Wisconsin's Paul Chryst understood the distinction in the inquiry ā "Are you where you wanted to be or where you thought you could be at this late stage of spring practice?" ā and appreciated the phrasing given the fluid nature of not only player development, but the evaluation process.
"There has been a lot of good work, productive work," he emphasized without hesitation. "With some of the guys that you wanted to see what their role could be, the picture is starting to become a little more clearer. That's one thing (roles) we've spent a lot of time talking to our team about."
Aside from six early enrollee freshmen and one junior college transfer, Chryst said, "All but those seven guys were here last fall. And, yet, every person's role is going to be different than last year. Now a starter will still be a starter, but what we're asking of him and what he needs to bring is different."
Chryst volunteered examples. One was outside linebacker Garret Dooley, a fifth-year senior.
"He has played a lot of football," he said. "But his role is going to be different."
The other example was offensive lineman Michael Deiter, a redshirt junior.
"He has started every game (27 of 27)," he said. "But his role is different."
Photo: Wisconsin Badgers
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