Bret Bielema Media Day Press Conference Notebook

-They did some light lifting and soft tissue recovery this morning, but otherwise the players were off today as they will be every Sunday in camp. The team has two weeks left without any classes.

-Gionvanni LaFrance (hand injury) will be the first linebacker to join them should they have an injury at the position. He had a great summer academically and on the football field, so it had nothing to do with anything but the hand injury.

-Luke Rossi has injured his hamstring and will miss the majority of this week and into next week. They have replaced him with Tory Allison, a former walk-on quarterback who is now at wide receiver.

-Bielema said he knows this team and this roster better than any group he’s had before. He knows their positives and their ‘flees,’ he said. He took his 11 seniors on the Hog Council (two players at each position as voted on by the team), and he had them draft 10-man teams based on one overriding factor, and that was accountability. That includes when players are on time, being on first or second team and being on special teams as well as other factors.

-No walk-ons have yet been rewarded a scholarship. They finished classes on Friday, and he gets the full academic report Wednesday, and that will factor into it. It could also depend on whether or not Ke’Tyrus Marks (name not mentioned by Bielema) transferring out or not as a graduate transfer.

-Blowing up stinks (Hayden Fry). Bielema said the problems a new coach often encounters is not uncovering hidden problems, which he calls landmines…his mentor Hayden Fry called it ‘blowing up stinks.’

-Bielema said “If you’re a football player who believes tomorrow is going to be harder because we’re putting on pads, you’re in the wrong program.”

-Bielema said Jake Raulerson worked at center the first day, guard the second day and both the third. He said Jalen Merick had a really nice close to the summer and could play guard or tackle.

-Bielema said junior college transfer Britto Tutt is looking good and has really good feet. He said D.J. Dean hasn’t said much in camp, and he’s waiting for that voice to come back out (he talks a lot). He said he is looking really good physical after offseason toe surgery.

-Bielema said Keon Hatcher is trying to find himself a little bit without Brandon Allen and friend Jonathan Williams. He has looked 100 percent, Bielema said. He said that smile has come back in practice and he has flashed a couple of times to him.

-They will do kicking periods and six periods of fundamental work for the younger players during two-a-day work in the evening. Bielema said last year they did two-a-days, it was just all focused on kicking.

-“Last year we stubbed our toe early,” Bielema said. “Last year the three most penalized games we had last year all kind of came in a row with Toledo, Texas Tech and Texas A&M (all losses).” –The players have really talked about starting fast. He said every time he reads anything about the older players, he always sees a quote about them talking about starting fast.

-Bielema said Hjalte Froholdt, through practice No. 18 at left guard, made a really nice block against a veteran player. He really likes the progress of Froholdt. He thinks Colton Jackson brings consistency and is hungry to have success. He also has players pushing him.

-They are working some of the other freshmen at fullback as well as the F tight end. He has also asked Josh Williams to consider looking at fullback. He said Williams wanted to spend the first week at linebacker. Chris Jones is not part of the 105 but should be able to pop right in since they get two weeks before the first game to have all 120 practicing this year rather than just one week.

-Bielema said Frank Ragnow runs with the tight ends and skill players during conditioning. Some of his best friends on the team are skill players, which is a little different than with most offensive linemen.

-Bielema said there should be anywhere from 5 to 15 freshmen who play. He said Dwayne Eugene had an incredible summer and never redshirted, and he wonders how much better he might be down the road had he redshirted as a freshman, so that’s his thinking when he’s looking at some of the young linebackers. It’s not all about whether or not a freshman can play, it’s how well they handle the mental side of it and the transition to college ball.

-Bielema said Rafe Peavey threw the ball really well Saturday, and his attention to detail is really high. He said he knows he wants to be successful. Ty Storey has been a student of the game – competitive nature, spirit, all that stuff. He just needs to throw the ball more, he said, and improve his touch and velocity. Ricky Town has been the “Tale of Two Cities.” He understands what is expected of him and throws a nice ball but probably tries to ‘predetermine’ too much. He said other thank Cole Kelley stands out 6-7, 260. He said he has a ‘following’ on the team. He said he has a tendency to strong arm the ball and doesn’t always use his feet the way he should.

-Regarding kick return, Bielema said he has great choices. Yesterday they had Dominique Reed but lost Alex Collins. He said Jared Cornelius, Damon Mitchell, D.J. Dean, Jared Collins, T.J. Hammonds, Drew Morgan (possibly in the off position). He said “The good news is we have options.”

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