All it takes is a quick glance at University of Wisconsin receiver Nick Toon to figure out what he did during his redshirt year.

The Middleton High School product arrived at UW last summer weighing about 200 pounds. When spring football practice started Saturday, Toon weighed 220 pounds, which are well-proportioned on his 6-foot-3 frame.

"It feels real good," Toon said of the added weight after Tuesday morning's practice. "I feel real powerful."

He may be a wide receiver, but Toon is an enthusiastic disciple of strength and conditioning coach John Dettmann.

"I think J.D.'s the best in the country," Toon said. "I kind of enjoy lifting weights and that kind of stuff. That's kind of fun for me."

While three UW receivers received playing time last fall as true freshmen — Kyle Jefferson, David Gilreath and Daven Jones — Toon had to wait his turn. He agreed with the decision to redshirt, but that didn't make it any easier.

"I don't think there's any way to prepare for that," he said, calling last season "one of the hardest things I ever had to do."

"I've always been a starter," Toon said. "I've never had to sit out. I've always been playing. To sit out a whole year and watch my teammates play — especially when there were other freshmen at your position playing — that's always hard. I think it'll benefit me in the long run."

Toon is in the running for the "X" receiver, opposite Jefferson, the likely starter at "Z."

UW coach Bret Bielema declared both spots open, but admitted Jefferson has an advantage for one of the positions after finishing third on the team last season with 26 receptions for 412 yards and two touchdowns.

"There really isn't anybody in our program right now that has established himself as an every-down player at the wide receiver position," Bielema said. "There are a lot of good candidates. Guys who jump out at you after the first couple days, Nick Toon is doing some good things, Daven Jones continues to do good things."

For now, Toon, Gilreath, Jones and junior Xavier Harris are working at "X." Because of Toon's impressive size, he also lines up at times at H-back in the slot, which is Travis Beckum's position. Toon also can play the slot, or third, receiver spot.

"The more positions you know, the more ways you can get on the field," Toon said.

Toon ran the 40-yard dash in 4.48 seconds in high school and has shown good ball skills, especially on deep passes.

But his biggest strength figures to be just that — his strength. Because he spent last year on the scout team, he's behind some of the other receivers in his grasp of the offense. Once he picks up the offense's nuances, he will offer another big target to go with the 6-5 Jefferson.

And who fears going over the middle when you're bigger than almost all of the safeties and even some of the smaller linebackers you face?

"I can use my size to move people out of the way, just get my body in position to catch the ball," Toon said.

Toon, the son of former Badgers and NFL receiver Al Toon, is on his way to establishing his own identity at UW. That's another reason the redshirt year was beneficial, to help the younger Toon get acclimated and start to find his own way.

"The hardest thing for me personally is the amount of information you need to hold, especially (having played) Wisconsin high school football," Toon said. "Not to bash on it at all, where I came from, the position was very, very basic. I didn't learn a whole lot about the position in high school.

"I could use my athletic ability to make plays in high school. I didn't have to know nearly as much about the position as now."

Toon was one of three highly ranked freshmen to redshirt, along with offensive tackle Josh Oglesby and running back John Clay. Now, they're looking forward to catching up to the rest of their class members who played last season.

"We all talk, all the freshmen," Toon said. "There are a lot of other freshmen that redshirted. We all made it through it together and talked about it together. All of us are anxious to get on the field."