Wisconsin Football: Three superlatives from week one

Scott Nelson’s Eye for the Ball

Yes, everyone knows the Wisconsin defense is young in the secondary. Jim Leonhard knows it, the media knows it, and opponents do too. But that didn’t stop redshirt freshman Scott Nelson from putting on a particularly impressive display in his first career start in front of a raucous home crowd.

If you’ve followed the Badgers during the pre-season, you probably became familiar with Leonhard and Nelson’s defensive teammates raving about his eye for the ball and that skill was ever-present on Friday night. In fact, he should have even had a nifty interception in the first quarter as he undercut a tight end route over the middle. I have a feeling he won’t miss on the next opportunity. Nelson was great in coverage for all but one glaring play, where he missed a read on a deep WKU throw to start the 3rd quarter which led to the Hilltoppers’ only 3 points.

But it wasn’t just the coverage skills that impressed. Nelson also showcased that he can be a solid tackler and in-the-box safety who can be equal parts effective against the run and pass. His stats backed this up as he finished tied for the lead with 7 tackles, 5 of them being solo and one being a tackle for a loss.