The Camp: Brady Collins joins the show, shake up in the 2025 class, EA CFB’s toughest places to play

SquatFest is coming up this Friday. Wisconsin’s Director of Football Strength & Conditioning Brady Collins joined the show to discuss that. He also dives into the strides guys have made this summer, where he’s seen the biggest growth from last year, some of the freaks in the weight room and more. The guys also talk about the de-commitment of CB Rukeem Stroud, landing LB Nicolas Clayton, the EA College Football rankings of toughest places to play and the best Wisconsin games they’ve been to or covered.

1:56 — Shake up in the 2025 recruiting class

13:55 — EA ranks Camp Randall the No. 7 toughest place to play

19:27 — Best games we’ve been to or covered

27:33 — Brady Collins joins the show

yes welcome in we’re back and for anybody not watching on YouTube if you’re listening to this you can watch us on YouTube find us up on the camp YouTube page certainly would appreciate a follow and uh if you want to watch there you certainly can as I said earlier I don’t know that you’re getting anything a ton more except you get to see our reactions to stupid things that we say and usually it’s me saying something stupid and Jesse reacting with the face but there are occasions that I’ll also make a face or two but plenty to get to in the show we’ve got rakem stoud going to UCF instead of Wisconsin we’ve got Nick Clayton committing to Wisconsin it’s the numberers still at 20 for now and as we usually do there will be something that’ll happen in the next day or so it’ll make this not time uh worthy again or no what out of time already what do what do we say well I don’t I don’t appreciate this denigration of the camp podcast because uh maybe we’re a lucky charm for Badgers fans maybe you should look at it that way yeah uh so we we’ll uh we’ll get to that then we also are going to be talking about the best games that we’ve been at environment wise for Wisconsin Jesse since he’s been covering the team since 2011 me since being a fan growing up and then we’ve also maybe a little bit into that Jesse is EA Sports released their their best or their toughest Stadium rankings for the new game that’s going to be coming out in a couple of well like three weeks it’s not too far away and Wisconsin’s in the top 10 camp rand’s in the top 10 have some thoughts on that as well and we’re also going to close the show with a special guest it is Brady Collins Wisconsin’s strength and conditioning coordinator always a good time chatting with him and we’ll get to talk to him about squat Fest which is coming up this Friday and also uh plenty more stuff but I think obviously Jesse we probably uh need to start with what happened earlier this week uh with rakem Stout The Three Star Quarterback out of Florida out of Tampa who announced his commitment to Wisconsin he was one of the 10 guys that announced their his commitment to Wisconsin in the month of June and three weeks later he has flipped his commitment to UCF I know that he is a little bit was a little bit smaller than some of the other Corners that they’ve recruited uh but just pure Corner wise coverage ability it really stood out on tape so I feel like this is uh a little bit of a hit for certainly for Wisconsin well it’s less than ideal but I think this is something we will continue to see not necessarily guys decommitting every year but just Luke fickle and his staff have broadened the reach of where Wisconsin wants to go now obviously Wisconsin has had success with Florida defensive backs under previous staff but just in general and we saw this last year as well if you got a guy who commits and then you’re going to go take other visits and you’re going to start tweeting about other scholarship offers you receive I think L fickle would view it this way I certainly do you are absolutely not committed and really it’s kind of a fight to the Finish when you ultimately do make your decision but if you notice stra did commit initially to Wisconsin coming off that official visit then he started tweeting about some offers that he received Vanderbilt offered and then the UCF one which ultimately proved to be the biggest one because he visited and ended up committing to UCF it’s not I mean it’s a Florida kid staying home obviously that’s something that he wanted to do Wisconsin I think still is in a pretty decent position from a a defensive back perspective I know I mentioned this previously some of those other guys are more safeties that’s how they’re projected jir Scott is a fourstar safety out of Ohio they’ve got Grant Dean they’ve got the Luke Emer kid who they view as an athlete could be a defensive back could be a wide receiver jir Washington is a cornerback from Chicago so maybe they don’t necessarily have as many straightup cornerbacks as they would want because you lost a strad but this stuff is going to happen every year um you can’t prevent somebody from going on future visits I know under previous staffs like they would make a point to say and I’m sure it’s with this group as well don’t commit until you are finalized with your decision if you want to go visit other schools that’s great wait to make your decision but oftentimes we see guys especially who aren’t from Wisconsin haven’t necessarily been around the program they get caught up in the moment uh and we we saw this last year with uh someone who ended up flipping to Illinois if I’m not mistaken another Florida quarterback um and so it’s part of the recruiting game was it Strickland no um I’m blanking on his name yeah it was the one that uh initiated the the tweet from Aaron Henry and um Antonio felis and like dancing around you know get used to it and Antonio finel lost his job after last season so unfortunate for him uh we did not get used to it I I actually liked uh Antonio so that was that was unfortunate but um actually who else was in that was it and then Wisconsin after they beat Illinois it was hannes and I think it might have been Greg SC uh Scruggs that did the same thing so yeah what was his name I need to look it up I thought you were looking it up that’s what I was do I was I was wasting time here Jesse I was I was giving you time to look it up oh man um yeah he didn’t like he lasted like a week though like it was like a week Vernon Woodward V yeah he lasted how long did he last like he lasted like a week yeah yeah and then the next week it was going the other way so if you if you look at the 2024 decommits the the the one that was not expected the Vernon Woodward on that was a kid from Winter Park Florida now the Austin Alexander one was a quarterback they had initially but that was pretty early on I think maybe before first one yeah the first one and so they moved on from him Rob Booker came back to Wisconsin and then camir Prescott was a safety from Philly that um I suppose the wording would be mutually agreed to part ways um but you know this stuff is going to happen every year so took a couple extra minutes longer than it should to throw out the name Vernon Woodward I knew his last name started with a W it’s hard to keep track of all of them sometimes it is and he’s also not at Wisconsin anymore so who really cares is probably the the biggest part of that and it was last year and how many kids do they offer every year how many kids it’s just insane so the fact that didn’t have it on the tip of your tongue