MADISON, Wis. — Ryan Cory may have tasted some game action as a first-year player last season, but he flashed his potential when thrusted into a tough situation inside Bryant-Denny Stadium this past weekend.
Cory played one game last season against Purdue, according to University of Wisconsin football records, but he was pressed into action during the first half of the Badgers’ 38-14 loss at now-No. 14 Alabama on Saturday. Starter Jake Renfro was shaken up after a play, and though backup Kerry Kodanko initially came in thereafter, Cory worked at center for one drive.
“I was excited. You think about these moments in your head, like in the week leading up to it,” Cory said. “And I knew ‘Rennie’ was playing injured. He’s a tough guy, and he's gonna give his all until he can't anymore. And so I knew it’d kind of be a much higher chance this week that I could get in.
“And Jake went down unfortunately, and Kerry went in, and it's crazy. Boom, boom, boom, you're in the game. Like, ‘Alright, let's do it,’ and then just played ball from there. It was a blast.”
Cory may have only seen 10 snaps against Alabama, as Renfro returned to the game, but Wisconsin coach Luke Fickell said Cory “did a good job.”
“We really felt like he played aggressive, he played fast,” Fickell said. There was a lot of learning to be had, but I thought that there was something that showed that maybe we weren't even sure about, and sometimes you find those things out in game situations.
“I know I probably saw it a little bit more last year being down on the scout team, some of the toughness that I had seen from him, and I think it showed a little bit again on Saturday.”
Badger Observer spoke with Cory on Tuesday about the experience at Alabama, along with his practice reps this week as Wisconsin prepares for its conference opener against Maryland on Saturday (11 a.m. CT, NBC). Here’s what was discussed during the nearly six-minute conversation:
