Lucas: Count Brinkley among the bright spots of UW's injury-laden spring
University of Wisconsin cornerback Niles Brinkley is well-versed on the topic of injuries, the topic du jour, almost every jour this spring. During Saturday's intrasquad game at Camp Randall Stadium, the 21-year-old Brinkley picked off a Scott Tolzien pass and returned it 25 yards. Injuries to two starters in the secondary, Allen Langford and Aaron Henry, both of whom are recovering from ACL knee surgery, have created an opening for Brinkley, a converted receiver. "I see it as a great opportunity," he said.
Given the uncertainty surrounding Langford's and Henry's recovery windows, and the loss of the defense's top cover corner (Jack Ikegwuonu, who has declared for the NFL draft) and a reliable swingman (Ben Strickland, a departing senior), Brinkley is hoping that he showed enough during spring drills to play himself into the defensive backfield rotation for next season. "I feel like I proved they can trust me," Brinkley said of the UW coaches. "But I'm not saying like I felt I took over a spot because I know that I still have to compete in the fall."
It should be quite competitive on the corner, too, assuming Langford and Henry return to full strength. The mix might include Brinkley, Mario Goins, Otis Merrill, Josh Nettles, Prince Moody and any number of incoming freshmen, such as Marcus Cromartie, Devin Smith and Antonio Fenelus. Some could make the transition to safety. There's also the prospect of natural attrition, for one reason or another, balancing the numbers at any one position. "We've had a lot of guys get opportunities this spring," said Wisconsin coach Bret Bielema. "Some have come farther than others."
Brinkley has traveled a fair distance to get this far after an injury (what else?) limited him to just a handful of games during his senior year at St. Louis' Beaumont High School. The injury to his knee cap, which necessitated arthroscopic surgery, nearly cost him an opportunity to play big-time college football. "I was hurt near the end of my junior year," Brinkley recalled, "and a lot of (college) recruiters dropped off after they heard I had surgery. I hoped to have a real big senior year but the injury affected it a lot. And it was a little frustrating because I didn't know where I was going to end up."
Missouri and Kansas had expressed some early interest before dropping Brinkley from their recruiting lists. Ball State, Miami (Ohio) and Alabama State were still viable options. So was Southeast Missouri State. Especially after his high school head coach -- Brinkley's older brother, Lorenzo -- left Beaumont to be an assistant at Southeast Missouri State, a Championship Subdivision program (Division I-AA). Lorenzo Brinkley, who prepped at Hazelwood Central, played for Hall of Fame coach Tom Osborne at Nebraska in the early '90s. "I thought I was going to be at a I-AA school," Niles Brinkley admitted. "But Wisconsin stayed with me the whole way."
The Badgers recruited Brinkley as an athlete -- someone who could wind up on offense or defense. On the final weekend before the national letter of intent signing day, Brinkley verbally committed, along with Nettles, Tolzien, defensive end Ricky Garner and wideout Diondrae Jenkins, who has since left the program. "I came here with the mind-set of being a receiver," Brinkley recalled. "But when the coaches asked me to move over to corner last spring, I really didn't mind because it was best for the team. And, basically, I wanted to get on the field and see what I could do on that side of the ball."
Addressing his ongoing transition to the secondary, Brinkley said, "It wasn't that much of an adjustment. It wasn't like I was trying to learn the position. I actually knew what I was getting into, and what I was doing. I knew how to turn my body and run. And I knew the motions to go through and all of that. I played corner in high school. But the level of intensity on the college level is different. And I just had to get used to backpedaling again after running forward. This spring, I feel more like a corner. My technique is better, and I'm more comfortable and focused."
Injuries have continued to be the spring focal point, particularly after the most recent setback, defensive end Matt Shaughnessy's broken leg. "I know this much, it's much better to have injuries in the spring rather than the fall," insisted Bielema, who cited an example from last season. "Part of our issues defensively early-on were because we were really banged up during fall camp. Some of our starters weren't getting reps and it's very hard to get better in all of the little things, such as communication, when you don't have that day-to-day feel of being next to each other."
Bielema has put an emphasis on getting better as a defense by being more consistent. "The thing that disappointed me the most last season," he said, "was not being able to count day-in and day-out on the same actions from our players, our coaches and our schemes. I thought there was too much inconsistency. One time, it was this. One time, it was that. Teams that continue to get better -- good teams -- don't repeat mistakes. And we weren't able to do that in any phase of the game last year."
Bielema feels the Badgers have to get improved play at strong safety and midde linebacker. "And our outside linebackers need to be productive," he added. "They weren't necessarily productive at times last year. Our corner play has to be solid, too." And, obviously, the defensive line has to rebound from all the injuries and return intact. "Bottom line," Bielema noted. "You have to apply pressure on the quarterback without bringing pressure and that comes with a four-man pass rush."
There's also the matter of defending spread offenses. "When you create spacing, when you move people farther away from one another," Bielema said, "you put them in one-on-one tackle situations. If you're playing a team with a condensed formation, and you miss a tackle, there's another guy there to knock it down for a three or four-yard gain. In the spread, if you miss a tackle in space, it might be a 15 or 20-yard gain. That is the X-factor." So are the injuries.
"If you expect injuries, then injuries will come," Brinkley cautioned. "I wasn't focused on. 'What if I got injured?' as much as I was focused on competing and becoming a better player this spring." A developing theme for the fall.
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UW cornerback Niles Brinkley