is is just fine it allowed me to tell um Antonio felis and Aaron Henry story so we got that uh so he he’s gone there is the possibility though they obviously they still I don’t know how big of a hope they have but they’re still looking at some other Corners obviously Z Gentry is the one that continually that that name keeps on popping up but there’s there are some others as well and we’ll see if they try and add to it but they do have 20 guys that that commitment took them back to 20 they were at 21 uh because of Nick Clayton’s Comm uh commitment over the weekend on Saturday he chose Wisconsin over Florida State and a number I mean a number of other schools but it’s another Edge guide to add to this class he about 65 he listed himself at like 215 but obviously that we can talk to Brady about that uh you know and getting some of these guys you know boled up to be able to play different spots in college but nice addition certainly for Wisconsin yeah I think there’s some debate as to what the heck happened with Florida State he went went on this visit to Tallahassee and was he a take was he not Florida state was looking at some other guys and another guy that I think they thought they were going to get who ended up at Ohio State either way um this is a good win for Wisconsin to get a kid from Gainesville someone who’s got a lot of potential flashes athletically and now they’ve got three outside linebackers with differing skill sets Brendan AES and Samuel ladu the kid from New Jersey so their class is is pretty well filled out at 20 I don’t know whether there’s going to be any more ads obviously there’s a couple who could potentially still be on the board but the fact that they’ve got what is it 10 commits maybe it’s technically nine in June uh with Stroud’s decommitment but they did a ton of work this month which has traditionally been a huge month for the Badgers on the recruiting Trail because you can get these guys up for official visits so really solid at outside linebacker and obviously we’ll have to wait a couple years to find out what they’re trying to build at that position can we expect a another story breaking down all the receipts from uh the first couple of weekends here in June can we to see how much to try and just compare the parents like which parents are drinking more which which parents are are buying those cocktails which you know and what exactly is uh happening inside Camp rent Stadium are they is it was it laser tag again like where uh we need that information Jesse it takes a long time to get that information I think I put that request in a long long time ago for last summer and got them several months later they may have been lost in the shuffle and then my request was found at a lot later date but uh maybe maybe they obviously spent a lot of money on these official visits but as we see the proof is in the pudding and they’ve uh done significant work they have so obviously the other um stuff that’s that’s happening is is squat Fest coming up this Friday we’ll talk about it with Brady Collins but what was your experience with that last last year so I went last year as part of a bigger profile on Brady who is this dude why is he the most significant higher Luke fickle has brought or or one of them I mean Luke said he wouldn’t have taken the job if Brady didn’t come with him obviously they had a lot of success at Cincinnati and it was uh certainly a spectacle I know they released some of that video last year on social media with brillan Allen wearing that big black mask it’s like it’s a party is what it is I think they had they had a DJ from Chicago that they brought up who’s bumping Tunes they had over a 100 LED lights all sorts of colors flashing there were all these f photos uh like printed out photos of Arnold Schwarzenegger and Commando the most masculine photos you can ever Envision I think is basically what what they did uh and it’s just like an hour hour and a half of of the the culmination of what their summer workouts have been because this is the tradition H something they obviously started at at Cincinnati but we continue at Wisconsin it’s the last Friday in June they get this break before the Fourth of July and uh then kind of come back and you’re starting to mentally prepare yourself for preseason practices but it is what it sounds like they do a lot of squats they do a lot of other things I remember they had these uh like punching bags that were on the ground and each of them had a a taped picture of one of the logos of the teams they were going to play that season and of course Brady is the MC and the ring leader to this whole thing he’s pumping everybody up I remember him going in and like elbow dropping the uh punching bag there to try to motivate some guys but that’s just who Brady is and I think it’s just something fun and different that players can look forward to it can be pretty mundane when you just go every day and you lift weights and it’s the same thing and to have one thing that you can look forward to that you will tell your teammates about and probably your kids just because it’s so unusual it’s it’s Unique it’s special it’s fun yeah exactly and I like there are were some people that like this is really stupid I like you have to be unique you have to you have to find ways to motivate kids and it it it seems like they got into it which I think is the only thing that really truly matters like there’s always cynical people cynical fans that be like G really but you’re not in that room you’re not on that team you’re not having to you know you’re not have to be there every single day to work out during the summer you have to cut through the monotony some way and there’s certainly different ways to do it and uh I I I I like this I I like this idea um and again it’s it’s new and obviously it’s not necessarily new overall they were doing it at Cincinnati as well but new at Wisconsin and just a different vibe than certainly what was happening in the weight room prior to their arrival uh last December not even last December December before last so yeah part of it is to create camaraderie through adversity too I mean like I don’t think that a single workout is going to translate to the field the idea is that you build up over time hypothetically it will but I remember the very closing they called it finishers and and I would not want to do this I’m glad I didn’t have to do this when I was a college athlete they were all laying on the floor elbow to elbow and they kind of had interlocked arms uh and they they split it up so it’s like offense and and defense goes separately but uh they had to keep their legs about six inches off the ground and do these fluttering kicks and they were all just like absolutely out of gas but Brady wanted to see who’s going to quit and who’s going to prop his teammate up and show that he is a leader and remember Brady one of the things he said he called on Chim Ray DK he said what’s our thing about finish and Chim Ray said right in the middle of them straining was one and four coach and of course that was the whole offseason Mantra of we went one and four in fourth quarter games and so it’s hard to directly see that it will translate because it didn’t last year on the other hand those are the moments that can build you up as a team and if you do have success you may look back on them and say this was uh at least something that was notable