Film Room: Wisconsin Badgers' youth movement takes center stage vs. Oregon
Wisconsin lost its sixth-straight game last Saturday in Eugene, but several freshman displayed plenty of promise.
The Wisconsin football team’s injury report ahead of Oregon read like a complicated textbook chapter — long and discouraging.
Yet somehow, the Badgers played one of their most competitive games of the season in Eugene, essentially forcing the Ducks into a rock fight they ultimately didn’t quite have enough firepower to win.
But after reviewing the tape, it’s very evident how Wisconsin kept this game so close; much of it had to do with the stellar performances of a handful of freshmen.
Multiple times after the game, head coach Luke Fickell referenced “the future” in regards to the performance of his youngsters. If this regime somehow remains intact through the worst stretch of football Wisconsin has seen in decades, it’s not hard to envision players like Mason Posa, Cooper Catalano, Gideon Ituka, and more being focal points of future Badger teams.
Below, BadgerNotes.com dives into the film from Oregon, breaking down the performances of several key freshmen:
Redshirt freshman tailback Gideon Ituka was by far and away Wisconsin’s best offensive player against the Ducks. He ran for 85 yards on 21 carries, helping spark the Badgers’ ground game that found some much-needed success.
Two things stood out about Ituka’s running style the most: the first being his vision.
It’s impossible to tell where this run was designed to go without looking at offensive coordinator Jeff Grimes’ play sheet. Regardless, Ituka displays the vision and wherewithal to bounce this handoff to the outside.
It’s a good thing he did, because there’s nothing doing up the middle. Ituka doesn’t waste time dancing around in the backfield. He takes the handoff, immediately sees the lane, and darts through it. That decisive running style is another highly appealing trait the redshirt freshman displayed in Week 9.
Wisconsin’s tailbacks haven’t done a great job this season in terms of creating for themselves. Sure, the run blocking hasn’t been great, but it’s also on the ball-carrier to create his own yards when there are seemingly none to be had. Ituka is really the only back that’s shown that ability for the Badgers this season, save for some brief flashes from Dilin Jones.
The second thing about Ituka’s running style that stood out: power and physicality.
There are a few things to notice about this run. First of all, Ituka’s vision is once again on full display here as he waits for his blocks to develop before hitting a crease. What’s more, notice how he switches the ball from his inside arm to his outside arm as he hits open grass. It’s a minor detail, but it’s also a veteran ball security move by a freshman back who had 11 career carries prior to this game.
But the real thing to note is how Ituka disposes of star Ducks’ safety Dillon Thienemen (#31) with a stiff arm before he’s forced out of bounds. The tailback has a penchant for angry, physical runs, as Thienemen found out the hard way.
The following is another nice Ituka run, but keep an eye on another freshman, right tackle Emerson Mandell (#75).
Ituka is essentially running behind Mandell here as his lead blocker. And while the linebacker he’s supposed to block, Bryce Boettcher, ultimately sheds Mandell and makes the tackle, it’s fair to wonder if Ituka would still be running had Mandell held his block.
This isn’t the worst rep from Mandell, as he gets to the second level and — at least momentarily — blocks Oregon’s star inside backer. However, he’s got to hold that block for a few seconds longer to really spring Ituka on this run.
Mandell should only improve as he develops physically and mentally in the trenches of the Big Ten, and the same goes for Ituka. With the tailback and some of these young linemen, there are some building blocks for the ground game of the future.
The next play was the lone opportunity for a true freshman that I believe deserves way more looks than he’s getting: