November 5 Hour 1: Brewers, Badger Men's Hoops and Badger Football

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We break down the Brewers’ option calls, make the case for keeping Freddie Peralta, and map out what a Brandon Woodruff reunion could look like. Then we dive into Badger hoops: early defensive issues, ball movement over iso, and why John Blackwell looks like the lead scorer. We close with Badger football and the quarterback plan for a brutal stretch.

• Why Freddy Peralta at $8m is smart to keep around
• Woodruff buyout dynamics and a potential return
• Hoskins and Quintana options declined for flexibility
• William Contreras arbitration path and extension logic
• Outfield depth, shortstop need, and trade thresholds
• Badger defense overhelp and rotation fixes
• Ball movement, post touches, and pace targets
• Blackwell’s scoring leap and Boyd’s speed control
• Bench roles for Garlic and Janicki
• QB packages for Carter Smith vs Danny O’Neil
• Portal strategy if Smith is not ready
• What would constitute progress against Washington

Text me: 715-990-4914. Like, subscribe, follow on X/Twitter and Facebook. Search Wisconsin Sports on the Go with Trag

Episode Transcript

SPEAKER_01 (00:04):
This is Wisconsin Sports on the Go with Trade.
Your place for all thingsWisconsin Sports.
Now, your host, Trage.
How are we doing, everybody?
And welcome into WisconsinSports on the Go with Trage.
I'm your host, Trage, as we comeback here on this Wednesday,

(00:26):
November 5th, a fantasticWednesday here tonight.
I hope you guys are enjoyingyour Wednesday.
I hope you guys enjoyed yourweekend there.
It was a, oh, we're gonna callit a subpar weekend across the
sporting world since we talkedlast.
Badger men's basketball is back,men's basketball is back in
total.
So that is awesome.
I just saw that the first gamethat Dick Vitel ever called was

(00:52):
on December 5th, 1979.
DePaul defeated Wisconsin 90 to77.
So there you go.
There you go.
I just read that off as I was, Ijust saw that come across my
feed there.
So there you go, right?
A fact to top off the showthere.
A fact right at the top of theshow there.
So we got lots we want to diveinto tonight here on the show.

(01:14):
This last weekend, we watchedthe Badgers, got the big win,
college basketball's back, goodstuff there.
Lots of stuff to talk aboutthere with the Badgers, that
Campbell game.
We're gonna look ahead.
We got tons of stuff dive inthere.
Christian's gonna stop by.
We have a whole boatload ofthings I want to dive into
there.
So we got that coming up.
We got some Packer talk to getto because that game was ugly.
There's I don't even know if wegot enough showtime to cover

(01:36):
what we saw there.
So we're gonna talk Packers.
Badger football, it's been uglyall season.
So we're gonna keep that oneshort.
But Kyle's gonna come on later.
We're gonna talk some Bucks, andthen we have to talk about a
little bit of NFL trade deadlinereaction with Kyle later on in
the show.
So a bullload of things to diveinto tonight here in the show.
I'm excited.

(01:56):
We are fully loaded and ready torock and roll here.
But if you want to be involvedin the show tonight here, make
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Write this number down.
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(02:18):
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(02:40):
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So lots to dive into.
I want to start right away withthe brewer talk.
Right off the top of the bathere.

(03:01):
Because this, this, I don't knowif it was like baffling news to
everybody what was going on withthe Brewers, but there was some
the Brewers have been in thenews because right now the World
Series ended.
So we're seeing a lot of guysbeing, they're either options or
exercise, teams are declining,players are declining, they're
becoming either becoming freeagents or they're coming back to
their original ball club there,right?

(03:22):
So the Brewers, the big one in alot of people's minds, was what
were they gonna do about FreddiePeralta?
He had an eight million dollar,it was it's eight million
dollars.
Imagine that.
And I know everybody's gonnasay, well, Freddie Peralta, he's
he's not this, you know, greatpitcher because he can't go deep
into games or anything likethat.
Right.
He's eight million dollars, andwhat he gives you in about five

(03:44):
or six innings is a stuff.
Now, is it a stuff to the pointwhere he's taking you deep into
ball games?
No, is that the one crutch thathe always has?
100% you are correct.
100%.
I will agree with that.
But for eight million dollars,and if I can get you have Jacob
Mizarrowski, you have LoganHenderson, you have Gasser, you

(04:05):
have Priester, you have all themguys in that rotation.
If Freddie Peralta can get yousix, and you have your length
guys yet, I it'll be fine.
And maybe, maybe in theoffseason he develops a little
bit.
I don't know.
I don't know.
Who knows?
They might move on from yet,they might still make that
trade.
Everybody's gotta wait and seewhat the Brewers do because Matt
Arnold and this Brewers teamalways have something crazy up

(04:26):
their sleeve, and you don'tknow.
You just never know with them.
So gotta be careful, gotta justkeep mindful, be watchful of
that.
So Freddie Peralta, the optionexercise, he's coming back for
eight million dollars there.
Some of the other ones.
Brandon Woodruff officiallybecomes a free agent.
This one, this one stinks.
This one stinks for me.

(04:48):
I know a lot of people are like,I don't care.
I don't care.
I I do.
I Brandon Woodruff, I loved whathe brought to the team.
He had a workhorse mentality, hewas always getting after it,
banged up often.
And when he came back, I Ididn't know what to expect.
I didn't know what to expect.
I actually, if you listen backon the podcast, Scott Sports and
the Go Trades, you go all theway back.

(05:09):
I have to find the exactepisode.
But I found my uh predictionsfor the season.
I did say that Brandon Woodruffwas gonna come back and he was
going to be pitched like an aceof the staff.
He did come back and pitchedpretty darn good.
So, like, I'm I'm right there.
He pitched pretty darn good whenhe came back.
So, like, maybe, maybe I'mright.
Maybe I was right.
I don't know.

(05:29):
And then I did say I waslistening back on there, some
crazy ones.
I had like Sal Frelick 10 plushome runs.
I predicted that he did just hedid over 10 home runs.
He did.
I predicted the team ERA wasgonna be like 3.54 and it was
like uh just above.
So I mean, I was pretty darnclose to my predictions, people.
Just so you know, listen back onthe podcast there.
You can hear.
I got some pretty goodpredictions out there, so just

(05:50):
make sure you check them outthere.
But Brandon Woodruff, back toBrad, back to Woody, back to
Woody, off me, back to Woody.
He's gonna get a$10 millionbuyout.
We'll see what happens.
I have a feeling, I just I havethis feeling, I have this
feeling inside of me that theBrewers and Brandon Woodruff are
gonna work out a little more ofa friendly deal for the both of
them.
I feel like they're still gonnatry to get Brandon Woodruff his.

