Lucas at Large: Difference-maker for the D-line? Trust.
November 27, 2019 | Football, Mike Lucas, Varsity Magazine
No shortage of motivation among Badgers’ defensive linemen heading to Minnesota
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BY MIKE LUCAS
UWBadgers.com Senior Writer
MADISON, Wis. — Whenever one word came up in separate conversations with defensive linemen Isaiahh Loudermilk, Garrett Rand and Matt Henningsen, they each pounced on the word like it was a fumble on the ground or a deflected pass in the air. The word? Trust.
"Trust means a lot, especially in this game," said the 6-foot-7, 293-pound Loudermilk. "If you line up and you're not so sure if the guy next to you can do his job, you might overcompensate and try to do a little more and sometimes when you do that, you'll mess up.
"As a defense, I fully trust the guys behind me, and I fully trust any D-lineman we put out there. Having that trust as a team definitely means a lot, especially when it comes down to big situations in a game and you have to trust everyone out there to do their job."
Trust can impact performance and effort.
"We're always able to go all out because we've got guys next to us that we can trust," said the 6-3, 286-pound Henningsen, who reiterated and personalized the overall defensive mantra, "There's no doubt in my mind that the guy next to me is going to get the job done."
Steady as we go. #OnWisconsin
— Wisconsin Football (@BadgerFootball) November 26, 2019
Rand, who's more reticent than the others, expanded the theme ever so slightly, "If you've got the trust and then you believe … you just do your job the best that you can so the other guys can do theirs … if I'm trying to do more than my job sometimes, it will eventually not go out as planned."
Beyond the belief in each other, there's the belief in the coaching, the belief in the plan, the belief in the rotation. The Badgers have been fresher and more productive at defensive end by rotating three linemen over two spots, a tactic embraced by Loudermilk, Rand and Henningsen.
It was all made possible, too, by Rand's return from injury that sidelined him in 2018.
"It's awesome having him back," Henningsen said. "We have the three-man rotation where none of us ever needs to get tired. It takes some unselfishness to know that when you're tired, you should come out because you know that you can trust the guys behind you."
That word again. "Coach trusts everyone that he puts in there," Loudermilk said.
Wisconsin defensive line coach Inoke Breckterfield's trust has extended to a 315-pound nose guard, Keeanu Benton; a true freshman from Janesville (Wisconsin) Craig. The precocious Benton, a prep wrestler, has filled the void left by sophomore Bryson Williams, who has been limited by injuries this season.
Loudermilk, Rand and Henningsen have the utmost trust in Benton.
"The whole team, the whole defense has been impressed with what he has been able to do," Loudermilk said. "That's a spot, the nose guard spot, where you have to have someone who can anchor down in there and win the one-on-ones. And he has done that for us."
Benton had a season-high three tackles and a sack at Ohio State. "He has picked up things really fast and he has done a good job of learning on the run," said Rand. "Probably one of the best things that you could have as a freshman is taking the coaching really well."
Henningsen has watched Benton's ongoing education in the trenches which can be an unforgiving place for someone so inexperienced. "He came in as a big, athletic kid without much football knowledge or technique," he said, "and it's pretty cool seeing him progress the way he has."
The mesh of these disparate souls — Loudermilk, Rand and Henningsen — has been intriguing based on their contrasting narratives. And they each know for the Badgers to slow down Minnesota's multi-faceted offense, a blend of the run and pass, it will have to start on the line of scrimmage.
Loudermilk is from Howard, Kansas (Pop: 602) where he played eight-man football while coming up through the ranks of the West Elk schools (serving 363 students in grades pre-kindergarten through 12). Wichita is 60 miles away and the nearest city to Howard with a population of at least 50,000.
By sharp contrast, Rand is from the desert; Chandler, Arizona, a suburb of Phoenix whose greater metro area is approaching five million people. Rand graduated from the largest high school in the state, Hamilton, which has an enrollment over 4,000. Cody Bellinger is one of its famous alums.
Henningsen was a walk-on from suburban Milwaukee and a four-year honor roll student at Menomonee Falls High School (enrollment 1,303 for grades 9-12). He was a two-time team captain in football and the captain of his basketball team as a senior. He now owns a 4.0 grade-point average in electrical engineering.
Now add to this overall mix David Pfaff, a fifth-year senior from Mequon and Homestead High School. Although he has seen little action during his career, he brings some personality to the D-line room that has not gone overlooked and underappreciated by Loudermilk, Rand and Henningsen.
"He's a guy who brings a ton of energy to everything he does," Henningsen said of Pfaff (pronounced Foff). "He's one of those guys that you love to have on the team because he always has a great attitude and he's always to excited to be out there. He just loves the game of football."
"He's definitely one of the leaders on the D-line," said Loudermilk. "He's the kind of guy that is not going to let up one bit. Coach feels comfortable putting him in."
At the end of a recent practice, Rand walked over to an interviewer and Pfaff playfully shouted from a distance to give him some love, or something to the equivalent. "I love Pfaff," said an obliging Rand. "He works hard and he's one of the upperclassmen that makes sure everyone is in line."
A year ago, the Gophers rushed for 201 yards in a lopsided 37-15 victory at Wisconsin. The defensive front looked to be running on fumes late in the season and it was overwhelmed by a huge, aggressive Minnesota offensive line featuring 400-pound right tackle Daniel Faalele.
The ultimate "In Your Face" possession took place in the fourth quarter. Protecting a 23-7 lead, the Gophers burned 9 minutes and 16 seconds off the clock on a 15-play, 55-yard drive that was punctuated by 13 runs and ended with a missed field goal.
The bottom line? It was painful. The Badgers simply couldn't get off the field.
"Minnesota is always a huge game and you hate to lose," Henningsen said. "But looking back on last season, you don't just look back at one game and say, 'This is where our season ended, this is why we had a bad season.' You've got to look back on it as a full season and figure out how to improve."
On losing Paul Bunyan's Axe to Minnesota for the first time since 2003, Loudermilk said, "That was one of the bigger motivations, but we didn't need that to be motivated. This is a real close team compared to last year. Everyone got closer during the offseason, everyone learned more about each other.
"I feel as a D-line now, we have a lot more depth. Everyone took a large step pretty much from last year in terms of their knowledge of the game, how they play it, their physicality, their speed and everything like that. I feel as a unit that we've taken a big step."
Moments after beating Purdue, Loudermilk had already begun focusing on that empty trophy case in the Wisconsin locker room, he had already begun focusing on the Axe.
"We're going to do," he promised, "whatever we can do to get it back."
Trust him.
