The Badgers kept their deceivingly pristine record intact Sept. 18 as they narrowly escaped Arizona with a victory from a game full of unlikely occurrences. The game saw an 88-minute delay due to a rainstorm over Tucson, a career-high 135 yards by sophomore running back Booker Stanley and a season-low nine points scored in the muddy affair. Despite outlasting the surprise desert storm and capturing the win, the most improbable playmaker of the day was junior tight end Owen Daniels. Wisconsin put its trust and in Daniels' capable hands, and he delivered.
Trailing the Wildcats 7-6 late in the fourth quarter, the Badgers drove into Arizona territory using a steady diet of Stanley and timely completions by sophomore quarterback John Stocco. Facing a 3rd-and-11, UW seemed to have lost its momentum, but turned to Daniels for an answer. Wisconsin threw to him on consecutive plays, the first to set up 4th-and-5, and the second to get the first down and keep the drive alive. Stocco dropped back and threw high, but Daniels made an acrobatic catch, allowing senior kicker Mike Allen to hit the eventual game-winning field goal. His two receptions for 12 yards turned out to be two of the most important touches of the game.
Daniels, a former standout quarterback at Naperville Central High School in Illinois, was originally recruited to play quarterback for the Badgers. Daniels made the transition last year to wide receiver and ultimately to tight end where he will certainly remain. Daniels sees his transition as positive, though not always smooth, as he begins to settle comforably into the Badgers' offensive game plan.
\It has worked out well, but it was kind of tough at first because they moved me to wideout and used me as a threat downfield before I moved to tight end,"" Daniels said. ""Then they started working me into the run game, but that was probably the toughest thing to get used to; having to be more physical and blocking seeing as how light I was. I weighed like 215 at tight end last year.""
Daniels worked around the clock during the off-season to beef up his already imposing frame, putting on 20 pounds and improving his blocking to bolster his value at the tight end position.
""I think I try to occupy the middle of the field and open it up for our receivers on the outside,"" Daniels said. ""I am trying to get worked into the run game a little more so that it's not a dead giveaway that we are going to throw it every time I go in the game.""
""As far as his blocking,"" said Brian White, Badgers offensive coordinator, ""he has to continue to work on fundamentals, and we have to put him in positions to be at the point of attack in game situations when we are running the ball.""
Being a hands-only tight end in a run-first offense such as Wisconsin's is not ideal, but his skill at catching passes has made him indispensable, which White knows as well as anyone.
""He is a very dynamic receiver and he allows us to throw the ball down the field and he opens up a lot of opportunities for other people in the passing game,"" White said.
His coaches and teammates are often reminded of his importance when they look at his flashes of brilliance in the midst of his steady play. There were Daniels' two touchdown catches in the battle for Bunyan's axe last year when he scored from 26 and 27 yards against the Gophers. There was his 52-yard highlight-reel worthy touchdown reception against Central Florida in the season opener when he made a remarkable move to elude a defender and stay on his feet to cross the goal line. Finally, there was last Saturday's heroics at Arizona.
""That catch last week on fourth down was a critical play,"" White said. ""It took just tremendous concentration-it was a big-time play that kept us alive.""
In fact, the Badgers could very well be carrying a loss into this Saturday's game against Penn State were it not for his exceptional grab. Yet Daniels avoids the hype and keeps a relatively low profile on the team.
""I'm not real loud, I don't get too high on things or low on things; I'm on a pretty even keel,"" Daniels says. ""Hopefully my teammates just look at me as someone they can count on in clutch situations.""
Last week's catch certainly came in what would qualify as a clutch situation, and the Badgers will need someone to step up in the same spots in the future...any hands?