(06:13):
But I feel like they're gonnawork out a little something more
friendly than a$20 million deal.
Because he was gonna have a$20million mutual option if he if
the brewers didn't decline, theywere going to.
If they didn't, if it wasn'tdecline, then or well, Brandon
Woodruff actually declined it.

(06:34):
The Brewers didn't.
So if he didn't decline it,they're gonna hold him 20 mil.
So he might have been workingwith the brewers to try to help
them out too, maybe try toshrink that salary because he
knows that it's a little bitless.
I don't know.
I I don't know.
But I just have that feelingthat it's not Brandon Woodruff
and the Brewers are just notdone yet.
I have that feeling.
So we'll see what happens there.
So Brandon Woodruff, officially,that happened there.

(06:55):
Other options that weredeclined.
Reese Hoskins.
They declined the Brewersdeclined his option, and they
also declined Jose Cantanas.
Now, these ones a little lesscrazy, I guess you could say,
because I believe, if I'm notmistaken, Hoskins was set to

(07:19):
make like 18 mil in 2026, andhis buyout was four mil.
I that was a no-brainer for theBrewers who have Andrew Vaughn
currently underneath the fold.
And I'm pretty sure Jake Bowersis also back.
Yes, he is back for this year,but then he becomes a free
agent.
So, and then Andrew Vaughn isback for until 2027 when he
becomes arbitration number four,and then he becomes a free agent

(07:42):
in 2028.
So that's when they'll have tomake a uh decision there.
So Reese Hoskins gone.
Quintana's was gonna be worth 15million in the uh mutual option
and two mil buyout.
So yeah, pretty much a you thisis yeah, they they made they
made the right options, theymade the right deals with those
two.
Get letting those two walk outthe tour.

(08:02):
I like those.
William Contreras also his hiswas declined, his club option
was declined by the Brewers.
They're banking on his contractfor 2026 being worth less than
that 12 mil that they were gonnaowe him.
So they're hoping like in that11.9 range.

(08:24):
I'm pretty sure if I saw right,they set his contract.
I believe their estimated,according to the site I was
looking at, was like 11.1.
So we'll see kind of what whatthat all shakes out to be.
But I could see it probablybeing in that in that range.
I could see it probably being Icould see it being the 12 range.

(08:45):
The Brewers, I think they needto either figure out what they
the Brewers need to figure outwhat they want to do with
William Contreras.
Do you want, because you haveWilliam Contreras to have this
year, next year's his uh lastperiod of arbitration, and then
he becomes a free agent.
So I think they need to sit downand say, what are we gonna do at
the catcher spot?
And do we have William Contreraspegged as a future guy in this

(09:07):
organization?
If yes, if you do, try to sitdown, try to come up with a
contract that works out for theBrewers, works out for
Contreras.
Because he sounds like he wantsto stay in Milwaukee.
Now, what can they do to keephim here?
Now you have other guys that youwant to deal with, but those
guys, I mean, I've seen a lot ofpeople, right?
You talk about like the BryceTarangs and guys like that.
You want to come up with dealsfor those guys, but those guys

(09:28):
are still locked up in Milwaukeefor a little while yet.
It's just constantly coming todeals with them, going to
arbitration, right?
You have Bryce Tarang, who Ibelieve is arbitration eligible
until 2029.
And then you have other guys onthere in the same Garrett
Mitchell is like till 2028there, I believe.

(09:49):
Sal Freelick is kind of in thatsame boat.
He's until 2029.
They have a lot of guys until2029 arbitration eligible.
They're just gonna keep tryingto deal contracts every single
year.
Trying to get some of these guyssigned up to a set price is
where they're looking.
And I think that's what you haveto do with Contreras because
that number last season was alittle bit down because of the
uh broken finger.
Once that gets better, youexpect Contreras to get better,

(10:10):
which that number is just goingto increase.
So you're gonna want to see himprobably try to figure out what
you're going to do movingforward at the catcher spot,
which I feel like you weren'table to do because you
constantly were withoutJefferson Quarrow last year, who
was also banged up.
So seeing if he's gonna come upand be that catcher of the
future for you, I think that'skind of where this Brewers team
is at with that.

(10:30):
So they have a lot of otherthings.
There's a lot of guys who becamefree agents.
So we're gonna see what theBrewers will start to do there.
I don't, it's nothing gets realcrazy yet.
We're gonna see some moveshappen here, some of the big
name guys where you might see uhsome of them, you know, some of
the rumblings there.
The Brewers, if you're theBrewers right now, you're
looking to maybe the only guythat you're really looking to

(10:51):
move on for him from, if it'sme, would be there's a couple
guys on my list.
A couple guys on my list.
Trevor McGill is one of my guys,he's arbitration eligible for
one more, two more years thisseason, and then next, and then
he becomes a free agent in 2028.
And then you're gonna have otherguys on there, like an Isaac
Collins who had a good year lastyear, but you have a lot of
depth, right?

(11:12):
Feel like Cheurio, they're gonnabe locks in your outfield.
You look around the rest of it.
You're gonna have Mitchell,you're gonna have Lockridge,
you're gonna have those otherguys.
You're either gonna have Collinsor Perkins, one of those two
that you don't trade.
So I feel like you can move onfrom one of them.
Perkins is more of yourdefensive guy.
Collins had a great yearoffensively, and they got banged
up.
So you're gonna talk about maybemoving on from an outfield

(11:32):
piece.
Freddy, that's still an option.
It's not crazy.
People say it's crazy.
$8 million, very pretty when ateam's looking on the market,
which could bring back a lot of.
I think you like I said, like Italked about last week on the
show.
And if you didn't hear that, wetalked a little bit of brewers
last week there.
But I said, if you're going togive back a guy who's ready to

(11:54):
play shortstop now, if you canmake a move for a guy like that
by trading a guy like Freddie, Ithink that's a move that you
make.
I do.
But, but you gotta be careful.
You gotta be careful because wesaw what happened last season
when you said, I have a lot ofpitching depth, and then that
pitching depth got hurt.
So you gotta be careful what youwish for there when moving on

(12:15):
from a good piece to especiallya guy like Freddie Peralta, a
clubhouse guy like FreddiePeralta, too.
That's that's something thatit's tough to play with.
It's tough to play with.
So make sure, make sure you haveall your ducks in a row before
you make a move like that ifyou're Matt Arnold.
That's what I would have to sayto moving on from a guy like
Freddie.
So we have lots of stuff I wantto dive into yet here tonight on
the show.
When we come back, I want totalk a little bit more badges.

