Luke Fickell on preparing to stop Ryan Williams: 'It's a hard look to simulate'

Wisconsin head coach Luke Fickell knows it’s going to be quite the challenge to stop Alabama WR Ryan Williams this weekend. He’s only played one game this year due to injury and it’s unknown if he’ll suit up against the Badgers.

However, the anticipation is Williams is set to return and he’ll try and carve up the Wisconsin defense.

Wisconsin will head to Tuscaloosa 2-0 facing off against the 1-1 Crimson Tide. If the Badgers can contain Williams, should he be out there, they’ll give them a fighting chance!

“It’s a hard look to simulate. Let’s just start there,” Fickell said. “You know, because it’s not like you’ve got a bunch of those guys we can put in there to say, hey, we’re going to simulate the speed. But you know, his versatility. I think the way they move him around is where, even seeing the growth from last year to game one, you know, again, we got to prepare like he’s going to be there. I would assume that he’s going to be there. 

“But also you can put too much of a focus on things like that, too. So I think there’s a balance. It’s not like the other guys are, you know, guys that you don’t have to worry about, or guys you wouldn’t like to some way, somehow double cover or have some in and outs on. So I think you got to be able to do the things that you do, but you got to be aware of, you know, the different things that in particular he brings.”

In last year’s game in Madison, Williams was very young into his freshman year with Alabama. During the 42-10 win, Williams had four catches for 78 yards and a touchdown.

DeBoer was asked a Williams adjacent question during his game week presser. Star freshman Lotzeir Brooks made his debut Saturday with four catches for 58 yards. DeBoer was asked if Brooks’ role will affect where Williams plays.

“I think that’s certainly a really valid question and a thought process that we’re going to continue to go through. Lotty’s built up a lot of momentum. When I say Lotty— Lotzier,” DeBoer said. “Built up a lot of momentum here in the last three or four weeks. He had a nice spring and made some plays on Saturday and so got some confidence in him. Made guys miss, had some big catches on third down. In the first game, he played with some aggression on some special teams plays that we were hoping for, and he came through. 

“As far as how it affects everything, it adds him to the mix, which then moves people around. It doesn’t mean you have to play everyone in the same spot the whole game. I think Germ can play inside and outside. I think Ryan can play inside and outside. We’ve just got to be continually evaluating that throughout the season, and different dynamics will change too that are maybe unknown right now, fortunate or unfortunate. Ryan’s got that versatility. He’s taken a number of snaps inside, but we know what he can do outside, too. He made a lot of nice plays, as we all know, on the outside. I thought Isaiah, Germ, they did some nice things, too. Rico did his thing both inside and outside. We’ve got a lot of versatility with the guys, we’ve just got to continue to hone in on how it all fits together.”