y so that’s coming up Friday and uh you were one of the few media members that got to go last year they uh invited everybody this year so we’ll we’ll see uh we’ll get to see a little bit more of the inside of it in the video and and all that good stuff that’s going to be happening uh early Friday morning with both the offense and then is it the offense first and then the defense right all I know is that it’s really yeah very little yeah a little early for people that need their their beauty sleep so all right before we get into the best games you covered I want to start with the EA thing so the EA Sports they’re releasing their new video game right coming up uh in July 19th July something second or third week of July first time since 2013 obviously very excited about it can’t wait to get my hands in the game all that good stuff and they are doing their rankings week it’s essentially I feel like it’s their um bowl like or their award semi-finalist list not semi-finalist but the preseason candidate Awards like they’re just releasing they’re doing like a full week of it and today’s release was about the toughest places to play in the game and at the top of it was Texas A&M I think there were quite a few people that disagreed with that the only reason I’m bringing it up is because Wisconsin was number seven I know you don’t have a strong opinion on this but when you when you see that what do you think so yes Camp Randle stadium was number seven I would have been surprised if the Badgers weren’t in the top 10 on the other hand it’s large based on the memories you have from long ago um but I also think we haven’t necessarily teen seen a ton of like those Marky games for Wisconsin because the Badgers haven’t been particularly good the last five years and and that may contribute to the perspective of why they should or shouldn’t be in the top 10 but purely for when the environment is good it’s as good as it gets the problem is it’s not like that every game right now it’s not every game like that and really never has been if we’re being completely honest it’s it really never has been it’s been good for big games there just haven’t been a ton of them like Ohio state had a chance to be a big game last year but Wisconsin struggled out of the gate you know in the way that they were playing at the time starting a backup quarterback coming off that miraculous win against Illinois like there were just it felt like it could have been uh a big time game and there are opportunities this year for a big time type of environment but the team matters and I I feel the same way about Texas A&M being at the top like okay if Texas A&M is good sure uh the 12th man and all that good stuff I’m sure it’s extremely tough place to play they haven’t been any good they haven’t been good enough and so like LSU tougher place to play uh a lot of people were upset with Alabama being up there because it is not apparently not an overly tough place to play I guess we’ll find out next year it’s usually the team that is in the stadium and the team in the stadium means as much uh as the stadium right like you have to be a good team if you’re going to be uh have great environments and for the most part Wisconsin has not been a great environment because they haven’t had those Marquee games on their schedule I’m you know just going back trying to think their the last Marquee game on their schedule that that had a great environment I mean I think you could probably sit there and say like 2021 against Penn State in the opener when everyone got to come back from from covid and you were able to be in the stadium for the first time after not getting to go there in 2020 like it was good it was also 11:00 a.m. that’s the other problem I think that rolls into this is how many of their Marquee games in recent years have been early starts they they have been it’s it’s let’s be fair it sucks uh if for for an environment so they have a couple opportunities this year but I just thinking back like Michigan in 2019 was was pretty good obviously had like the uh he did the red and white you know the um the uh stripe out game right so there were opportunities for good environments five years ago and there just haven’t been nearly as many and it’s going to matter if the team’s good you’ll have a chance to have a good environment and I I I don’t think Wisconsin at this point probably should be in the top 10 um I said before we came on I don’t think they should even be in the top 25 maybe that’s a little bit maybe that’s a little bit of hyperbole um but there there are other places that probably deserve to be ahead of Wisconsin at this point I think you’re right though when when it’s on it’s it’s it’s electric but that’s that’s just the way that Wisconsin it’s always been like it’s never always been every single game at a at a FIFA pitch that’s just not how Wisconsin’s ever been so I don’t know do you think it ever can be that like I I guess with the schedule that they have and some of the Marquee opponents that they’re going to have like it’s going to be more consistent or at least the opportunity for more consistency but I I don’t know that it’s ever going to be like that I look at this year and think well if those two games against or and Penn State are in fact in prime time then they will to me be as good as any environment we’ve seen in the last five plus years but but if the team is any good who cares and that’s part of it too is I don’t know how good Wisconsin is going to be at the very least you’ll be seeing a potentially top five top 10 Oregon team top 15 Penn State team and so that contributes to it but I agree with you they always go hand inand some of the most memorable games that we talk about from the last 15 20 years I mean Wisconsin was not just some nobody showing up that was three and six there was actually something that felt like there was on the line so it remains to be seen but I think it can be that way again it’s just that I don’t see from game to game it being consistent because they’re not all big games that’s what makes the big game special is that it doesn’t happen all that often so the good news is if you’re a fan there will be more of those big games because of how hard the schedule will consistently be given the fact that there are so many quality teams in the Big 10 yeah all right let’s let’s let’s get into big games and big environments uh the best games that we’ve covered or attended now obviously you’ve covered them since 2011 so your games are going to be from 2011 until until now I grew up here so I have a lot of experience going to a lot of games I’m going to try to avoid any games after 2011 and I think I’ll probably do a pretty good job because there’s plenty of other games to choose from so but I’ll let you go I’ll let you go what what are some of your best the best games you’ve attended whether it’s the game itself whether it’s the en whatever whatever it’s the moment the meaning of it whatever it is go for it I’m going to guess most people of a certain age will always and forever say the Dane game uh I mean like how could you not but obviously I wasn’t there for that uh in 99 against Iowa I feel like that that’s an all-timer but for me coming in 2011 right in the middle of the season I came the week after Wisconsin pummeled Nebraska so unfortunately I missed the Corn Huskers welcome to the Big 10 moment but there are two games