Anyway, Potrykus, at the Journal Sentinel gave him a shout yesterday in his Second Look column:
The debate among UW fans regarding UW's tailback rotation too often involves only junior P.J.
Hill and redshirt freshman John Clay.
Sophomore Zach Brown, who seems to do just about everything well, showed his value on UW's last scoring drive.
The Badgers faced third and 5 from their 25 on the third play of the drive. Sherer dropped back to pass and Illinois blitzed two linebackers, Martez Wilson and Brit Miller.
Wilson came up the middle and was picked up by center John Moffitt. Miller looped behind Wilson and came free between Moffitt and left guard Andy Kemp.
Brown, who was lined up slightly off Moffitt's right shoulder, saw Miller's path and slid to his left. Brown lunged at Miller and got enough of him to give Sherer time and a throwing lane to complete a 9-yard pass to tight end Garrett Graham for a first down.
Brown's smarts and his ability to block helped keep alive a drive that ended seven plays later with Sherer hitting David Gilreath for an 8-yard touchdown.
There's more to running back than carrying the ball, and Brown is the Badgers' best in the supporting role. He's also darned good with it (among other things, he reads his blocks):
2008
through Illinois (carries, yards, average):
Hill, P.J.: 134, 613, 4.6
Clay, John: 90, 480, 5.3
Brown,
Zach: 43, 239, 5.6
Also, remember true-frosh Brown in
2007, filling in for an injured PJ:
at Minnesota: 29 for 250, 8.9 ypc
vs. Michigan: 27 for 108, 4.0 ypc
at Ohio State: 20 for 63, 3.2 ypc (not great, but Clay and Hill nowhere to be found)
Edit: Potrykus isn't the only one. Another Badger blogger, over at Camp Lambeau, noticed another key play from Zach this weekend: http://camplambeau.blogspot.com/2008/10/wisconsin-v-illinois-one-moment.html
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