(12:36):
We're gonna talk badger hoops,and then Christian's gonna stop
by.
We're gonna continue that badgerhoops talk, roll into a little
bit badger football.
We got Amor coming up in hournumber two.
We got Kyle coming up in hournumber two.
There was some Bucks talk there.
Tons to get to yet tonight hereon the show.
Make sure you're coming back.
Wisconsin Sports on the Go withTrade hour number one of two is
just getting rolling.
We'll be right back here.
Welcome back into WisconsinSports on the Go with Trade.

(12:58):
I am your host, Trage, as wecome back here on this
Wednesday.
And hey, this next segment here,we're gonna talk a little badger
hoops.
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So the Badgers open up game oneagainst Campbell.
They're the fighting camels.
The fighting camels.
I think they should have beenCampbell, you know, like
Colgate, right?
Colgate's mascot should be justa giant tube of toothpaste,
right?

(13:40):
I think Campbell should just bea giant soup can.
Like when I'm stuffy, like astuffed soup can just running
around.
It can't look worse than thePenn State Knitly Lion line.
Like that thing, I agree.
Bill Michael said it one day.
He's like, they look like theywent to Goodwill and they got
that like costume for thatmascot.
I agree.
I agree.
It it cannot be no, it can't beworse than that.
It can't be worse.

(14:00):
I think a giant soup can wouldbe awesome to look at there.
I could be the CampbellCampbell's chicken sponsored by
Campbell's Chicken Ooh.
There you go.
There you go.
Anyways, anyways, the Badgersgot the win 96 to 64.
It was a great, a great firstgame.
Not a great first game out.
The way that it started, alittle ugly.

(14:20):
A little ugly to start.
And we've talked about thisbefore.
We talked about it in after theexhibition games.
I said the defense still worriesme with this team.
The defense still works, andthey still worry me coming off
this game.
I think they have, you know, youlook around this defense, and it
it does have a little bit to dowith there's such a and it this

(14:41):
is gonna be every team, and it'sgoing to be every year from here
on out.
They have new guys,communication is still gonna be
an issue, and that's where I'mkind of looking with this.
Right now, when I look at it,they overhelp at times, which I
saw a lot.
Sometimes it bit them, sometimesit didn't.
They overhelp at times,overextend.

(15:02):
I thought that was a problem inthis one because they had such
quick guards, but those guys,the screener, those big guys,
were quick getting downhill too.
So you have such quick guardscoming around.
You had guys overextending likea Nolan winter, and then you'd
have an open back, boom, thereit was.
So that had me a little bitworried.
Was the overhelp, the badrotations of this defense.

(15:24):
Troubles with the quick guards.
I thought they had some troubleswith them quick guards at times,
those guys getting downhill.
They settled in in that secondhalf.
It looked a lot better.
It's just that be where it'swhere it started worried me.
They weren't adjusting well tothe pace that Campbell wanted to
run at there.
Communication, like I said, thatwas the big issue that I think
they're.
I think that's the I think thekey to this team, not just on

(15:46):
the offensive end, but on thedefensive end, is getting
gelling together.
I think we always talk aboutteams gelling together well.
And some teams it's quicker thanothers.
I think this team is stillgetting there together.
I think they're a good, I thinkthey're they're a well put
together team.
I think they're they'retight-knit.
Like it's not like I don't thinkthere's like this distance

(16:06):
between them all, but I justfeel like there's still some
communication errors betweenthem.
And I think once they get thatkind of settled on both ends of
the floor, I think there's athere's a lot of good that this
team can do once they get tothat point.
So that that's kind of where Iwas looking defensively.
I was a little worried to start.
Offensively to start this game.

(16:28):
I wouldn't say the offensiveend, I wasn't super, super
worried offensively in this one.
I look field goal percentage.
They shot 50% on the game, 11for 28 from three, the
three-pointers.
Still not falling at a massiveclip yet, but I think they'll
get there.
I think this team's still tryingto hit the ground running.

(16:50):
Uh, I mean, getting this teamwhen they're at their best, when
they're running at their best,they're getting downhill,
they're getting to the rim.
That's what they need to do.
They need to get downhill, getto the rim, get to the foul
line.
It's like we talked about lastyear.
When they got into trouble, thisBadger team, last season and

(17:10):
this season, but we'll look atthis season, right?
That's where we're at.
When they get when they got intotrouble, when they're getting
into trouble, is when they startplaying this isolation
basketball.
They start like, it's likethey're almost like splitting
the floor into segments, andthey're not they're not working
the ball.
There's a beautiful play.
I saw it over on Twitter.
I'll I'll make sure if I can, Iwill uh I will share, I will

(17:32):
repost it on Twitter there.
But that play, it showed whatWisconsin basketball can be.
You saw the passing ability thatthey had.
I believe it was Roadie drove.
He kicked it to the corner, hekicked it over to Blackwell,
Blackwell kicked it up top, andthen all of a sudden it was down
the lane.
Blackwell drove, and then it wasa kick to winter.
He put it in.
It was the quick movement of thebasketball.

(17:52):
And that's something that Ithink if this Badger team wants
to keep progressing, keepmoving, keep getting better,
that's something they need tokey in on and focus on is the
movement of the basketball.
Get away from playing thatisolation basketball because
when they play that, it's ugly.
It looks like ugly basketball.
Well, when they play this brandof basketball, the moving the
ball, working to find openshooters, working without the

(18:13):
basketball is the big thing.
That's the big thing for thisteam is working without the
basketball.
And that includes in the postarea.
I think they get too far awayfrom the post area.
What's the point of running anoffense with two bigs when
neither big is in the post ever?
It just seems like those guysplay away from the basket more
than they play at the basket.
I feel like there's got to be alittle bit more post presence.

(18:36):
I it's something that I wasexcited to see just because of
the size of this team.
And I feel like they've gottenaway from the post presence at
times.
I'd love to see a little bitmore post-presence out of a rap
or out of a Nolan Winter.
Get them down there, get themback to the basket, let them go
to work down there like a bigfella's supposed to.
I will I'd be okay with seeingthat and working the ball inside
out then, utilizing that post.
The five-out offense, it works.

(18:58):
It works when you spread them,but it's also something where
I'd love to see this team beable to utilize the post
presence as they have it.
Because they do.
They have two solid bigs, NolanWinter, Austin Rapp.
Two solid bigs.
Both of them can shoot it fromthe outside.
So you want them to be thatthree-level score that you want
to see.
It's just a question of getting,can you get them involved in

(19:19):
that post area, in that, down inthe block?
That's something that I thinkthey have to work on there.
The biggest thing, like I said,this team needs to settle in.
They desperately, desperatelyneed to settle in.
They are at times getting out ofthere.
They're getting out of controlat times.
Nick Boyd is one of the biggestones for this.

