Wisconsin announced on Monday night that running back and 2011 Heisman Trophy finalist Montee Ball will not be participating in the game. Though there's no reason to worry, because his absence has nothing to do with an injury.
Ball just has nothing to prove to his coaching staff.
“When you see him run in practice, you’ll know why he didn’t need the practice of getting hit,” Bret Bielema said in a release. “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.”
It's pretty hard to argue with Bielema's logic here, even if you haven't seen Ball in practice this spring. He's proven over the last few years in Madison that he's pretty good at the whole "being a running back" thing. When you consider how dependent Wisconsin is on its running game during the season, and maybe more so this season with Russell Wilson gone, there really is no point risking an injury to your star offensive player in the spring game.
Sure, you could just put the "DO NOT TOUCH" jersey on Ball during the game, but that would be pretty awkward for a running back. So it's best to just let Ball sit on the sideline and watch rather than risk losing him for the games that actually count.