from That season neither of which were at Camp Randle stadium that to me I still remember some of the best games from a what’s at stake perspective and just like the spectacle and the quality of the game the Big 10 championship in 2011 the first Big 10 championship against Michigan State when Russell Wilson threw the pass to jeck Jeff Duckworth that was like and that was an all-timer it was back and forth it was extremely entertaining and obviously Wisconsin won and got to go to the Rose Bowl and and the Rose Bowl that year even though the Badgers didn’t win it was I believe 45 to 38 at the time it was the highest scoring Rose Bowl game against Oregon so those are two that stand out for my first season and it’s it’s funny going through this how many years there are where there was really nothing that was particularly notable from a a really memorable perspective um but I won’t necessarily go through every game because I feel like you should have the opportunity to to name a couple from uh pre 20101 well I mean the the since you didn’t name any other games I’ll go 2014 Nebraska Melvin Gordon 408 right the Northwestern game at the end of 2015 where he had three touchdowns taken off the board J PB caught it the right um so you have you have that you have 2017 the Michigan game in 2017 where they they took care of it 2019 another Michigan game and then yeah then it kind of ends for me uh so I have two others I have two others in in that list uh I would put again quality and like importance matter but like for me the 2017 Big 10 championship game where Wisconsin is sit in the with the chance at Midfield to go to the college football playoff as an undefeated team uh obviously tremendously disappointing from the badger perspective but like what a game and an opportunity and I was on the field in those moments I mean that’s just something I’ll probably remember forever and to me the most underrated game of the last 13 years is the triple overtime win against Purdue and Jonathan Taylor carried the team on his on his back and again one of the luxuries we have of being able to cover the team is that quite often at the the end of those games you could go onto the field and it was pouring rain Taylor scores the game-winning touchdown and I was on the field when his teammates were going up to him and saying man you are bleeping different uh just be able to be in on those conversations and see how remarkable Taylor was I think it’d be remiss if we didn’t include at least one of those Taylor games and like it was an unexpectedly entertaining game yeah Jack Co brought him back couple of ridiculous Danny Davis catches for touchdowns to get that game into overtime and then yeah JT kind of took over you know with 300 300 plus right so yeah those th those are good choices I I I’m shocked that the 2017 Orange Bowl did not somehow make your list of the best games come up best games you’ve ever covered uh what a game they beat Miami and they won the Orange Bowl which is bigger than the Rose Bowl so obviously uh huge congratulations to that 2017 team and and just favorite game that he’s ever been at we got to have our recurring gags on the show and that’s it that was a pretty good game I mean it was fun to watch but uh yeah I guess it would have been more H fun if it was a college football playoff game I mean it certainly would have and who knows if if ke if uh quintes cus doesn’t get hurt against Indiana that year maybe they have a little bit better chance in that 2017 uh title game but they didn’t so uh games from pre 20101 so more of mine and I I’m not going to pretend that I was alive in the 70s or uh remember games in the 80s so I’m it it pretty much starts when Barry Alvarez showed up for me and obviously the 93 Ohio State game stands out Michigan as well for different reasons unfortunately but yeah and then the 94 Rose Bowl it’s the best game I’ve ever been at and the best game that I like I don’t think that there’s ever going to be game that that tops that for me personally as a kid everything that went into it all the stuff the lead up and just it had been so long and so you get that opportunity to win to win a rose bolt just absolutely uh amazing so then I kind of like we skip over the 98 and 99 even though they were really good you already mentioned the Dane game that was a warmer the one of the warmer November games I can ever recall it was like like the it was like in the 60s in Middle like mid November and it was a beautiful day and it was a 2:30 kickoff and so you had a chance to enjoy it and then danne went and did what he did broke the record uh guess what 25th anniversary of him breaking that record uh is is this fall and he still owns the record so he’s got that going for him which is nice the other games that stand out for me that I was actually at I will say shaber to Evans in 2003 Ohio State the first Ohio State game that the Ohio State game that kind of gets over uh looked because we of seven years later when they beat number one Ohio State but you think what that team was on a 20 some odd game winning streak Ohio state was they were coming off a national championship and for them to beat him the way they did after J uh you know uh sorgi gets choked out and for them to find a way to to still win that game with a backup quarterback very very impressive and got to rush the field that night so that was that was fun and then 2010 obviously Ohio State goes down but it’s really the game the next week that even made it even more special that was the Iowa game that we I think we talked about a couple of weeks ago where Monte ball you know comes off the bench in relief of an injured James White and John clay was kind of banged up too and and he kind of started Monte Ball’s ascendency to what he was able to do over the following however many games he played in 11 and 12 to go along with the back half of that 2010 season it was just absolutely uhu absolutely remarkable what he was able to accomplish and and the Big 10 I mean clinching the Big 10 Championship that year they they just beat the absolute heck out of Northwestern put up 70 points on him and then uh if they had played that Rose Bowl the following week they win that Rose Bowl I don’t I and TCU was a very good team but they win that Rose Bowl for me personally well it’s a good thing that doesn’t happen now because everyone would be in the portal even for the rose B uh yeah that Iowa won in 2010 is pretty special obviously predates me being here but my colleague uh who covers Iowa Scott do and I we did a an oral history and we talked to all the major players of that the the fake punt the way that that really changed the trajectory of both programs I mean Wisconsin obviously ascendant afterward went to three straight Rose Bowls and Iowa just could not get to the level that Wisconsin was at um so that was a really great rivalry game that had a lot at stake not just that season but for the future yeah for sure all right let’s uh get on here and move on and we’ll uh talk to Brady Collins Wisconsin’s strength and conditioning coordinator yes we do we welcome in Wisconsin’s strength and conditioning coach it is Brady Collins Brady thanks for jumping on yeah pleasure to be here boys good to see everybody so it is going getting towards here the end of the summer at least for for some people obviously a lot of us still want July and August to to happen but for the