New University of Wisconsin defensive line coach Charlie Partridge is hoping the worst of it is over for his players.

Partridge said he's never been in a situation where he had eight injured players, which happened earlier this week, though he's managed to keep a positive attitude.

"It was nice to see (redshirt freshman tackle) Patrick Butrym out there practicing," Partridge said after Saturday's workout.

"That brought us down to seven guys that were injured. He did pretty well, got through practice without any problems. That's a positive."

Another positive has been the recent development of junior Jeff Stehle, who has spent all spring with the No. 1 defense and had another strong day.

"Jeff Stehle is playing as good of football as he's played," UW coach Bret Bielema said. "It's because he's gotten so many reps. It reinforces in the coaches' minds, the more reps they get, the better they become."

That has been one big reason Partridge, who came to UW after five seasons as an assistant at Pittsburgh, has had no problems remaining upbeat through all the injuries.

"The thing I keep coming back to, it's reality, now these kids that are thrust into these positions are going to get better faster than they ever would (without the injuries)," Partridge said.

"However things shake out in the fall, we're going to have a different looking group because of this."

At 6-foot-6 and 298 pounds, Stehle has the size and skills to be a big factor for the Badgers this season. His problem has been keeping his pads low, which is something he's doing with more consistency.

"He's just got to fight to keep his pads down and run his feet through contact," Partridge said.

"He's starting to do those things and he's starting to get in the backfield a little more because of it, which is fun."

Butrym missed the last practice with a bruised shoulder, but was determined to return.

"He lived in the training room to get out here today," Bielema said. "It was important for him to scrimmage. That's what I like about him."

Clay flashes potential

Redshirt running back John Clay sure looks good at times with the football in his arms.

Other times, he looks like a young player with a lot to learn.

That was evident during some extended playing time by Clay during the scrimmage. He had seven carries for about 25 yards on one long drive.

On fourth-and-1, he was hit in the backfield just as he got the ball by redshirt freshman cornerback Chukwuma Offor, but managed to stay on his feet and pick up 6 yards around right end for a first down.

Clay set up the fourth-and-1 with some hard running, breaking a couple of tackles, after catching a short pass on third-and-8.

"I thought it was him kind of in general," offensive coordinator Paul Chryst said of Clay's performance. "He's got some talent. (But) the first zone that we ran he wanted to bounce it outside. ... I thought he did some stuff that we're trying to break and then you also see some reasons why (you say), 'This guy's got some talent.' "

Scrimmage ... sort of

The scrimmage inside Camp Randall Stadium was shortened because of all the injuries this spring. The ones and twos went against each other in red-zone and goal-line situations, then some of the younger players took over for two drives.

It had been a rough practice for the offense, mostly because it was working on third-and-long situations.

But the No. 1 offense bounced back to score in only two plays from the opponent's 18-yard line. Allan Evridge connected with David Gilreath for a 14-yard completion and P.J. Hill scored standing up on the next play.

The No. 2 offense also scored a touchdown, though it took five plays.

Dustin Sherer had an 8-yard completion to Kyle Jefferson on third-and-7, and tailback Lance Smith made a nice cut inside safety Chris Maragos on a 4-yard scoring run.

"I like the way the offense responded once we went live down there in the red zone," Bielema said. "Two plays and they were in the end zone."