MADISON – Rain almost dampened Wisconsin’s open practice.
Early evening showers delayed fans’ entry into Camp Randall Stadium on Aug. 18, but they missed little of the Badgers’ practice. Wisconsin conducted its warmups and walk through inside the Kellner Family Athletic Center, but the weather cleared in time for the team to go through 90-minute practice under the lights.
Here are the highlights and takeaways from the Badgers’ 11th fall camp practice.
Big catches for Eugene Hilton, Jacob Harris
Eugene Hilton and Jacob Harris have displayed some of the best hands during camp. Both players showed why Tuesday.
Hilton, who has been UW’s most consistent receiver in camp, made a twisting, over the shoulder catch of a throw from quarterback Colton Joseph.
Harris showed his ability to make a contested grab with his 35-yard catch from Joseph with safety Carson Van Dinter draped over him.
Nick Clayton continues to disrupt
A recurring theme over the past week has been Nick Clayton’s ability to affect play even if he doesn’t get the sack. The sophomore outside linebacker has deflected a handful passes during the last few practices. He got another one on Tuesday, this time managing to get a piece of the ball even though QB Deuce Adams was on the run. Later in the night, Clayton sacked Adams.
Hammond Russell controls the line
For most of the practice, the Badgers No. 1 defense faced the No. 2 offense and vice versa. The second offensive line had few answers for Hammond Russell, who broke through a handful of times for what would have been stops – there were no live tackling – or forcing plays to redirect.
The West Virginia transfer led a solid night for his position group that included sacks by Dillan Johnson, Nolan Vils and Junior Poyser.
Linebacker Aaron Witt’s busy evening, other tidbits
Aaron Witt, who is back at inside linebacker after working at the hybrid linebacker/safety position last season, didn’t create any turnovers but he made a stream of solid plays that included getting contain on an end around by Hilton and a tackle for loss of running back Darrion Dupree.…
Linebacker Taylor Schaefer set the tone for the evening with an interception of Joseph that had pick-6 written all over it. Schaefer also recovered a fumble and made a good read when Joseph dumped the ball to Abu Sama to avoid a sack. Sama made the catch, but only for a short gain.…
During portions of the practice, UW tried a new combination for its second offensive line that featured Barrett Nelson at right tackle and Hardy Watts at right guard. Watts has been working at right tackle with second group. The rest of the second unit remained the same: center Ryan Cory, left guard Nolan Davenport and left tackle Peyton Lange.…
Before the exploits of Hilton and Harris late in practice, the grab of the day belonged to tight end Emmett Bork, who high-pointed a ball from Joseph while going against No. 1 corner Jai’mier Scott.…
Third-string safety Grant Dean intercepted a pass from Danny O’Neil and later broke up a pass from O’Neil to Nizyi Davis.…
This story was updated to correct information.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Russell, Witt fuel defense, plus other takeaways from Wisconsin camp
Reporting by Mark Stewart, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
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By Mark Stewart, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel | USA TODAY Network
