There is good news for Wisconsin football fans this year: the Anthony Davis Show is back and operating at full throttle.
After appearing in just six games last year, senior running back Anthony Davis is healthy and poised to pick up where he left off before a nagging ankle injury disrupted his season last year. Offensive coordinator and running backs coach Brian White knows quite simply what a 100 percent Davis means for this year's Wisconsin football team.
\It means we have one of the best players in college football that will make a major contribution to what we do,"" White said.
And despite any belief to the contrary, what Wisconsin does best is run the football right down opposing teams' throats. Amidst last year's promises of opening up the passing game and becoming more vertical, the Badger offense was never quite the same once Davis went down after amassing more than 400 yards rushing in the first two games of the season.
True, NFL departers wide receiver Lee Evans and quarterback Jim Sorgi both had outstanding years, setting records in the receiving and passing departments, respectively. And both sophomore running back Booker Stanley and junior running back Dwayne Smith picked up the slack in the running game more than adequately, but the ground attack seemed to miss the explosiveness Davis provided.
However, both Evans and Sorgi are gone and with Smith, the Badgers' leader in rushing yards and touchdowns last season, out indefinitely with a heart condition, Davis becomes the primary weapon in this year's Badger attack.
Yet the Badgers will not have to rely solely on Davis to move the football.
The offensive line returns all five starters from last year and has quality depth. The wide receivers, led by juniors Brandon Williams and Jonathan Orr, are probably as deep, if not deeper, than a year ago.
Junior fullback Matt Bernstein is like another lineman and has become one of the best blocking backs in the Big Ten. Not only that, but the two-time letter-winner increased his offensive production last year with a career-high 29 carries for 120 yards.
""I would be very disappointed if we couldn't run the football. I think we have the best fullback-tailback tandem in the country,"" Head Coach Barry Alvarez said. ""I think when you run the football you can dictate the game. However, I don't want to be one-dimensional, so I don't think you'll see a Ron Dayne team.""
Stanley and his 523 yards and five touchdowns from last year provide a seasoned back up for Davis, who understands that all these components not only provide inexperienced sophomore quarterback John Stocco with a nice support net, but the entire offense as well.
""I don't think with the offense we have, the many veterans we have, there's no way all the pressure should be on [Stocco],"" Davis said. ""We've got enough guys on our team, we've got enough talent at the skill positions where everybody can carry the load for this team.""
The majority of the load will be carried by the running attack, like so many Badger teams of past.
Despite failing to produce a 1,000-yard rusher for the first time in more than a decade, some overlook the fact that Davis, Smith and Stanley accounted for a combined 2,062 rushing yards and 21 touchdowns last year. White knows Stocco will need a strong running game while he gets his feet wet as a starter.
""When you can run the ball effectively, it certainly takes a lot of pressure off a first year quarterback,"" White said. ""We have a lot of experienced players coming back in those areas and not just experienced, but talented. So we've never been ashamed to proclaim that we will run the football, and that's something we've used as a trademark for this program. And that's not going to change this year. At the same time, we feel very good about the skilled athletes that we have in other positions will be able to allow us to be a complete, diversified offense.""
So as Stocco gets accustomed to game situations, look for opposing defenses, especially those first few non-conference games, to get a heavy dose of Anthony Davis and Co. As for Davis, he does not think too much about how many carries he will get in a game.
""You can give it to me 100 times if you want to,"" Davis said. ""I mean, you could give it to me twice. I'll take whatever I get and make the best of it.""
Good news Badger fans: His best is pretty darn good.