(19:39):
He's one of he is the fastestguy I've ever seen dribble
basketball ever.
He's the fastest guy I've everseen dribble basketball.
With my own eyes.
But he just gets out of control.
And I feel like this team justsometimes gets out of control,
especially with the passing.
You see a lot of turnovers wherethey're anticipating guys being
there and they're not.

(19:59):
That's some things that I thinkthey got to clean up.
It's just those things ofsettling in, especially some of
those freshmen.
Will Garlic had a play where Ithought he could have taken it.
It ended up Blackwell, he gaveit to Blackwell.
He ended up taking it for an andone.
It's that kind of play rightthere.
Some of these freshmen being alittle more aggressive, some
guys being overly aggressive andsome being a little less
aggressive.
You got to find that happymedium for uh between the two.

(20:22):
So that's something I'm lookingat there is guys, it's just guys
settling into this offense,settling into this team.
When they get to that point, Ifeel like there's a lot of good
that's gonna be there.
Last but not least, before I'mgonna I'm gonna get Christian in
here, we're gonna hit a break,we're gonna come back.
Christian's gonna hop on.
But before I get him on here,John Blackwell is ready to be

(20:45):
the guy.
He is ready to be the guy inMadison.
We saw it night one, 31 points.
It just seemed like in thesecond half he just took off.
He just took off.
John Blackwell is ready to bethe guy.
The big four, I mean, you cancall it a big four.
Rap Winter, Boyd, Blackwell.
The big four.

(21:05):
They, I mean, that is a solidgroup right there.
The question's gonna be can thepieces fill in alongside
Blackwell?
That's the million-dollarquestion right now.
Because I know Blackwell can bea star.
Are these guys gonna go alongwith them and help them get this
team where we think they can be?
And that is a team that's goingto compete for the top of the

(21:26):
Big Ten and to get into the bigdance as a at-large bid and a
pretty darn good at-large bid.
So we're gonna come back here.
We're gonna get Christian onhere.
We're gonna talk a little bitmore badger hoops, and then
we're gonna talk badger footballhere in a little bit.
So we'll be right back here onWisconsin Sports.
Welcome back into WisconsinSports on the Go with Trage.
I'm your host, Trage, as we comeback here on this Wednesday.

(21:47):
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(23:10):
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So, Christian is here.
Christian, how are we doing?
Badger basketball's back.
We got something good to talkabout.
How are we doing on thisWednesday?

SPEAKER_00 (23:24):
We're good.
We're back.
Some Wisconsin sports that wecan actually enjoy watching for
a little bit, right?

SPEAKER_01 (23:29):
No, it's not a therapy session for well, not
yet.
For once.
Well, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 (23:35):
Hey, it's a good, it's a start.

SPEAKER_01 (23:36):
It's a start.
It's a start there.
And we love that.
We love to have some goodWisconsin sports.
But there's a lot, I mean,wrestling got off to a good
start.
Uh, women's volleyball, they didhave that.
Uh, that that Nebraska was justI was really hoping for
something great, and it was justthe first the first set was
good.
After that, it was downhillfast.

(23:59):
Nebraska is really good, andthey saw that in that game at
the field house there.
So we saw that.
We saw that all transpire.
The Bucks have been playingwell, so there's been a lot of
good to talk about in Wisconsinsports.
So, I mean, oh well, I just wentBucks.
Why did I go Bucks?
I'm just rambling at this point.
But anyways, Christian, anyways,anyways, let's get to our Casa M
Spice.

(24:20):
I'm I'm watching the Bucks rightnow.
So I was watching and thentalking and then watching, and
then it just sometimes gets allcrazy.
You know how it goes.
But anyways, let's get to ourCasa M.
Spice bold player of the week.
Christian, who do you got foryour Casa M.
Spice bold player of the week?

SPEAKER_00 (24:36):
Uh John Blackwell.
Dropping 31 points, one pointshy of his uh career high.
Dude, he was like every time heshot the ball, I know he went
five and ten from three, butevery time he shot the ball, it
felt like it was going in,especially late in the second
half when he just decided totake over.

SPEAKER_01 (24:56):
He made me feel good.
I tell you that.
He made me feel good in thatgame there.
He was fantastic.
I would have to agree.
If I had to go elsewhere, ohman, if I had to go elsewhere,
who would I go with?
Who would I go with elsewhere?
Well, Badget Football didn'tplay.
The Packers all stunk.
Let's go with Ryan Rollins.
Let's go with Ryan.

(25:17):
There you go.
I like what Ryan Rollins hasdone.
I know I just mentioned the Bucsbefore, so I might as well.
You know, they're a part of theWisconsin sports spectrum now,
the University of Wisconsin.
I have no idea.
My brain was just going crazythere for a second.
But uh anyways.
Wisconsin sports.
Wisconsin sports, it counts.
Um, anyways, I mean, RyanRollins has been fantastic.
Kevin Porter goes out with theinjury.

(25:38):
Ryan Rollins has stepped in andbeen nothing but fantastic for
him so far here, and hopefullythat continues.
But I I love what I've seen outof him.
Ryan Rollins has got to be myCossem Spice Bold player of the
week there.
But like I was saying before Igot confused and all sidetracked
and everything, right?
Wisconsin Sports have been, Imean, starting out pretty well
here in the like late fall,winter season, the winter

(25:59):
seasons, right?
Hockey, both women's and men's,have started out fantastic.
The wrestling team had the bigwin against uh North Dakota
State over the weekend there.
Uh, but I saw soccer.
Soccer is doing pretty darn goodright now.
So that's that's good to seethere's women's soccer team is
playing well, and then like wewere talking about volleyball
and then men's basketballstarting out pretty darn well
here.
Uh we're not gonna talk aboutfootball because we're gonna get

(26:22):
to them, but yeah, we're notgonna talk about that.
Let's start with yourimpressions coming off of this
win against the fightingcambels, the reactions from the
duel with the fighting cambels.
Camels.
I keep saying Campbells.
Camels.
Oh, it's the Campbell Camels.
What do you got for yourreactions coming off of that

(26:43):
one?

SPEAKER_00 (26:43):
Oh, I mean, it's early.
It's in, I mean if they man,they were the slow starts are
kind of concerning, but if theycan do what they did the last
eight minutes of the game, Ithink they went on like a 29-2
and like a 31-4 overall run thelast eight to ten minutes of

(27:04):
that game.
Like if they can do that,they're gonna be a really good
team.
And I think I could you know,here we go, game one out of 30,
right?
I think they could this is ateam that could go to the
obviously make the NCAAtournament, but also I look, I
would argue could make thesecond weekend for the first
time in a long time.
You know what I mean?
So we can I just they got theplayers.

(27:27):
I think it obviously it's early,they'll figure they're gonna
figure a lot of things out.
Greg guard talked about that inhis press conference, but um I I
think they got the pieces, man,and they I think they have the
depth um to actually do somedamage this year.
It's kind of like last year whenthey were they were uh what
project predicted to finish12th, yeah, and they ended up
finishing fourth.