older guys going through winter uh summer conditioning it’s getting towards the end here young guys still have a a few more weeks and still uh some other things going on but it’s a big week for you and the program is squat Fest is getting going again your second annual squat Fest Rel lease at Wisconsin is going to be held this Friday you’ve done it other places how did it come about and what is it about yeah it uh you know it all started a couple years ago you know everybody I’ve ever worked for you kind of had you know them lists throughout the year whatever it may be and uh I always knew I wanted to do something that wasn’t like anybody ever worked for I want to do something that was unique to me that was unique to you know what we do and uh you know so it started one year you know I knew we were having um a heavy squat you know Max day um which you you kind of truly never really max out but you know it was a day you were really gonna get after it and uh you know just the whole week I had ideas talking with the staff I’m like let’s let’s make this day like let’s make it different let’s make it you know fun and like you know I used to give funny names to a lot of days like hey this is upper body swo Fest day where we’re not running we’re just going to lift in the weight room all upper and then uh you know so it was a squat day so I was like let’s call it squat Fest and uh you know it started I think it originally with just some caution tape maybe like a uh a strobe light or some type of disco ball like at each Rack or something and then every single year it’s just gotten bigger and bigger and better and uh you know probably the icing on the cake was last year here the the production was unbelievable uh the lighting the just everything so uh you know really looking forward to it this week I know it’s going to be bigger it’s going to be better um and uh you know again it’s it’s it’s not about any of the weight that the guys do which yes it’s impressive to see guys squat you know certain weights and you know in the past it used to be just how heavy can we go and you know this year really challenged myself to really get into you know velocity Based training and really utilizing a little more of the sports science stuff so now guys are still squatting heavyweight but now you’re squatting it for Speed and that’s really the whole intent always is to move weight fast so it’s going to be kind of cool to see um I know the boys are really excited I’m really excited and uh it’s going to be a good one Brady when you got here you had to hit the ground running and probably didn’t have much room to breathe for quite a while you’ve been here about a year and a half now with that perspective what do you think of the most significant things you’ve learned about the players in this program that you didn’t know when you first arrived in Madison yeah I think it’s uh I think it’s their you know their resiliency um their ability to adapt and you know as I say you know it’s not a disrespect to anybody here or any other program but there’s different ways to run a program there’s different ways to train uh your football players and you know I bias but I strongly believe in the way that we do it we’re yes we’re developing your body to be really good at football but we’re also developing your heart and your mind and we do that through our daily consistency the way we coach the way we lead who we are as husband and fathers um you know we we build generally real true relationships with these kids to get them to go to certain points they never thought they could and not just physically but mentally and uh so you know I think a lot of that has to do with you know the dudes in the locker room you know the the leaders that we have that have really stepped up and you know the hunter woolers the Jake chenes the will Pauling and you can keep going but you know why are those guys leaders well yes they’re great players but you peel back the layer yeah they’re great workers too so that entails why they do as well as they do and um just in a much better place right now full year in um you know with just the way that we do things how hard we work how hard it is still to push your mind and your body to do things not individually but together as a team um to win and to compete for championships and that’s ultimately what we’re here to do when we were talking earlier you mentioned some of the speed that is on this team it’s always been a thing for Wisconsin people really get tired of hearing it Wisconsin doesn’t have any speed and it was you know if we’re being fair it was like that for quite some time it doesn’t feel like that’s the case anymore the way that you guys have recruited the way that you guys have worked and also certainly the way that you’ve you’ve brought some of the the transfer guys in what’s uh what’s a speed like looking on this team right now there’s a lot of it let me tell you I think uh we were talking as a staff the other day and even with Coach fit because him and I I’m always sending him the speeds and he’s out there watching he loves that um I think we had 12 to 15 20 plus so 20.2 20.5 mile hour guys we had nine 21 plus and then we had three 22 plus and that was on a day where we really said hey this is you know we’re gonna give you more rest we’re not you know normally big guys are you know 10 yard Sprints and big skill 15 to 20 skill guys 20 to 30 um you know we said we’re gonna give you more rest we’re really trying to hit this top end speed here which again you’re rarely ever going to do in a game unless it’s a long run a long touchdown catch Never by a DB hopefully because they’re probably chasing someone down or it’s an effort play and uh I mean it was it was impressive to see that and then you know not only are they fast and not just white outs and DBS but outside linebackers I mean you had John Pas who’s put on 30 pounds since he got to us in January 250 pounds he ran 20.8 miles per hour like that’s freaky uh Jake Cheney is the same body weight that he was last year 234 but he looks totally different he’s lean he’s faster like his numbers this year don’t even compare to last year Christian Alro is a 21 plus guy um um you know the back end Hunter wer is a great example of a guy a full year in the system who no doubt when you press play let’s be real boys that’s the only speed that matters and nobody plays as hard and fast as him but now he’s got the other measurables to add to that and it was impressive to see him run as fast as he did the other day but um yeah speed helps speed’s a game changer no doubt but it’s still going to be about who’s the toughest and who’s the tightest team and I feel like we’re in a really good position right now in that area as well this is the time of year when reporters and fans don’t get to see what’s happening behind the scenes so I know you laid out a few guys who have uh impressed you uh but I I think it’s something people are interested in are there some other guys that you feel like whether they’re returning players transfers um freshman who are early in Roes who have stood out either for Speed or their strength yes I mean Tyler van djk obviously quarterback everybody always talks about he’s come in and just drastically his body he looks great he’s lean he’s all cut up he’s got veins he’s fast he ran 20 plus mile hour um his intensity his leadership I mean the guys they feed off