Andy Kotelnicki excited in his first year as UW-Whitewater's new offensive coordinator

Sitting out in 90-plus degree heat to watch the UW-Whitewater football team go through its paces in training camp is among my favorite tasks involving Warhawk football. One aspect that has “jumped out at me” this summer is the energy that comes from the UWW coaching staff.

Andy Kotelnicki is the Hawks new offensive coordinator following Steve Dinkle leaving the program in the off-season to take an administrative position in the Jefferson (WI) School District.

I had the opportunity to sit down with Coach Kotelnicki following Wednesday afternoon’s practice to get a feel for the Warhawks’ 2013 offense.

It has been a good camp,” Kotelnicki tells Warhawkfootball.com. “We focus on getting one percent better each practice.”

”We’ve got a lot of new faces as coaches, a lot of new faces as players this year,” Kotelnicki said. “We’ve thrown a lot at them mentally over the past couple of weeks and they (players) have handled it pretty well. They continue to improve each practice.”

Kotenicki says there is a lot of energy and the players are focused.
”It’s a blank slate, a blank canvas that allows us to incorporate our impressions – our philosophies onto that canvas every day. Kotelnicki expains. “They have had an open mind to our new ideas. It’s all new to them regardless if we’ve been doing it for 18 years or if it’s a brand new scheme.”


I asked UWW’s new offensive coordinator if the 10,000 at Perkins Stadium for the season opener next week vs. Washington University will notice sweeping changes to the Warhawk’s offense.

”Part of the reason I’m here is because philosophically me and Coach Leipold are very much on the same page with what we believe will be successful moving the football,” Kotelnicki states. “We want to be multiple; we want to make sure our personnel dictate what we do. It you have four receivers on the field doesn’t mean you can’t be a great running team. If you have two tight ends, a fullback and a running back on the field doesn’t mean doesn’t mean you can’t be a great passing team.”

I then asked Coach Kotelnicki if “pound the rock” is still in UW-Whitewater’s offensive vernacular.

Absolutely,” Kotenicki quickly responded. “It was great coming in and working with Steve Dinkle for a semester. I was an outsider at the time and I didn’t fully understand what the mantra was all about. Now I understand. You have to keep swinging the hammer and chip away at that boulder and at some point it will break. It is the Warhawk way!”

Onalaska High School borrows "pound the rock" mantra from UW-Whitewater Football

(In the adjacent photo - Onalaska High School's version of 'the rock' overlooks the Hilltopper's football team's practice field - photo courtesy of Erik Daily, La Crosse Tribune)

For UW-Whitewater football fans, the phrase pound the rock is synonymous with a distinct attitude that is related to Warhawk football. UW-Whitewater’s “pound the rock” mentality was a feature story last fall published on ESPN.com.

“It’s the mental aspect of it,” Joe Hansen, a senior offensive lineman on last year’s UWW football team told ESPN.com. “It’s the attitude you have to have of working hard every play, and when things don’t go your way, you have to keep going and keep going. Eventually if you keep working hard, things are going to happen. You keep pounding the rock, pounding the rock, eventually it’s going to break.”

UW-Whitewater’s “pound the rock” mentality has inspired at least one Western Wisconsin high school football program.

In today’s (Friday, 8/23/13) La Crosse Tribune, John Casper Jr. has penned an article entitled: 'Pound the rock' more than a slogan
At Onalaska High School, it’s not just a T-shirt slogan. It’s not just an offensive philosophy. It’s not just something plastered on the weight room wall or shouted during practice.

It’s a mindset. It’s a guideline. And, tucked away in the corner of the Hilltoppers’ practice field, the metaphor comes to life with an actual rock a few players can take a whack at with a sledgehammer the day before a game.

“It came from UW-Whitewater,” said Tom Yashinsky, who borrowed the tradition when he became Onalaska’s head coach before the 2012 season. “They have a big rock out on the hill that overlooks their field. They pound it every Friday. We wanted something for our own tradition.

“The goal is someday to beat the rock. We’re going to pound it every Thursday. Some day it’s going to break.”
For now, it’s a symbol of the work that needs to be done.

To read Casper’s article CLICK HERE

Listen to Warhawk Football Training Camp Reports on KOOL 106.5 and via Podcast

Warhawk football fans – you can get a daily dose of news out of UW-Whitewater football training camp again this year by tuning on the UW-Whitewater Football Training Camp Report. Tom Pattison’s two-minute reports can be heard daily (Monday-Friday) on KOOL 106.5 in the Whitewater-Fort Atkinson area. The Training Camp Reports air at 7:20 a.m. and 4:20 p.m.

 You can also listen to Pattison’s reports via podcast.  You can click onto the link below and be able to access each and everyone of the 2013 UWW Training Camp Reports.

 Get the latest from Warhawk football training camp via the UW-Whitewater Football Training Camp Report.

 KOOL 106.5 (along with sister station 940 WFAW) has been your “Radio Home For UW-Whitewater Football” for the past 50 years.

 To listen to podcasts of UW-Whitewater Football Training Camp Report CLICK HERE           

UW-Whitewater Football Training Camp is underway

(In the adjacent photo – UWW head coach Lance Leipold holds the 1st team meeting of the preseason – photo courtesy of Warhawk athletics)

It has been a busy first day of training camp for the 2013 UW-Whitewater football team.  Check-in and moving players into dorms took place first as players arrived on campus.

The highlight of day-one was the first team meeting of the preseason. Head coach Lance Leipold explained the policies and procedures of UW-Whitewater football.  Leipold, who enters his seventh season with an NCAA best winning percentage of .929 and 79-6 career record, explained to his team how he wants his team to approach practice.