(27:48):
I think I think I think we'renow what projected predicted
sixth or eighth or somethinglike that.
I mean it's I still think thatthey could finish, you know, top
three, top four again, you know.
I don't necessarily thinkthey're gonna be, you know, six,
seven, or eight, but I guess itall depends.
It's early.

SPEAKER_01 (28:06):
Yeah, no, I like that.
And you know, you look at a lotof guys on this roster that we
we like, and then that I thinkcame in under the radar.
And you would talk about a guylike Austin Rapp, high-scoring
guy at Portland.
But when you look at, I meanAndy Katz, right?
You look at all of his likerankings of players.
I saw his rankings of his topplayers, top 10 players in the

(28:27):
Big Ten, and then he had liketop like 20, and the number one
guy wasn't the same in both, soI don't know how he did that.

SPEAKER_00 (28:33):
But anyway, was one of them transfers?

SPEAKER_01 (28:36):
It was like Laxenberg, and then he had him
in the other one, but he waslike sixth, so it had him first
in one and sixth in the other.
It was a weird list.
I'd have to go back and look.
But look, Andy Katz is kind ofcrazy sometimes with his list.
But you have a guy like AustinRapp, doesn't get any kind of
note, nobody's like reallynoting this guy, but we see him,
we're watching him right now.
This is a guy we know that canshoot the lights out of a

(28:58):
building.
I think those are the guys whoare gonna be your difference
makers in what the the mediasaid was gonna be the number six
team in the Big Ten and whatwe're seeing right now.
So let's talk, let's let's divedeeper into this game here.
I mean, you talked a little bitabout the last eight minutes of
that game, the slow starts ofthis team.
What did you see in that lasteight minutes that you were

(29:20):
like, okay, this this is a teamthat I believe could take that
deep run?
This is that team that you know,where if they can copy, paste,
move this into that next game,into the start of a game, this
is that team that can competefor that top four spot in the
Big Ten.

SPEAKER_00 (29:36):
Their defense.
Uh at the start of the game,dude, they couldn't, it felt
like they couldn't stop anythingeven for Campbell.
You know, so if they're having ahard time with Campbell, what's
kind of I mean, I know Campbell,I think they're gonna be a good
mid major team this year.
I they're led by I I'm not gonnatry to pronounce his last name,
but he was essentially theoffensive coordinator, if you

(29:57):
want to call that, for Floridalast year, who won the national.
Championship, you know, got usgot this job, um, brought in a
few, you know, transfers.
But I think we couldn't stopanything to start.
Uh, but then that last, I mean,obviously they held him to two
points the last eight minutes ofthe game, but it wasn't even
just that, it was just thatevery every shot was tough.
They grabbed defensive rebounds.

(30:19):
Um, Andrew Roadie kind ofspecifically, they just they
locked guys down, forced someturnovers.
They kind of did it a little bitat the end of the first half,
too, and Jack Janicki was a bigpart of that.
And he had four steals at thehalf, Janicki did, and I saw he
had two of them in back-to-backpossessions, too.
So I mean, just more of that.
If they can do that, because weall know with this offense,

(30:40):
they're gonna score points.
Yeah, they did it last year.
There looks like they're gonnado it again this year.
John Blackwell's gonna.
I mean, I think the thing withthis offense too is it could be
any number of guys that couldjust be the guy for the night.
Last year, I think it was kindof like that, but then Tanja
just kind of took over and itwas always him, right?
But I I think majority of thetime it's gonna be Blackwell.

(31:01):
Um, but I could easily see Raphaving a game where he drops,
you know, six, seven, threes oruh Ty uh boy, Nick Boyd.
Dude had like the quietest debutever just because Blackwell was
going off and he had 21 points.
And it's like by the time I atthe end of the game I looked at
the stat sheet or I was like, hehad 21.

(31:22):
Like it's just it was a quiet21, but I guess you know I
digress to get back to youroriginal.
I think it I think the defenseof like if they can lock down
and play defense like thatpaired with their offense, I
think that they could make adeep run.

SPEAKER_01 (31:38):
Yeah, no, I I completely agree there.
And you so you mentioned a guy,Nick Boyd.
The impact that he makes ismassive.
I just think, and I don't know,are you seeing the same thing?
He's a guy who I think needs tolearn his pace.
I still he's he's a veteran, butI just feel like he's still
trying to learn his pace becauseI he is the he is the fastest

(32:01):
guy I've ever seen dribble abasketball down a floor.
Like he gets from one end to theother end, and it's like that,
he's gone.
Like he is so quick to get wherehe wants to go, but when he gets
there, I think he's sometimes alittle crazy, he's out of
control with it.
And I think if he slows himselfdown, he gets within this
offense, he is going to bedynamite and exactly what they

(32:22):
wanted, like the next levelChucky Hepper and to me.
So I guess are you seeing thattoo?
Is Nick Boyd just does it seemlike he's maybe just going a
little too fast at times?

SPEAKER_00 (32:34):
Um, it's kind of funny you say that because
absolutely.
Um, Greg Gard even may like wentout of his way to talk about
that in his press conference.
He said, um Boyd, becausesomeone asked a question about
him and Blackwell play welltogether, um, and how Boyd he he
has one speed essentially, andit's fast, it's go.

(32:55):
Yeah, so he's he said Boyd'sstill kind of working on his
game management, he's gotta workon, you know, when to kind of
know when to slow down, when topull it out, but yeah, that's
that's kind of what it is.
He's one speed and it's go andget to the hoop, which I think
fits well with this offense.
But you know, like guard said,there's gonna be times and

(33:17):
moments where that's not alwaysthe best thing, you know, you
force things or you know,whatever.
And I think obviously he's gonnahave to learn that, but um, but
yeah, it's that's one thing Inoticed about him too.
It's just he gets the ball andhe is up the floor in a flash.

SPEAKER_01 (33:34):
I love it.
I really do.
I love it.
It's just if it does get out ofcontrol, that's where you start
to worry a little bit.
That's where you get that littlebit of a worry with a guy like
that.
He's got all the skill in theworld and he can finish at the
rim like Noah.
That's why I compared him to aChucky Hepburn.
Is he can finish.
Chucky was a great finisher atthe rim.
He just would rarely want to getdown there because he wanted to

(33:55):
settle.
It just seemed like when he wasin that offense, they were
settling for shots.
So you just hope that you see aguy like Nick Boyd because he
doesn't seem like a he seemslike a guy who wants to attack
the rack.
And I love that out of a guylike that.
So I love what I'm seeing there.
Let's talk about kind of thebench here.
Any bench impression that youhad off of game one there, any
bench impression, some guys thatyou liked maybe in the minutes

(34:15):
that they had.
You talked about Janicki.
I have to actually when youanswer that, tell me, does Jack
Janicki kind of look like ayoung Bronson Candy when you see
that face with the shaved head?
I don't know.
It's either that or PeteDavidson.
I don't know what I was lookingat out there, but anyways, bench
impressions from game one.

