Lucas: One more game with his teammates means the world to Wilder
December 06, 2021 | Football, Mike Lucas, Bowl Central
Senior safety and the Badgers preparing to leave it all on the field against Arizona State in the Las Vegas Bowl
BY MIKE LUCAS
UWBadgers.com Senior Writer
MADISON, Wis. — Looking to inspire through visualization — with an end game of creating more takeaways — UW defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard got into the habit of showing his players cutups of his favorite interceptions from the previous week in college football or the National Football League.
"He pretty much put the cutups together with the interceptions that he liked or that he thought were good plays," said safety Collin Wilder, one of the gritty secondary leaders. "We knew we needed to create some more turnovers and we kind of visualized it through just watching those interceptions."
Seeing is believing … and doing. After picking off just two passes through the first six games, the Badgers had 13 interceptions over the final six weeks of the regular season. Meanwhile, it didn't take long for Wilder to begin noticing a trend on the cutups with one team's personnel in particular.
"You'd see them on the 'Interception Tape of the Week' almost every single week of the season — that's one thing I've noticed for sure throughout the year," said Wilder, who drew a most natural conclusion from what he was viewing on a consistent basis, "They have some pretty dang good defensive backs."
It turns out that Wilder was talking about Wisconsin's opponent in the 2021 Las Vegas Bowl, the Arizona State Sun Devils, whose ball-hawking defense has accounted for 15 interceptions, matching Wisconsin's total. They have returned three for touchdowns, one more than the Badgers.
Three different ASU players — linebacker Merlin Robertson, cornerback Jack Jones and safety DeAndre Pierce — have three interceptions each. Jones had an 87-yard touchdown return in the regular-season finale against Arizona. Wilder and cornerback Caesar Williams each have three picks for Wisconsin.
"It should be a fun matchup," Wilder said. "I'm looking forward to getting back to work."
That the Badgers will be bowling for a 20th straight season was not lost on Wilder.
"This program is based off traditional excellence and that's definitely one clear statistic that proves that excellence and consistency," Wilder said of the UW's active post-season streak, the third-longest in the country behind only Georgia and Oklahoma. "As a Wisconsin Badger, that's a lot to be proud of."
Wilder is no stranger to the Las Vegas Bowl. In 2016, he was a freshman backup at safety and special teams contributor for the University of Houston when the Cougars lost, 34-10, to San Diego State at Sam Boyd Stadium, where the bowl was staged before relocating to Allegiant Stadium.
What he remembered most from the game was the Aztecs' depth at tailback with Donnel Pumphrey and Rashaad Penny, a 2018 first-round pick. Not only was Pumphrey named MVP after running for 115 yards, but he broke the NCAA career rushing mark in his final collegiate appearance.
That mark, incidentally, is still under dispute, especially in the Big Ten, since Pumphrey ended up with 6,405 yards, well short of Ron Dayne's 7,125 yards at Wisconsin. The NCAA, however, has refused to acknowledge any postseason yardage prior to the 2002 season, shortchanging Dayne and others.
What is indisputable is Wilder's recollection of his first bowl trip. It still resonates today.
"I had a great time even as a freshman and there's been a bit of a change since then with the new stadium and Power 5 teams," he said of the Vegas Bowl's tie-in with the Pac-12 and Big Ten/SEC in alternating years. "It should be a great place to make some great memories with the guys on our team.
"Part of the bowl game is the bowl experience with your teammates. I think we're all ready to get back into the routine. I've got to put it into perspective for me and these seniors. This is the last time preparing for a game in a Wisconsin uniform, so we have to truly take it all in and empty the tank."
The low fuel light may have gone on for the Badgers during a 23-13 loss at Minnesota which snapped a seven-game winning streak and sent Iowa to the Big Ten Championship in Indianapolis.
On Saturday night, Wilder watched the title game with his roommate, Scott Nelson.
"It was tough to watch to say the least," he said. "When you hear them talking about Iowa and Michigan, you're like, 'I wish they were talking about us right now.' You pretty much use that entire time to reflect on what could have been. It's tough, but it's something that you can't change."
Considering the UW's bye came after the second game of the season in mid-September, Wilder conceded, "We were banged up. But this team is very resilient. We would have been able to push through for one more week and find a way (against the Wolverines in Indy).
"Once we were able to get some fresh air — Coach (Paul) Chryst gave us the week off and also the chance to get in the weight room for two lifts — the guys have been able to get their bodies back. But they would have much rather been putting their bodies through one more week than resting."
Asked about a potential energy drain against the Gophers, he said, "It did feel like Minnesota was in control, especially in the second half, and we couldn't grab the reins and take the momentum back. We just couldn't do it. That is football. That is part of it sometimes.
"There are no excuses. There were tough circumstances. But we just needed to play better and we didn't. We didn't in the big moment …. The ending of this season so far has been deflating. There's no way around it. But the message needs to be that this team still loves each other.
"It's still the closest team that we've all been on since we've been here. What we need to do is finish strong for each other. This bowl game is a game of pride because obviously this wasn't the goal that we had. But these are the cards that we were dealt.
"You don't want to be looking back on this in 20 years and be saying, 'Man, I wish I chose to have more fun with these guys in my last time playing with this group.' You want to be looking back and thinking, 'You gave all you had and you enjoyed every single bit of the moments you had together.'
"I was talking with a lot of the guys after the Minnesota game and just giving them a hug and I was telling them, 'I'm thankful that I've got one more game with you.' We have to go out strong with the pride that we're still the best defense in the country. We have to finish out that way."
Wilder's day was finished after the first snap at Minnesota. After lowering his shoulder and making contact in the head area of Gophers wide receiver Chris Autman-Bell, he drew a flag for targeting and was ejected from the game. The call was confirmed on video review.
"I was in the middle of the field reading the quarterback," he explained of the sequence. "I knew that Minnesota runs a lot of RPOs (Run-Pass Options). They've run a lot against us before. I knew I would have to be smart on where I hit the receiver because I knew those slants were going to come at some point.
"When I saw Tanner Morgan pull the ball, I was like, 'Well, I guess it's happening on the first play.' You're trying to play fast, trying to be physical, it's a bang-bang play. After the game, I probably watched it hundreds of times on Twitter. Every time I turned my phone on, I would look at it.
"It was a very tough pill to swallow. The fact it was the first play, I felt like I was suspended for an entire game, not just a half. That hurt. I tried to be the eyes and ears as much as I could (on the sidelines). I didn't care about myself or whether I got to play. I just wanted to win that game."
All defensive starters were honored by the Big Ten this year ... think that says a lot 😉 #OnWisconsin pic.twitter.com/IIwwqSdWT6
— Wisconsin Football (@BadgerFootball) November 30, 2021
Last week, the Big Ten recognized Leo Chenal as its Butkus-Fitzgerald Linebacker of the Year. The league coaches also selected Jack Sanborn to the first team, Keeanu Benton to the second team, and Matt Henningsen and Williams to the third team. Every starter received at least honorable mention.
"That meant the world," Wilder said. "I'm glad these guys on this defense were able to get the recognition that they deserved. It's really cool to see. It just proves how good this defense really is. It's tough that this team won't be remembered as an elite team. But this defense was extremely elite."
And they get one more game together to prove it.
