPPY ENDING: Ben Strickland, a one-time walk-on who this season is a senior captain, likely will start at left corner in place of injured freshman Aaron Henry.

Strickland has been working almost exclusively with the No. 1 defense at practice this week.

"Ben obviously has an advantage with his experience," Wisconsin defensive coordinator Mike Hankwitz said. "He's played a lot of football, he's been on special teams, he started against Iowa a year ago, he's been in our five defensive back stuff. He's the leading candidate."

APPLY PRESSURE: Badgers QB Tyler Donovan believes the key to attacking Tennessee's defense is to push the issue.

"We're going to take our shots at them," he said. "That's how you've got to play against defenses like this, especially with speed.

"With the defense they have, we have to attack. We just have to find ways to attack them and keep them on their toes a little bit."

SOMETHING TO WORRY ABOUT: With little depth at the cornerback positions, the Badgers have to be concerned by the threat of Tennessee senior QB Erik Ainge.

"We've got different things we're going to throw at them," Wisconsin LB Jonathan Casillas said. "It's all about our first- and second-down defense. If we do try to get some pressure on them, we have to do very well on first and second down. Ainge is a very good quarterback; he'll throw the ball around."

HILL TO RETURN: Good news for the Wisconsin running game.

Sophomore TB P. J. Hill, the team's leading rusher who injured his lower leg in late October, will see action against Tennessee, Bielema said.

Sophomore Lance Smith and freshman Zach Brown have taken up some slack, but Hill's return will be welcome.

Hill averaged 5 yards per carry this year, totaling 1,080 and 14 touchdowns despite missing almost two full games.

Mick Elliott

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