SPEAKER_00 (34:31):
Um I don't want to say underwhelming because I
think it's deeper than because Ithink by five minutes into the
game, guard already went fivedeep on the bench.
He had 10 guys in the game atthat point, which was kind of
weird to me.
And I don't know if I don't knowif we're still trying to figure
rotations out or who can dowhat, but I think Will Garlic is

(34:52):
a guy that kind of caught myeyes, true freshman, seven-foot
guy, and by all accounts, whenhe was coming in, he was a huge
project, very raw.
Um and then once practice camearound this fall, he started
kind of like apparently show thecoaches a lot, and he's gonna be
getting some minutes.
Um, how many minutes did he havehere?

(35:12):
He had he played 10 minutes,which I mean, granted it's
against Campbell, but it was nota blowout all game, you know.
It was eight minutes left.
I think there was a it was afive-point game, so it's not
like he was you know onlygetting garbage time, but he's
he's a big presence down there,and that's what they need.
Outside of like Winter and UmBilly Elskis and uh rap.

(35:37):
I mean, it's nice to actuallyhave some depth with the bigs
for once, rather than you know,we had Crowl and Winchell last
year, and then then who, right?
Kind of had to, you know, haveguys like Gilmore go down there,
otherwise he had to go toRicardo Greppi, and then we're
in trouble.

SPEAKER_01 (35:52):
Yeah, no, I agree.
I would say the only thing Ihave to say about Garlic is I
wish he'd be more aggressivebecause there was a I I just I
keep having this play in theback of my head where they
kicked it down him to a post.
He had a small guy on him,kicked it down to him in the
post, and he had him.
He was sealed him off.
It was beautiful.
He had him right there, couldhave gone up with it.
He passed it off to his buddy.
I think he gave it off toBlackwell.

SPEAKER_00 (36:13):
You know, it was Blackwell, and you know that's
that's funny because that was areally I remember that that uh
possession because he could haveeasily done it, gave it up to
Blackwell.
Blackwell got fouled on an andone.
Yep, missed missed missed thefree throw.
Winter got the rebound, kickedit out the road, you hit a
three.
So it was a five-pointpossession.

SPEAKER_01 (36:31):
That's that well, it worked out, right?
It worked out.

SPEAKER_00 (36:34):
Yeah, we're absolutely worked out, but I
remembered why is why is no, andI remember that possession, too,
because I remember thinking thesame thing.
Like, he's got a mouse in thehouse.
Well, why is he not just goingthrough this guy and scoring?
But yep, I mean that's butthat's the thing.
When he was recruited, too, hewasn't actually no, there was no
ideas that he was gonna be thisoffensive powerhouse.

(36:55):
He was gonna be brought in toyou know get rebounds and be a
defensive presence down low.
So it makes sense, and maybeit's just him knowing his role,
but yeah, that too.
Like that was kind of a riskypass, too, if I remember right.
It was a pretty close pass, anda lot of times those don't work
out, you know.

SPEAKER_01 (37:10):
So I like, and that's you have a seven-footer
like that with that kind ofsize, if he gets that mismatch.
I agree, like he wasn't broughtin to be the offensive guy, but
I need him in that momentbecause he had a perfect seal,
everything was beautiful.
It worked out giving it toBlackwell, but like you said, it
was a close quarters pass thatdoesn't always work out.
Just go up with it, just go upwith it, finish it at the rim.

(37:32):
But you know, he's young, right?
So he has that hesitation inhim.
Yeah, he doesn't want to screwup.
He doesn't want he sees hisbuddy Blackwell there.
He's like, hey, you can have it,buddy.
Put it up.
Like uh we just want him, I justwant to see him be a little more
aggressive, so I like thatthere.
Um, so let's put a ball on thatBadger game there.
The Badgers will be taking onNorthern Illinois.
That'll be coming up Friday.
So they have off until Friday.

(37:54):
So we won't see anything untilthen there.
But Christian, we're gonna hit aquick break.
We're gonna come back.
You want to we're gonna tie up alittle badger football here when
we wrap up hour number one.
You want to hit a little badgeof football on the backside of
the ad break?

SPEAKER_00 (38:04):
Let's do it.

SPEAKER_01 (38:05):
Let's do it.
We'll be right back here afterthe quick commercial break.
Well, Christian's gonna stickaround.
We're gonna talk a little bit ofbadger football as we wrap up
hour number one.
We'll be back here with theWisconsin Sports on the Go with
Trage.
I'm your host, Trage, as we comeback here on this Wednesday.
And hey, if you're looking tospice up the holidays, not just
with the song by thenitty-gritty band, but you're

(38:25):
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(38:46):
They got little boxes.
I just grabbed mine today.
I don't have it down here in thestudio with me.
But it's this little box.
It comes in this little, likethree, three stainless steel
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I believe there was Kickstart,Jerk Chain, and Pecking Order.
But I think they said that theycan do some mixing and matching
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Just tell them I sent you downthere.
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(39:07):
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(39:28):
So Christian is back here.
We're gonna talk a little badgerfootball.
We were just talking badgerhoops.
Now we're gonna talk badgerfootball.
And if you missed any of theshow tonight, make sure you
check it out next day totomorrow across all podcast
platforms.
You can find it out there atWisconsin Sports on the Go with
Trade.
If you want to be involved inthe show, have your opinion
heard or your questions, makesure you text them in

(39:48):
715-990-4914.
That is 715-990-4914.
So, Christian, Badger football.
Nothing really pretty to talkabout, I guess.
But I mean, coming off of thatlast game out there, they just
had the bye.
They didn't lose, so that'sgood, right?
You can't lose on the bye, asBadgers twice now.

(40:11):
We've stayed, you know, clean inthe bye week.
A lot of lot of surgeries, a lotof lot of surgeries happening in
this bye week here.
What was it?
Jake Renfro had surgery.
Who else went out there?

SPEAKER_00 (40:23):
Dylan, Dylan Jones got turf toe.
Dillian Jones gone.
Bam.

SPEAKER_01 (40:29):
Who was the other one?
There was a third one, wasn'tit?

SPEAKER_00 (40:31):
There was a third one.
You're right.
Three guys were up for theseason.

