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UW football: Partridge stressing positives

Jim Polzin  —  4/03/2008 12:23 pm

It's April, not August.

That's one reason Charlie Partridge, the University of Wisconsin football team's defensive line coach, isn't losing sleep over the rash of injuries that has hit the position group he coaches.

But there's more to it than that. The way Partridge sees it, any negative energy he displays will more than likely rub off on his players. So he remains upbeat and energetic during practice and in meetings.

"The biggest thing you have to do is stay positive yourself," he said, "and keep the group positive."

That can't be an easy task. Eight defensive linemen watched this morning's practice in sweats because of injuries. That group includes expected starters Jason Chapman (knee), Mike Newkirk (shoulder) and Kirk DeCremer (back); and reserves Patrick Butrym (shoulder), Dan Moore (knee), Richard Garner (hamstring), Dan Cascone (shoulder) and Brandon Hoey (back).

Moore and Butrym were the most recent additions to the injury list. Moore injured his left knee during practice Saturday and will miss the remainder of spring. "The plan is right now, they're going to basically take it easy on the knee for six weeks and hopefully he'll be able to return for the second week of June when we go to full conditioning," UW coach Bret Bielema said this morning.

According to Bielema, Butrym missed today's practice with a bruised shoulder.

Partridge, meanwhile, has taken the glass-is-half-full approach to the situation. Young players like Butrym, Jasper Grimes and Louis Nzegwu -- all three redshirted last season as freshmen -- have been getting plenty of opportunities to learn and grow during spring practice. Ditto for older yet relatively inexperienced players like juniors O'Brien Schofield and Jeff Stehle; and even the only healthy starter, senior end Matt Shaughnessy.

"The advantage you get is we've got guys getting more reps right now than they ever would have," said Partridge, who was hired in February after serving as an assistant at Pittsburgh the last five seasons. "With all those kids getting that many reps, whether they end up in a starting role or a backup role, we'll be a better unit because of this come fall."

Plus, it's not like these 14 practices that lead up to the April 19 intra-squad scrimmage are a lost cause for the injured players. It's important that they use these few weeks to get used to Partridge's system and coaching style; for some, this is their third defensive line coach in four seasons.

What they'll hear over and over from Partridge this spring is an emphasis on the basics of defensive line play.

"I'm a pure fundamental guy," Partridge said. "I will spend as much time as I have to, to get the first step perfect. I've always been a big believer that as a defensive lineman, if you step out of place, you're beat, you're in trouble. You're now in a recovering mode.

"And that's the biggest thing we'll work on is first step, hand placement and running our feet through contact. If we come out of spring and we're better at those simple things, we'll be a better unit."

This spring is just as important for Partridge to learn about the players he's coaching. One player who's stood out, not surprisingly, is Shaughnessy, an All-Big Ten performer who has started 33 games for the Badgers.

"The most exciting thing I see in Matt is here's a guy who's been productive, who has been a very good player," Partridge said. "The exciting thing about Matt is he wants coaching, he wants to learn, he wants to improve fundamentally.

"He's so coachable that it's affecting the rest of the group. Matt is not a rah-rah leader, but he's leading by taking the coaching, and producing because of that on the practice field."

jpolzin@madison.com

Jim Polzin  —  4/03/2008 12:23 pm