The unsung heroes of every successful football program, at every level from the NFL to college, to high school, are the players on the scout team and the coaches that make those units run smooth.
At the major college level, the guys running those units are usually the graduate assistants, and that experience provides them invaluable perspective on what it takes to be successful in the coaching profession. For players, many of whom may or may not dress for games, it's an opportunity to prove themselves to the coaching staff.
Wisconsin released a video taking the cameras inside how their scout team prepares to make sure their starting units get the best possible look, and it goes far beyond just mimicking how the week's opponent lines up offensive graduate assistant Al Johnson explains.
"It's not just simply 'They line up this way,' or 'They line up like this and they blitz here,' it is literally trying to get those guys to play that block the exact same way that the other team that we're going to be facing will play it."
Take a look at the full clip below.
“Nobody’s won a game practicing against air"
Week in and week out, the scout team is a big reason why the #Badgers are prepared on Saturday pic.twitter.com/x1tdb6uea2
— Wisconsin Football (@BadgerFootball) November 7, 2017
Wisconsin is sitting at 9-0, the best record in the Big Ten and in the drivers seat of the West division, and will face off against Iowa Saturday at 3:30pm EST.