SPEAKER_01 (40:34):
Um, that's gonna remember.
That's gonna bite.
I can't remember who had thatthird injury.
I can't remember who had thatthird surgery, but it'll come to
us.
It'll come to us.
Either way, there was some newsoff that coming off of the
weekend there.
But there's also the news of theCarter Smith thoughts?
So I want to hear your thoughts.
Carter Smith potentiallystarting first Washington.

(40:58):
Could you see that?
Do you like that idea?
What are your thoughts onpotentially bringing in the
young guy to see what he's gothere in these last four games or
in the fourth to last game ofthe season, which wouldn't
affect his redshirt, so he'dstill be still be able to
redshirt for the season?

SPEAKER_00 (41:14):
Um, I don't think we'll see him start, at least
not against Washington.
Do I think he'll be in the game?
Absolutely.
I think absolutely think hewill.
Um from what I've been hearing,I don't think we're gonna see
it.
Hunter Simmons is not gonna bestarting.
So by my deduction skills, I'massuming that means Danny

(41:37):
O'Neill.
Right?
I mean, I don't think BillyEdwards Jr.
is gonna be back this year, eventhough Fickle said made some
comments about if he was healthyenough.

SPEAKER_01 (41:47):
Um I think Fickle's calling him out.
I think he is.
I think he kind of is too.
I like it.
I like it.

SPEAKER_00 (41:53):
I think that's kind of it too.
He goes, like, you know, look,man, whatever.
Like, are you hurt or not?
Like you're the ones herechomping at the pit to get back
into the game, you know, andthen you get hurt right away
against Maryland, and now it'syours done.
But I don't know, I don't knowwhat the deal is to Danny
O'Neill either.
Is so I don't know what the dealis, but um, so I think we'll see
Danny O'Neill, and then I thinkwe may or may not see some

(42:16):
Carter Smith in there, at leastagainst Washington, and probably
Indiana, just because well, Imaybe we'll see a whole lot of
Carter Smith because we'llprobably get blown out against
Indiana because they've beenjust dropping points on people
like crazy.
Um, but I don't know.
I think there's a I thinkthere's a very, very good chance
we're gonna see Carter Smith inthe next four games here, which

(42:36):
is exactly what all the fanswanted, right?

SPEAKER_01 (42:38):
Yep.
No, I like it.
I like it.
And you know, Indiana's the onewho will actually drop 60 plus
on you.
Like I think everybody saidOregon and Ohio State.
I just feel like Indiana, theway Singeti is kind of rolling,
Signetti felt like he was kindof dissed last year after they
lost that game to Ohio State.
He just felt like everybody'syeah, he's proving a point.

(43:00):
He's just burying teams.
Look what they did to Illinois.
Like Illinois didn't deservewhat happened to Illinois.
Like that was that was ugly.

SPEAKER_00 (43:08):
And I think I think I think Indiana still has a bone
to pick with Wisconsin from whenwe dropped what 70 some points
on him a few years ago.
Even Nate, even even our thirdstring quarterback Nate Tice was
running in for touchdownsagainst him.
So I don't know.
I have a bad I have a badfeeling a couple Saturdays from
now.

SPEAKER_01 (43:25):
I think we should all be prepared for that game to
be like a record-setting loss.
So it might be part of historyjust on the the bad side of it
there.
So I would be okay with uh umCarter Smith for just a little
bit.
Like, don't start him.
I don't think you throw him tothe wolves right off the bat
there, but bring him in, bringhim in in certain set, whatever.
You know, if Luke Fickle talkedabout certain sets and stuff

(43:46):
like that where we can see him,maybe he tries to do Carter
Smith more on the passing downs,whereas Danny O'Neill is more of
like your wildcat kind ofquarterback where he can still
throw it a little bit.

SPEAKER_00 (43:56):
But I feel like I feel like Carter Smith is
probably a better runningquarterback than I just don't
want him, I don't want him toget clocked in the open field.

SPEAKER_01 (44:04):
I kind of would rather have Danny O'Neill bust
up the middle than have CarterSmith try to bust up the middle
because I just don't want tohurt him.
I it yeah, I don't want to hurthim.

SPEAKER_00 (44:12):
Carter Smith's bigger too.
Like I've seen Danny O'Neal isnot a big guy, so it's no, he's
just i will say when like at thebeginning of the year this year
when they did open practices tothe media and stuff.
I saw the first threequarterbacks do stuff, and then
they all had their non-contactjerseys on and stuff.
But when Carter Smith was inwith the fourth team, he didn't

(44:34):
have his non-contact jersey on,and they were running them, and
he was taking some hits anddoing all that stuff, and he was
popping right back up.
So, I mean, I don't know whythey wouldn't put it, I mean,
whatever, but he's I I don'tknow.
I think you're right.
I think it's gonna be DannyO'Neill for a lot of stuff, but
I think they'll have somespecific formations, packages,

(44:54):
whatever you want to call it,for Carter Smith, just to kind
of get his feet wet againstWashington.
And then I wouldn't be surprisedif they just ramp him up and
then by the I don't know,Minnesota.
Well, definitely by theMinnesota game.
Who's before Minnesota?
We got Illinois, the Illinoisgame.
I wouldn't be surprised byIllinois.
He was starting.

SPEAKER_01 (45:12):
Yeah, I feel like you gotta get hit, you gotta get
him comfortable because if youfeel like he gives you a shot to
win, because if you end theseason with a win against
Minnesota, you don't feel greatabout the season, but you feel
just a little bit better.
You just you just feel a littlebit of something going into the
offseason.

SPEAKER_00 (45:30):
I feel like I feel like as long as right now that's
the goal.
I don't think anyone has anyhope they're gonna beat
Washington, Indiana, orIllinois, but if they can win
the axe back, it's something if,and then that that supposed$30
million parachute coming in tobuy a bunch of players and
stuff, maybe, just maybe Fickcan turn this thing around, or

(45:53):
you know, some fans mightactually think that.

SPEAKER_01 (45:55):
No, I I actually thought, you know, I remember
beginning of this year, wetalked about this Washington
game and said that we felt likethere might be a chance.
And then I just watched lastweek when they beat Illinois the
way that they did, and I wasjust like, nope, it ain't it, it
ain't happening.
I want to be confident, but it'snot happening.
I'm excited.

SPEAKER_00 (46:15):
Washington's better than I thought they would be.

SPEAKER_01 (46:16):
Yeah, it's a pretty darn good team.
This is a pretty darn good team.

SPEAKER_00 (46:20):
Everyone on this schedule is outside of
Minnesota.
Juice, they they looked notgreat last week.
But outside of Minnesota,everyone I feel like on our
schedule is just light years.

