The 2005 defense could use all the help it can get after losing a majority of its starters from last year and several this year due to injury. That help this year has been provided by Brian Calhoun on offense, and the Badgers' special teams unit. The two standouts for that squad are junior punter Ken DeBauche, fourth in the country in punting average, and senior Zach Hampton, who leads the team with 11 solo tackles.
The dynamic duo has come alive this year with outstanding teamwork and understanding of each other. They go to meetings together, discuss kick placement, and then execute with amazing effectiveness and precision. To give you a sense of how good DeBauche is at punting, consider this: DeBauche has placed seven of his 16 punts inside the 20-yard line, while the opposing kickers have mustered the feat only twice in 29 attempts.
\This is what I expect of myself,"" DeBauche said, having had his career-long punt this past week against Michigan, a 59 yard bomb after the Badgers had been backed up towards their end zone.
For those of you who think special teams is not a big part of football, you are dead wrong. Sure, John Stocco's QB sneak to win the game against Michigan last Saturday was a great play, and he deserves credit, but his 4-yard run would never have been possible without the outstanding play by DeBauche and Hampton. With just over five minutes left in the game, Wisconsin was forced to punt as time was running out and Michigan would once again have the ball.
DeBauche put up a beautiful sky-high kick that went 33 yards before landing in the hands of Michigan's return specialist, Steve Breaston. Breaston barely moved before he was nailed by Zach Hampton on the three yard line, who had been flying down the field as always, ready to pummel anyone who dared to waive his right to a fair catch. Michigan, with such terrible field position, was unable to do anything offensively and was forced to punt, giving Wisconsin perfect field position to carry out the winning drive.
""It's great, I guess you can call him our go-to guy, because it seems like every time he has the chance to make plays, he does,"" DeBauche said of Hampton, who both thrive under pressure. ""I just put the pressure on myself, and so far under pressure I've been doing alright, so I don't mind it at all.""
Hampton, who is primarily a special teams player, plays selflessly and says his tackles at critical points in the game mean a lot to him because it helps the defense. The tackle at the three yard line last week was what he considers to be his biggest tackle to date, and says he had added motivation for two reasons. One because Breaston is threatening Badger Brandon Williams for the Big Ten lead in kick return yardage, and two, because he is gaining on former Badger Jim Leonhard who Hampton was close with last year.
""I'm going to try to make a big hit everytime, but I'm going to take him down no matter what,"" Hampton said, whose tackles remind Badger fans of Scott Starks from a year ago. ""Starks was a great athlete and I'm trying to follow in his mold. He had amazing speed, and I'm not quite as fast, but I'm trying to use my technique and leverage to my advantage.""
So far, the one-two punch of DeBauche and Hampton has given the young Badger defense an immense amount of help and more field to work with. As long as these two are on the field making sure the defense isn't strained, Wisconsin will have another huge advantage over its opponents to add to its growing number of big time players.