him Bron lock as another quarterback his body looks totally different he’s faster his confidence um number one for me has to be naer for cream and I say that because naer got to us so late last year coming off an injury and like I mean he looked as skinny as a pencil and he was as skinny as a pencil he was barely 170 and he’s walking around now 190 pushing to get to 195 maybe 200 I don’t know he could hold it cuz he’s 6’3 but he’s so goodl looking right now his his work ethic his leadership I mean he I call him like a serial killer because he’s so locked in I mean he is that’s probably not the right word to say but he’s just so locked in and just you know it’s awesome because his confidence is through the roof and you saw it in the spring like he played so much better because he was bigger he was Stronger he was healthier um but I could keep going yeah there’s a lot of guy I mean you mentioned it we just had the new freshman came in three weeks ago I mean Xavier Lucas ran a 44 flat yeah he’s a track guy but like when you’re 62 and a half 63 already 198 very similar to a certain DB that I had the pleasure of training at my previous stop who’s doing pretty good you’re like oh boy okay this is exciting now can we match all that other stuff um but been really yeah really pleased with a lot of guys I mean you know even the returning guy Daryl Peterson changed his body even more he’s faster he’s leaner um you know a guy that probably doesn’t get as much talked about but he should because he’s one of the freakiest guys I’ve ever seen Austin Brown um back in that safety room um the dline guys have done a great job changing just their mindset their leadership their togetherness as a group no doubt my heart and my love is always with my old linemen I love those big boys they look good they’re they’re tough they’re strong they’re you know coach Blah’s done an unbelievable job with them uh obviously chz you know coming off his injury doing what he’s doing running the speeds that he’s running his you know nobody cares about his bench and squat but I’m telling he is to be you know a season veteran like he is to be in the shape that he’s in you know bodess well for for the Badgers that’s for sure so I could keep going I could give you names with P names but you know even a guy like Rico homman he’s changed his body he’s gotten faster and you know what does that do to him hopefully it gives him more confidence and you know because is he gonna get seven picks again I don’t know I hope so but we all know there’s a shining light on that kid now because of what he did last year and uh hopefully we draw a lot more attention to that because as we all know when your team’s really good you play well you get more attention so you know we’re trying to do that and put put this team in the best position to go compete for championships so I wanted to to talk about all the corners because you you guys have recruited so many tall ones very similar for anybody that has no idea who Brady’s talking about when he’s talking about his previous stop he’s talking about s Gardner one of The Well of if not the top quarterback in the NFL right now who is a bigger body but how do you H how do you decide how to train those guys um how do you decide like how much weight they can handle and still be able to perform at the level they need to on the outside because you have quite a few of them out there uh you know even like you just have quite a few of them out there that are all 62 63 even a even a guy out there that’s 6’4 yeah and a Mario St yeah that’s right um you know it’s always I kind of call it like not a science experience or experiment where like you know you’re mixing all these things but obviously the you know having experience in this field for so long and understanding body types understanding genetics number one right I mean there’s I can make your body look good but I can’t make you grow I wish I could say that you know come in I know when you come in and you’re young I mean our growth plates they’re open from you know 16 to 25 unless you’re like me you just stopped growing in eighth grade which is fine whatever um so I think it’s really about the evolution of how we train our guys how we take them through when they get to us assessing their movements assessing their biomechanics of everything that they do getting their body fat looking at their shoulders looking at their hips looking at their feet looking at their ankles and not just saying okay this guy’s a no lineman he needs to be 315 the prototypical weight like no because you know a great point of that is um you know we got here last year Tanner balini was like I think 290 maybe or like 285 now I get it it’s coming off bull prep or bull practice and a little break then he played all year about 305 heaviest he ever was was 311 you know he put on lean mass um this year Kevin Haywood comes to us he’s 68 69 29 like three pounds now he’s walking around 320 well I didn’t make him grow he’s already that tall but he’s put on lean mass so his body looks better he’s leaner he’s faster he’s stronger um it’s just about working with the kid you know seeing how their genetics and their body adapt to our training to the amount of food that you get to eat working with our nutritionist Sophie putting a great plan together for them individually and and you know also just seeing what they can do when they start to gain that weight because sometimes it could be you know hey coach just doesn’t feel too good my back’s tight or I don’t know I just don’t feel as good okay well if you’re at a pretty healthy weight to play Big Boy Big 10 football then we don’t need to push weight right like you don’t have to have you know the 330 pound o lineman unless you’re 69ine but it’s just about what’s healthy what’s lean what’s durable and ultimately what wins and so um you know it’s really cool because again skinny guys are always nervous about putting on weight because they think they’re going to get slower and it’s like dude just give us three weeks wait till you see how much faster you get you’ve worked with Luke fickle for several years now obviously had a lot of success together what’s the experience been like working together specifically at Wisconsin and the types of conversations you guys have to try and get the Badgers to that Championship level because as you saw it was at Cincinnati it was a process but eventually you guys got there yeah no I think it’s it’s what drives us every single day um very blessed to have an unbelievable relationship with him his family you know extremely honored and just you know privileg all those words don’t even amount to what I owe that man but no it’s it’s it’s motivating it’s what we want like we came here to take this place to those levels we came here to go against the best and we’re GNA build it the right way we’re going to do things the right way and people can talk about all that other stuff out there in the world doesn’t matter it’s still about the locker room it’s still about developing young men to get them to become a team to do things together that’s why football is a greatest sport it can’t be done on one side of the ball can’t be done on all sides of the ball it takes an entire team and uh you know it drives us every single day and yes we’ve gone through you know a similar process at previous places and all that stuff but it’s always different and no doubt