MIKE LUCAS

Senior Writer Related Content

Varsity Magazine

BY MIKE LUCAS

UWBadgers.com Senior Writer

MADISON, Wis. — Michael Caputo has always taken pride in his ability to read an offense, process the information — formation, down-and-distance, quarterback drop, receiver route — and react to what he's seeing.

The reaction is often predicated on what he has already seen. That's how it went down for the former Wisconsin safety in last Saturday's East-West Shrine Game at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida.

"They had run a play a couple of times already in the game," said Caputo, a starter on the West defense. "And I noticed that every time they ran it, the tight end did the same thing."

The tight end would angle out to the flat and the split receiver to that side of the formation would run a slant. Caputo read the tight end, his first indicator, and then read the quarterback's eyes.

The quarterback was Joel Stave , his UW teammate for five years.

"I drove the slant route," Caputo said, "and I ended up picking the ball off."

It was a bang-bang play and it looked like he might have a pick-six.

"As I started running, I thought that," said Caputo, who had three career interceptions in 53 games at Wisconsin with a long return of 27 yards.

"I started running out of gas at the end. The week of practice kind of got to me a little bit. This guy (Illinois tailback Josh Ferguson) is going to catch me, so I turned around and tried to stiff-arm him.

"I got him off me and then I saw Joel."

During their time together with the Badgers, Caputo recalled intercepting Stave "a couple of times" during scrimmages. "It was just me reading and knowing the play and routes," he said.

Quarterbacks, in non-contact green jerseys, are not expected to make tackles in practice, though. So this was very unique, very fresh — Stave bearing down on Caputo.

"I tried to get some extra yards," said Caputo, returning to his play-by-play. "And Joel did the old fashioned 'take-a-charge' and he let me kind of hit him and he grabbed me and threw me down.

"It was a good play by Joel. For his personal stock, I'm glad that he ran me down. You know what I mean? That's the one positive thing that you can get from that (an interception).

"I'm really glad that Joel tackled me. It shows that he has the same type of mentality that I have. Because if I had thrown that pick, I'd do the same thing and chase the guy down as fast as I could."

Stave's tackle kept Caputo out of the end zone. But his 66-yard return to the East 11 led to a field goal. That Stave and Caputo would be on opposite sides was a roster quirk of the Shrine Game.

"It was weird," Caputo said. "But when I look back on it, throughout all those practices at Wisconsin, I was against Joel every day. It was just like old times really. That's all it came down to."

It was also like old times in the Tropicana Field locker room for Caputo, whose West teammates included two other Badgers: fullback Derek Watt and offensive tackle Tyler Marz .

They had plenty to celebrate. Not only did the West beat the East, 29-9, but Caputo was named the Defensive MVP. He also intercepted a pass from former Iowa/Michigan quarterback Jake Rudock.

"That was special, that was awesome," Caputo said of the award. "I worked really hard all week and tried to show effort and finish plays. I tried to showcase my skills to the scouts."

It was an even bigger deal for Caputo knowing that former UW linebacker O'Brien Schofield was the Defensive MVP of the 2010 East-West Shrine Game.

Schofield, a fourth-round draft choice, has gone on to a six-year career in the National Football League with the Arizona Cardinals, Seattle Seahawks and Atlanta Falcons.

Caputo would love to travel down that path. That's why he took everything so seriously last week in preparation for the all-star game, because he knew that there were a lot of eyes on him.

"There were two or three scouts from each team and I talked to probably about 90 percent of them," he said. "It was a good experience."

Adding to Caputo's enjoyment was the fact that Jerry Glanville was the defensive coordinator for the West team and former UW All-American Tim Krumrie was the D-line coach.

Krumrie, a member of the 2016 College Football Hall of Fame class, has been friends for a long time with the colorful Glanville, a former NFL head coach with the Falcons and Houston Oilers.

Caputo got a hoot out of both bigger-than-life characters.

