Wisconsin Football 2012: Latest News, Updates and More from Spring Practice

Wisconsin reached the Rose Bowl for the second consecutive season and finished with a solid 11-3 record. This year may be a little more difficult to repeat that same success.

Wisconsin remains a talented team but only returns a total of 11 starters. Running back Montee Ball is the star of this team, but questions at quarterback and the defensive line leave many questions heading into the regular season.

The good news for the Badgers is that there are spring practices to try to answer a few of these questions that this year's team may have. Wisconsin began their practices on March 17 and will prepare for the spring game, which takes place on April 28. It should be another interesting year for the Badgers.

Stay tuned for all of the latest news, updates and more involving your Wisconsin Badgers.

Joel Stave Struggling

With Russell Wilson heading to the NFL, the Badgers are searching for a starting quarterback to lead the way. One of those quarterbacks is Joel Stave, but he didn't look too hot in practice as he was quickly removed from working with the first team offense after an interception.

“It’s a learning moment, but I don’t know if I’m going to say if it’s good. There was something there, a little bit of communication (issues), where he thought the guy was going to be, the read. Offensive coordinator Matt Canada said via jsonline.com "All those things we’ll go in and talk about.”

Quarterback Joe Brennan then stepped in and completed his first four passes for 45 yards.

“There’s mistakes at times, there’s challenging moments at times,” Canada said. “But for the most part we’re doing a pretty good job.”

Montee Ball Will Not Play Spring Game

When watching the Wisconsin Badgers spring game later this weekend, don't be alarmed when you don't see Heisman candidate Montee Ball in the backfield. He won't participate in the spring game, but it has nothing to do with an injury.

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“When you see him run in practice, you'll know why he didn't need the practice of getting hit,” Head coach Bret Bielema said in a release via CBS Sports. “We will in the fall. He'll take some shots in the fall.

But in my six years as head coach, I think there are certain guys that you just realize they're… Montee Ball's the hardest worker, the hardest repper in practice. At this point we don't feel it's necessary to take him to the ground. He's been in there, mixing it up, full go, pass protection, all that stuff. Yeah, just don't need to.

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Ball will likely be the workhorse on the offensive side of the ball once again this season, so likely to avoid injury, he will miss this spring game. He rushed for over 1,900 yards last season and had 39 total touchdowns.

Badgers Land Danny O'Brien

It came down to Vanderbilt, Mississippi and Wisconsin, but eventually transfer quarterback Danny O'Brien made his decision and picked the Badgers, according to ESPN.

"It was close, and it was a very tough decision," O'Brien said.

This is the second season in a row that Wisconsin will likely start a transfer quarterback, as they used Russell Wilson last year. It payed off, as they reached the BCS Rose Bowl.

O'Brien said that success was a big part of his decision, but don't compare him to Wilson, as their games are completely different.

"The fact that he kind of showed that it's possible was big," O'Brien said. "At the same time, I'm a different player."

O'Brien played two years at Maryland and finished with more than 4,000 passing yards and 29 touchdowns, although he's never completed over 57 percent of his passes for a complete season.

Maybe a bit more talent on the offensive side of the ball will improve those numbers.

Head Coach Bret Bielema Talks Practice

The Badgers have completed a few practices already as they prepare for the spring game that takes place on April 28.

Head coach Bret Bielema is extremely impressed with the way his players have performed so far, according to the Wisconsin Athletics website.

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Our first two days of practice were actually kind of a shock to me, just as clean and as efficient as they were. I've always kind of taken a lot of pride in how we practice here, and we get a lot of compliments when we have different people come in, different NFL former coaches, etc., but the way these guys have practiced the first two days has been exceptional.

For as many new coaches as we have out there, different terminology, some different things, this has probably been as good as we've ever had here through the first two days.

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Another key thing to pay attention to in spring practice is the fact that Kyle Costigan and Joe McNamara will switch from the defensive line to the offensive line.

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Twofold. Thought that they from the time we recruited them, Costy was a guy that we brought in fully expecting to play offensive line. I know back when I made the transition, it wasn't very popular with coach (Paul) Chryst and coach (Bob) Bostad.

They wanted to keep Costy there, but I really felt he had a chance to get on the field quicker and was doing a lot of nice things there.

Probably helped us transition now more than ever, because he did become a little bit more fast-twitch and really began to move a lot better than I ever thought he was going to be able to do.

So, Costy, I just wanted to give him an opportunity to get on the field. He was kind of getting buried there with, he was the same age as some of those guys that are playing a lot for us.

And then Joe McNamara, I remember first getting a call from Charlie Partridge, he was on the high school field watching him play offensive line and projected him as a defensive lineman. And we just want to give him that opportunity again, was getting buried on the depth chart a little bit and had an opportunity to join the O-line.

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Updates

This slideshow will continued to be updated with the latest news, quotes, position battles and more throughout spring practice.

Stay tuned for everything involving your Wisconsin Badgers.