Senior wide receiver Tyler Huber is back after suffering a season-ending foot injury in UWW’s game two, 7-6 loss to Buffalo State last year.

According to Huber, one of the Hawks’ three captains this season, “I look forward to showing these younger guys ‘the ropes’ and the necessary work ethic we must have in practice every day.  It will be important for us to be high tempo in practice and that is something that we must have.”
Whitewater along with most Division III schools hold a two-week training camp as dictated by NCAA rules.

According to the NCAA Division III Manual, the first official preseason practice may not take place before the date that would allow the maximum of 25 practices before the school's first scheduled intercollegiate game. Colleges calculate the date by counting backwards from the first scheduled game, with each day representing one or two practices as outlined in the NCAA manual. Division III follows the same rules as Divisions I and II regarding a five-day acclimatization period. The NCAA dictates the same regulations for multiple-session practices for Division III as for Division I.

All schools must respect a five-day acclimatization period at the start of the preseason. During this time, athletes may engage in no more than one conditioning, speed, strength or agility test or one on-field practice per day of no more than three hours and one walk-through without gear. There must be a three hour recovery period between practice and a walk-through. During the first two days, only helmets may be worn. On days three and four, helmets and shoulder pads are allowed. From day five onward, full pads are allowed. Multiple practice sessions per day may not occur on consecutive days, and student-athletes must be allowed at least three hours of recovery between sessions. On single-session days, no more than three hours-on field is allowed, and on multiple-session days, no more than five hours on-field is allowed.

The Warhawks will open the season on Saturday, Sept. 7 in a 1 p.m. kickoff at Perkins Stadium.

Paul Plinske named new AD at the Universiy of Nebraska at Kearney

(In the adjacent photo, University of Nebraska at Kearney chancellor Doug Kristensen welcomes Paul Plinkse as UNK's new athletic director by presenting him with his first Loper ware - photo courtesy of UNK Website)

UW-Whitewater athletic director Paul Plinske is heading West. Plinske was named athletic director at Division 2 University of Nebraska at Kearney at a press conference Wednesday.

 UW-Whitewater athletics’ beat writer Josh Smith of the Daily Jefferson County Union filed the first story moments after the 9 a.m. announcement.

 To read the Daily Union article CLICK HERE

 

Matt Blanchard plays well in preseason opener

 (In the adjacent photo - Matt Blanchard faces defensive players in his face much of the night- Photo courtesy of Mike Macarn-Associated Press)

Matt Blanchard played the entire second half in the Chicago Bears 24-17 preseason opening loss at Carolina Friday night.

The former UW-Whitewater quarterback finished the game an impressive 15 of 18 passing for 194 yards with nine of his completions of 10 yards or more.
Blanchard’s longest play of the day occurred early in the fourth quarter, just one play after being sacked for a second time on the drive.  The rookie hooked up on a 58-yard strike to rookie, Marquess Wilson, on a deep dig route before being pushed out of bounds at the four yard line. Chicago scored on the following play.
Blanchard’s 83.3 percent completion rate occurred despite being sacked five times. The Bears’ official training camp Website published a photo gallery of Friday night’s preseason opener.  Blanchard was featured in five photos all of which being sacked or scrambling to avoid a rush.
Matt’s lone interception was returned for a touchdown by Panthers cornerback Josh Norman, the difference in a 24-17 loss. Here’s how Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune describes it.
It wasn't all Blanchard's fault. Tight end Fendi Onobun and wide receiver Devin Aromashodu were running double quick outs. The ball was coming to Onobun, and he pulled his hands down at the last instant, failing to make a play for the ball.

"It was a little miscommunication," Blanchard said. "He's doing one thing and I'm thinking he's doing another. But at the end of the day, I threw the ball and I've got to protect it and do a better job."
While playing well in exhibition opener most Chicago-based stories refer the the “raw nature” of Blanchard’s performance.
The two full quarters of action Friday night was Blanchard’s longest outing in his two years with the Bears. In training camp last year, Matt played in limited action in four of Chicago’s five preseason games including no action in the ’12 preseason finale.

The big question coming out of the preseason opener is what will his effort show coaches on tape and how will

Are you ready for some Perkins Stadium tailgating this season?

High school football teams have already started preseason practice and the UW-Whitewater Warhawks arrive for training camp on August 17. For UWW football fans, your 2013 tailgate season opens on Saturday September 7 when the Warhawks open the season vs. Washington University (MO) at Perkins Stadium.

Your game day at the Perk all starts with the best tailgating atmosphere in Division 3 football!

The majority of the tailgating is done in Lot 24 which is the parking lot immediately adjacent to Perkins Stadium. Starting last year Warhawk fans were able to reserve their tailgate location in the "Perk’s parking lot.

2013 Warhawk Football – Parking/Tailgate Information

General Parking (Lots 7, 9, 11, 18, 19): $5

Preferred Parking (Perkins Stadium Lot 24): $10

Handicap Parking in Preferred Parking (Perkins Stadium Lot 24): $10

Free Parking is available in any other campus lot

Regular Season Preferred Season Parking Pass $60

*Contact Leah Thyne at thynel@uww.edu or (262) 472-1655 for more information about the preferred season parking passes

*All proceeds benefit Warhawk Athletic programming!

To view a detailed map of parking/tailgate spots in Lot 24 CLICK HERE

I look forward to tailgating your at your Warhawk football tailgate location this season!!

Thanks for clicking onto Voices Eye On Football Blog

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