we’re always looking for that challenge and every single year it’s a challenge whether you win 10 to 12 games or not the next year it’s GNA still be a challenge so we feed off that and uh you know we’re in a great place right now he’s coaches a great job his plan um with everything that we did you know coming back from the bowl game to the way we trained to our plan into spring and then now summer and then when we come back after this break next week of getting into you know the OTAs of things and then I mean we’ll be here in Camp before you know it boys and then kicking off Friday night let’s go so last uh last spring when their first spring here a lot of the talk or a lot of the motivation I guess within the weight room was about that one and four in fourth quarter games uh the focus this offseason what has been like that rallying cry for you uh this offseason it’s really been I mean all of those things right and it was it was a huge emphasis on us uh last year because you know coming in from the outside at that time that was one of the first things you noticed and I used to do this every single year and I still do is I keep you know in my phone a log of how many points we score in each quarter in every game and I always found that interesting because as we build a program and as you get it huming the way you want it you tend to see that you start to dominate the second half and why is that selfishly it’s because the way you train the way you practice like we’re GNA start fast but then we’re also going to finish you off and uh so obviously you know yeah we preached it a lot we push for it okay we went through a lot of adversity last year which is only going to make us tougher and better this year um yes additions subtractions all those things new coaches it’s all the pot again about the team but uh you know this year it’s it’s the same motto that coach Vick installed the day we got back it’s Hunter be hunted and I use that personally I mean I really do I tell the kids all the time and I I got to tell it finally to the Freshman today because they were kind of feeling themselves after the run and a little tired and you know somebody out there is trying to whoop your ass every single day whether it’s another position whether it’s your own position whether it’s someone at Alabama someone at USC it doesn’t matter therefore or in turn someone out there trying to coach a team better than me and my staff I take that personally because I know that ain’t going to happen and again it’s not because we’re doing this on this day and we’re lifting it this way no it’s it’s why we do it and who we do it with and uh so you know there’s there’s a lot of things that you really emphasize obviously it’s it’s holding each other accountable is huge um you know really you know holding the standard of what we do every single day setting it holding it and not accepting any of the selfishness the softness the LA of anything and again when you have high-end leaders like we do that are really great players and really great workers they control that and you know couldn’t say that last year because you’re starting to learn everybody and you’re seeing you know what makes them tick and but let’s face it you really truly don’t know until you go through a season right until you really play the game and uh so again I know I’m biased but feel a lot better about where we’re at right now as opposed to last year for sure you’ve gotten very creative uh in terms of how you come up with games to create competition in your weight room I know we talked about this last summer but I’m wondering this offseason are there any stories that stand out for uh some fun moments or things you’ve done to push the competition to get these guys ready for the season yeah I mean you know again and a lot of times it’s just silly like even today you know after we did our warm-up you know it was an offensive guy in the defense guys all right you know quick Rock Paper Scissors Shoot boom boom boom and they have no idea what it’s going to be but I’m like all right do you want to start on the med balls first or the chain Sprints and they’re like oh yeah met balls I mean there’s so many other things that we do whether it’s in the weight room hey on this last set it’s you vers him who’s gonna get the most reps uh Hey older guy I’m putting you with this young buck he can’t fail you got to push him to the ne like because it just means more when it’s from them um but I think probably the best thing we did this year was our Memorial Day celebration that was pretty cool um you know we we started and then you know you have that Memorial Day Weekend break and the older guys you know Hunter Waller Cheney all those guys came they like Coach man we’re all here we don’t want a three-day break let’s train and then let’s do something fun I’m like I got you we could do something fun so uh you know we went and uh to Lake manona right there on the on the uh on the banks and we had uh some inflatable competitions going one that was probably the most grueling thing ever was like a 45 yard obstacle course um we had another obstacle course we had a jousting basketball arena we played whiffle ball which was really cool to see but it it really wasn’t whiffle ball you’re playing with a wood bat and a dodgeball so that was fun because the only way you get out you got to throw the guy out and you just got to hit him uh there was cornhole um that new golf game where it’s like you hit bucket Golf and it was just fun because you know we had a good workout earlier in the day and then guys just got to go be kids man like you know just be around each other in a different environment eat together play games and then go enjoy the rest of your day um but there’s always fun creative things no doubt that we’re doing so there’s been this that big conversation earlier this summer about could NFL players play in the NBA could NBA players play in the NFL do you have some guys on your team that think they can play basketball because I saw I’ve seen that there’s a basketball hoop in there was or is in your in your uh wait room and I saw obviously trch was in there dunking at 58 and obviously uh five 5’9 okay uh then there then there’s uh will Pauling was was in there too do you do you have some guys that think they can that was the Zer film from Longo wasn’t it it was took that on what potato did he take that on yeah yeah um yeah you know what’s funny is guys always think they can play hoops man and you know yeah we got a hoop in the wait room it’s for fun I love it just because after like upper body list guys are like shooting and they can like barely shoot it’s fun um but it’s even more freaky after like lower body lifts when guys like that day was TR dunking and you’re like dude you just squatted heavy and ran and all these things like man that just shows you how freak some of these kids are but uh I think I’ve seen a couple guys really shoot really kind of move around a little bit hey if they think they can cool but I have sure as hope you know that they stick to football because they’re pretty good at that too but yeah I don’t I don’t know about the NBA players playing football I’m not too sure about that um yeah I don’t know about that you know they’re they’re they tend to be a little more you know I don’t know what the word would be but you know not soft but just you know he wanted to say soft I I don’t