Bielema adds three more assistants to staff

By J.E.  |   Thursday, February 16, 2006  |  Comments( 0 )

Wisconsin Badgers
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Head coach Bret Bielema is still hard at work trying to assemble a solid staff to help him guide the Wisconsin Badgers to victory in his first season at the helm. During the past week, Bielema announced the hiring of three more assistants: Bob Bostad, Earl Lane, and John Settle. All of these men have significant coaching experience and will bring the kind of leadership and expertise that is expected at a prominent football program like Wisconsin.

Bob Bostad has spent the last seven seasons coaching the offensive line at the University of New Mexico. His success can be measured in part by the number of players that earned individual honors while under his watch. In 2005, the Lobos had two offensive linemen named to the all-conference team in the Mountain West Conference, due mainly to the fact that the team was able to average more than 200 rushing yards per game. During Bostad's seven-year tenure, he has had a total of 14 players named to the all-conference team. In addition, Bostad was able to coax improvements out of the offensive line in most major statistical categories, including rushing yards per game, sacks given up, total offense, and scoring.

At Wisconsin, Bostad's focus will shift to the tight end position, meaning he will work primarily with Matt Brown, Garrett Graham, Sean Lewis, Jaevery McFadden, and Dave Peck, as well as new recruits Kirk DeCremer and Mickey Turner.

Earl Lane, the Badgers' new defensive line coach, comes to Wisconsin from the University of South Florida, where he held the same position for the last 10 seasons. Lane helped the USF defense to some outstanding achievements while he was with the team. Two of his squads were ranked among the top five teams in the nation in quarterback sacks, and the 2002 unit finished the season as the seventh-best run defense in the country.

Lane's chief objective at Wisconsin will be to generate similar improvements in the Badgers' defensive line. Wisconsin gave up an average of 167.5 rushing yards per game last season, which ranked 79th in the country, and an average of 432.5 total yards per game. Both of those stats compare unfavorably to Lane's USF squad, which gave up only 144.1 rushing yards and 311.9 total yards per game.

Meanwhile, John Settle has been named the Badgers' running backs coach. Settle, a former NFL running back himself, most recently was an assistant at Fresno State. During his eight years as the Bulldogs' backfield coach, six of his players eclipsed the 1,000-yard mark. Among those six was Rodney Davis, who set a Fresno State school record by rushing for 1,586 yards in 2002. Prior to arriving at Fresno State, Settle enjoyed coaching stints with the Cleveland Browns, Baltimore Ravens, and Appalachian State Mountaineers.

Settle is faced with the task of filling the gaping hole left by the departure of star running back Brian Calhoun. This task is made all the more difficult because the only other back that saw significant playing time for Wisconsin last year, Booker Stanley, has been kicked of the team. On the bright side, Settle will get a chance to develop the talents of incoming freshman Lance Smith, who was ranked the No.14 running back in the country as a high school senior.
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