SPEAKER_01 (46:29):
It got better.
Like, honestly, when I looked atthis schedule in the off, like I
know offseason, you can only youonly know so much about a team
coming off the offseason.
But when we looked at thisschedule coming off the
offseason, I was you could seelike there was a couple spots
where it was like, oh, well,maybe they can beat this team.
Oh, maybe they can beat thisteam.
And the more I just check itout, I'm just like, where was

(46:51):
it?
Maryland.
That was it.
Maryland.
That that was the only one whereI look at them and say, man,
they might they should have hadthat game against Maryland.
Outside of that, and you knowwhat you did though?
You know what you did, honestly,when you really think about it,
and this is, I guess, where Iwant to lean with the rest of
this, because there's not muchmore to talk about with this
game coming up.
When you went okay, this is justmy one thing I gotta say that I

(47:14):
just don't understand.
I think Billy Edwards is afantastic guy, but why did the
Badgers believe that he wasgoing to be the guy to beat this
schedule?
Because they plucked him off aMaryland team who was last in
the Big Ten last year.
I don't think they got worsewhen he left.

SPEAKER_00 (47:36):
I think, well, yeah, they have a pretty good freshman
came in.
Yeah, but uh I think I don'tknow.
I think they were looking for aI don't want to use the phrase
lame duck quarterback, they'relooking for a quarterback to
bridge the gap from where theywere to Carter Smith, I think.

SPEAKER_01 (47:50):
Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 (47:50):
And I think they saw this guy's got one year of
eligibility left.
He actually put up some decentnumbers with by far the worst
offensive line in theconference.
What could he do with theWisconsin offensive line?
Well, no, I think Wisconsinprobably is one of the worst
offensive lines in theconference.
So I think my guess was theylooked at him and they probably
looked at, okay, it's aone-year, one-year rental kind

(48:10):
of thing.
We'll let, you know, we'll letCarter Smith learn for a year
and then give him the keys tothe offense.
He's gonna be the guy, you know,the next year, especially with
this the schedule being asbrutal as it is.
Are we really gonna throw a truefreshman out there and try to
figure it out going againstOregon, Ohio State, Indiana,
Illinois, Michigan?
Like, I think what did thatmean?

(48:33):
I feel like uh no.
I think Billy Edwards Jr.
was kind of a sacrifice, andhonestly, it's it's too bad he
only made it through half of thefirst game.
Just it's a quarterback,Wisconsin quarterback curse
right now, man.

SPEAKER_01 (48:44):
I I agree 100%.
That's why I think they gottakind of see what they have with
uh with Carter Smith here,because otherwise, if you go
into this offseason, you have tosay, okay, my donors give me all
this more money, right?
They're giving me all thismoney.
You gotta go find a quarterback,not a not a Tanner Mordecai, not
a Tyler Van Dyke, not a BillyEdwards.

(49:05):
I want a guy who's coming in offof a successful season at a
success.
It doesn't have to be like lookwhere Cam Ward came from when he
went to Miami.
He came from Washington State.
Give me a guy who's coming froma successful program, like had a
successful season, like afull-on successful season.
His team was a winning team.
You can see those things inthere.

(49:25):
Give me that guy.
That's why I kind of wish whenJeff Grimes, if he would have
brought in a uh uh Jalen Danielswith him from Kansas, I maybe
that would have been a littlebit better.
I don't know.
I don't know how that would haveall transpired.
But, anyways, just I want to seethem bring in one of those kinds
of dudes.
Not a lame duck quarterback, nota guy where it's like, oh, well,

(49:46):
he had one good season, TylerVan Dyke.
Oh, he threw for 7,000 yards,Tanner Mordecai.
Now, we don't know how thoseseasons would have gone because
those guys got injured.
They should honestly start, weshould get Braden Lockback,
start him at quarterback nextyear, and then when he gets
hurt, then we throw in ournumber two quarterback, which is
the guy we actually wanted thewhole time.

SPEAKER_00 (50:04):
Maybe that'll be oh, yeah, that's a good point.
It's like a decoy.
We just we throw just like someguy out there.
Right now, something in the mojodoesn't I heard I actually heard
uh Tyler Van Dyke is somehow isgoing to come back for another
year next year, there we go,seventh year.
Let's bring let's bring himback.

(50:26):
He can he can be our decoyquarterback that inevitably gets
hurt in the first two or threegames of the year, and then our
guy can start.

SPEAKER_01 (50:33):
I'll take it.
I'll take it there.
So any uh any final thoughts onthis game coming up here with
Washington?
Anything you're looking for touh progress, any guys you're
looking for, maybe?

SPEAKER_00 (50:47):
Dude, it's so hard just because we're A, not good,
B, we're so beat up.
Uh-huh.
Like it's it's hard to doanything, but I mean, I want the
defense to look really good tothe two freshmen inside
linebackers.
Let's see them just be animalsagain.
Uh, and Gideon Atuka, just watchthat guy run the ball like a man
possessed.
So, you know, just that kind ofstuff.

(51:08):
But yeah, outside of that, theobvious I want to see Carter
Smith, see what he can do, seeif he's any good or not.
If he's not, I think that'sanother thing.
Let's see if he's good.
If he's not, let's go spend somemoney in the portal and get a
guy who's got more than one yearof eligibility, right?

SPEAKER_01 (51:22):
I 100% agree.
That is that is where I'm atright now.
I want to see what you have inCarter Smith.
Do you believe he's going to beready to go next year, or do you
need to because the earlywindows opening up, right?
Pretty darn soon.
Do you need to find a guy earlyand bring him into this program?
That's what you need to figureout if you're Luke Fickle.
Because the clock, it shouldhave already been it should have
already hit zero.

(51:43):
But, anyways, the clock has gotto be starting now going into
year, it feels like foreversince you showed up.
What are you going to do?
Yeah, it's like year 517.
I don't know.
I've lost it's Paul Christ.
Where are you?
Anyways, it need it needs to getbetter.
Where does it start thisoffseason?
We're already an off-seasontalk.

(52:04):
That just feels depressing.
So, anyways, Christian, we'rewrapping up our number one.
Thank you for hopping on tonighthere on the show.
Let people know where to findyou out there across social
media.

SPEAKER_00 (52:15):
As always, you can find me at Christian Borman on
all the various social mediaplatforms.
Otherwise, check out my work atThe Badger Backer.

SPEAKER_01 (52:21):
Make sure you guys check him out.
He's got tons of great stuffcoming out there.
Tons of good stuff happeningwith Ben Men's basketball there,
uh, football.
There's there's got to be somegood in there.
Maybe he'll find it.
If he's if anybody's gonna findit, Christian's gonna find it
and give it to you there on TheBadger Backers.
Thank you as always, Christian.
We'll be back here.
We're gonna we're wrapping upour number one.
This has been our number one.
Our number two is coming at youafter the quick commercial

(52:43):
break.
We'll be right back here onWisconsin Sports on the Go It
Trade.