"I didn't know he was going to be coaching and I was a little surprised, but it was cool talking to him again," he said of Krumrie, who was UW's honorary captain for the Iowa game at Camp Randall.

"He (Glanville) is one of those old-school guys and I pride myself on old-school mentality. That's how I was raised, especially in football. I felt like I got along with him really well."

After the game, Caputo returned to his current base of operations in Phoenix, Arizona, where he has been training at the Fischer Sports Institute since early January.

About 15 players are working out daily at the facility. Among them are a couple of Big Ten defensive backs, Maryland's Sean Davis and Minnesota's Eric Murray, a Milwaukee native.

"I go to the facility at 8 in the morning and I get out of there at about 7 at night," Caputo said. "I train for football and the combine events — the track meet stuff."

The 2016 NFL Scouting Combine will take place in Indianapolis on Feb. 23-29. Caputo has yet to receive an invitation. But he's not obsessing over not yet getting one.

"There's still some time; they give them out until the first week of February," he said. "That would be great if I got one (invitation). But I not worrying about it. I'm just taking it day by day."

Caputo knows that he will get the opportunity to show what he can do — in terms of the standard measurables — during Wisconsin's Pro Day the first week of March.

Whenever he drills, what's the question that Caputo feels like he must answer for the scouts?

"That I'm durable," he said. "I've had some injuries — the injury with my neck and concussion. And that's one of the main things they ask when they talk to guys.

"How long is this investment going to be? Is it a short-term investment? Is it long-term? I want to let the scouts know that it's a long-term investment and that's not going to fade."

Caputo is living by himself in Phoenix, and he likes it that way.

"I've lived by myself for the last two and one-half years (on the UW campus)," he said. "I'm used to it. I prefer it. I like to keep to myself. That's just the way I am."

He loves his daily schedule, too. Football from dawn to dusk.

"That's what is great about what I'm doing now," he said. "I love training and I love the fact that I'm training for something. I really don't have to do much else.

"I'm at the facility all day and I'm not worried about what's going on back in Madison. I'm not worried about what's going on back in Pittsburgh (he's from Imperial, a suburb).

"I'm worried only about what I'm doing here (in Phoenix) and how important it is for my future and how pivotal these moments are the next couple of months. That keeps me pretty focused."

Caputo was initially surprised when he heard that Dave Aranda had left Wisconsin to be the defensive coordinator at LSU. But after he saw the contract figures, he better understood the decision.

"You've got to take care of your family," he said. "That's just the way things are. That's the evolution of coaching. That's how things are done at the business level of college football.

"I'm very happy that he got the job. I'm sure that he's going to flourish there just like he did at Wisconsin. I haven't talked to him yet because I didn't want to bother him. But good for him."

Caputo was struck by some other coaching hires, most notably Rutgers hiring Chris Ash as its head coach and Ash recruiting Bill Busch and Aaron Henry for his coaching staff.

Caputo played with Henry and was coached by both Ash and Busch. Meanwhile, he's confident UW head coach Paul Chryst will find a good replacement for Aranda.

"No question, that's a given," Caputo said. "He's going to find that someone who fits the program the best, whoever that may be. I feel they'll do really well with the guys coming back on D."

After getting his draft evaluation, outside linebacker Vince Biegel is one of the returning starters. Besides impacting the defense, Caputo says Biegel will help himself by getting his degree.

"That's one of the questions a lot of the scouts ask, 'Did you graduate yet?'" Caputo said. "It feels good to say, 'Yes.' It feels good to say, 'I graduated, I finished my college major.'

"It just shows them you will finish what you set your mind to. I think it's important. Maybe it's because I was academically motivated and driven at Wisconsin.

"But I think Vince made the right decision to come back. Your senior year is special. Melvin's (Gordon) situation was different. I could see strategically why he did leave early.

"But for Vince, especially with the guys on the team now, it's going to be a special year again. You can't miss out on that."

That was the Captain still being the Captain. And, yes, Mike Caputo will be missed.