want to you know hurt any basketball fans out there BR you’ve got all those hats uh in your office I know they represent the players that you’ve trained that went on to the NFL how much do you use that if at all as a motivating point for the current guys as a potential path to success do you talk about that at all uh no you know because I think that’s just one I’m not trying to be am guy or anything like that um it definitely takes a village it takes his whole program takes my entire staff as well but they do mean something to me I mean those are like the guys that I’ve trained I mean from day one till their last day and that they were you know handpicked by the NFL I mean I should I should have every hat on there because guys that I’ve trained no matter what no matter where I’ve been you know they’re at every team in the in the NFL but for me it is kind of cool it is kind of you know hopefully when recruits here they do see that too and um you know it’s it is one of those kind of benefits that you know like this year the Colts organization doesn’t unbelievable job they send you you know custom football it says Tanner borini you know coach Brady Collins on there drafted fourth round whatever and it’s like those are those cool moments you know but like I said I I our job is to develop them to be the best football players they can be but no doubt I care about them as men future husbands fathers businessmen whatever it may be when football’s done so I’ll go to the draft with you like I like I did before I’ll I’ll you know hug you up I’ll wear your hat I’ll do whatever it is but hopefully I’m at your wedding or something like that too down the road too Chris Ballard Badger so that’s right got that no surprise why they do things the right way gentlemen right yeah um so I wanted to um ask because Bruce Feldman Jesse’s cooworker at the athletic does like the freaks list right yes if you had a list of guys throughout the time that you’ve been a strength coach every stop you’ve been at who are some of the guys that would be on the top of that list well you gotta help me out with this Jesse because last year I don’t think anybody gave me a heads up on that I used to always get direct like Feldman would hit me up at Cincy because we had a bunch of them um so help me out this year because it it it’s not about anything about us it’s just more notoriety and love for our guys and we have a a ton of freaks on this team um so I want that for them I want them to get that notoriety and be talked about in that L because not only are they freaky in here what really matters they’re freaky on the football field um but you know will pauling’s up there he is Jake Cheney’s up there I mean to do some of the things that that kid can do my god um but obviously you know SAU was up there Alec Pierce Maj Sanders Trey Tucker Tyler Scott I mean just a bunch of guys that I’ve been blessed to work with um you know I don’t even think back in the day but it might have been it might have been like the first year when I was at Mississippi State I mean Dak Prescott yeah and to be a quarterback that big and that’s strong and fast but um but help me out Jesse let’s get some Badgers on there man well I’ll hit him up I don’t know how many he’s gonna put on there but there’s at least two or three every year so I’m gonna get um I think the record we had it since he was like six so I’m gonna give him like third no I’m kidding youn that right you played running back at division three otter Bane Ohio H like how would you rate yourself as a player man let’s see it was a long time ago um I mean I was you know I was like a halfback fullback you know back when they still had fullbacks so I always knew you know I wasn’t going D1 like I had you know D1 walk- on offers and all that stuff and I could have done that um but I loved the game too much and I really was one of those rare birds that at a young age I really knew what I wanted to do in my life like I knew wanted to be around Sports I knew I wanted to be around the weight room you know at first it might have been like athletic training or whatnot and uh so I always kind of knew in the back of my mind all right I’m gonna go play football because I love it I’m gonna do it till I can’t no more and then uh you know I’m obviously getting my degree to do what I want to do after football but uh what kind of player was I I was pretty nasty I was tough as [ __ ] um let’s see I was the probably the heaviest I ever played was like 225 230 maybe um I wasn’t probably going to to blaz you when I was that big but you know I was Shifty I was athletic I was quick um but I was a great teammate and uh I think my senior year I only had maybe 20 or so carries because we had a really good tailb that I was blocking for so if I didn’t get the ball I was just cutting out the end or running into the flat to get a linebacker to chase me while the fast guys ran the other way is there anybody on this Badgers team that you uh you know see yourself right not in terms of talents I know not turn I I know and you’re not gonna put yourself talent-wise up there but just like the type of player that a guy is I mean if you ask me who I it’s it’s Hunter Waller guy that’s just playing for the Love of the Game you know is is one of the boys right like he’s beefing it up with the O lineman he’s with the DBS he’s with the dline he’s with running backs like doesn’t matter who he’s with he’s gonna get the best out of him he’s have he’s gonna have a good time he’s gonna work his butt off he doesn’t care what he puts up numbers wise all that stuff you just know you’re gonna get every ounce of him every single day and you know I I can see myself in that light as far as you know I just You Do It For the Love of the Game all right hey Brady really appreciate your time and uh looking forward to to seeing you guys on Friday at squat Fest and then obviously fall Camp coming up here pretty quickly absolutely gonna be a good one boys appreciate you guys all right appreciate Brady Collins jumping on Good Times with him and I mean I’m I’m anxious to see like what these guys look like the way that he talks about them they’re going to be walking in there like like He-Man with some of like being shredded like they are but um the fact that you have that many guys running over 20 especially your quarterback who we’ve have talked about him being more involved in the Run game especially at his size I think that’s intriguing it’s again abely I don’t know what it’s GNA look like and really it’s going to come down whether he can throw the ball uh at a at a high level whether that offense is going to be exactly where it needs to be but that has to be exciting to I’m sure it’s exciting for fans to hear it’s definitely a good sign is what I was going to say that they seem to be moving in the right direction obviously what you do in the wait room is so important and most of the time we don’t get to see it other than Squad Fest so uh but I’m I’m really looking forward to fall camp and seeing what the product looks like with the the full roster because we did see spring practice but they added a couple transfers obviously they have some very talented freshmen and what will it look like when it starts to come together intriguing intriguing can’t wait Jesse thank you very much thanks Zach all right there he is Jesse Temple from the athletic you’ve been listening to the camp