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Lucas: Phillips' adjustment to college football harder than he imagined

Mike Lucas  —  3/25/2008 6:51 am

University of Wisconsin freshman quarterback Curt Phillips felt like a freshman after his first spring football practice. Not a college freshman, making the transition from high school. But a high school freshman, making the transition to the varsity.

"You come up and you're playing with the big kids and everybody seems so much bigger and faster," he said. "But you get used to that, figure out what's going on, and, then, everything slows down."

Phillips, a mid-term graduate from Sullivan South High School (Kingsport, Tenn.), had his own expectations for what it was going to be like before his first practice with the Badgers on March 8. Everybody told him that it was a much different game at this level.

"I heard that and I didn't really believe it," he said. "But it is different. The receivers are faster and the plays are a lot more complicated." Was his head swimming? "Yeah, it was a little bit," he admitted.

UW offensive coordinator Paul Chryst wasn't surprised. "I did expect that," he said. "The thing that I gave him credit for is that he still can go out and function. The second practice was better and so was the third one. He's done a pretty good job that way."

The Badgers return to the practice field today for the first time in 12 days. "The disadvantage of having the big break (spring break) is that you need a day to get acclimated again," Chryst said. "But it should come back pretty fast for him. He's pretty bright."

Still, there's a major adjustment period, according to Chryst, heightening how much learning is involved. "The biggest struggle is the terminology and that's just inevitable," he said.

Phillips agreed, noting that he operated out of a spread offense at Sullivan South. "I have to break some old habits," he said, "just from the way we did things in high school to the way we're doing them here."

There's a process that every first-year player has to go through in assimilating information and performing. Reading the playbook is one thing. Reading the defense is another.

"You can look at it (the offense) and think you've got it down," Chryst said. "But when you have to go out and execute it and know where everybody is at, it's different. That's kind of fun as a coach because it makes you realize not to skip any pieces of the teaching."

That falls in line with the spring mission statement.

"We're much less concerned about what we're doing and more concerned about how we're doing it," said Chryst, speaking for the offense. "Watching film from last year, we saw the little things made a difference and we're really trying to emphasize that."

Chryst added, "The same could be said for the quarterback battle, per se. We've got to kind of decide who's in the race and who's not in the race and still use the spring to keep everyone improving; an area where we can do better than we have in the past."

In this context, Chryst has different expectations for each quarterback candidate, from Allan Evridge to Dustin Sherer to James Stallons to Scott Tolzien to Phillips.

"For example, Allan's completion and read percentage should be higher than Curt's," Chryst pointed out. "I gave them each targeted goals and Curt's is the lowest and the older guy's goals are higher."

Asked about Stallons, a freshman who redshirted last fall, Chryst said, "If his head is still swimming a little bit, he's got to use that as a red flag because he's not getting the same grace period as Curt. And yet this is his first spring."

Stallons and Tolzien were limited, Chryst noted, because Tyler Donovan and Evridge shared a majority of the reps during last season's training camp as the Badgers were transitioning to a new starting quarterback following John Stocco's departure.

(Donovan is presently exploring some playing options in the Canadian Football League. "The game fits his skill set," Chryst observed. "It's a wider field and he's got enough arm for it and the athletic ability to improvise, which really fits that league.")

Where does that leave Stallons? "He's getting more reps now than he has gotten in the past," said Chryst, adding that his development was further slowed when he got injured during the bowl prep for Tennessee. "But he's got to realize that he's still being viewed as one of the older guys."

How has Phillips functioned in this new environment?

"It's kind of a friendly competition," Phillips ventured. "Everybody seems pretty close and they (the older guys) have definitely helped me out. Whenever we go through reps, they'll stand in front and walk me through my reads."

Is he starting to feel more comfortable with everything?

"I'm getting closer," he said before spring break. "I don't think there's any way to really feel comfortable about it this early. But that was my goal -- to get here, go through spring practice and get used to it."

Two other mid-term high school grads (offensive lineman Jake Current and tight end Jake Byrne) and a junior college transfer (defensive end Dan Moore) are going through the same challenging transition this spring as Phillips.

And the company helps. "It has been a lot easier adjustment because those other guys came in early, too," Phillips said. "I was kind of worried about it at first. But the four of us have been able to come in together and get used to it."

That bonding was important to UW coach Bret Bielema on a number of different levels.

"The challenge is to make sure they don't get overwhelmed with the situation," Bielema said. "They're (thrown) into a big-time college strength program when they first get here and they're also trying to get their nose into the playbook so they can get an advanced start."

But there was a reality check after the first practice. "They were all wowed by the speed of the game," Bielema said, "and the challenge of understanding exactly the tempo that you need to practice with because it came on them so fast."

There was another consideration for Bielema. "You want to make sure you don't lose a guy in the transition," he said, "and they've all been attached at the hip since day one when they each got here."

Outside of football, Phillips has been adjusting to living at the North Pole. "We probably get about six inches of snow a year back home," he said, marveling at the 100 inches that have fallen on Madison. "And it gets cold in Tennessee. But nothing like it does here."

Phillips was looking forward to spending some time in Kingsport during break. He does not plan on going back for prom, but he will return for his high school graduation. His football education, of course, will resume today.

Mike Lucas  —  3/25/2008 6:51 am