Minnesota football coach Tim Brewster and his team boarded a bus Sunday bound for Collegeville, Minn., where the Gophers are spending their preseason camp practicing at St. John's University.

Northwestern coach Pat Fitzgerald and his team will board a bus Friday bound for Kenosha, where the Wildcats will spend part of their preseason camp practicing at Carthage College.

The preseason base for the University of Wisconsin football team is a short drive for coach Bret Bielema. It's a short walk for most of his players.

It is, in Bielema's mind, a perfect setting for several reasons.

"Just basically because we've got some of the best facilities in the country," he said, pointing out perhaps the most important one.

This is the third season the Badgers are staying home for their preseason camp. Previously, they camped at the Bishop O 'Connor Center on Madison's far west side, but that marriage ended in part so the UW could save some money.

There are other advantages to being on campus. NCAA rules now prevent teams from scheduling two-a-day practices on back-to-back days, creating more time off the practice field. Instead of being in foreign territory, the UW players can spend that time in familiar settings at Camp Randall.

And when they're done with football for the day, the Badgers can head home. For the incoming freshmen, that means their temporary residences at The Regent Apartments.

"You used to be able to jump right into two-a-days, and you kind of wanted to get away," Bielema said. "Now, you're only allowed one two-a-day and then the next day has to be a single (practice). So the time constraints they put on you, if you're abiding by the rules, you don't have (the players) that much.

"I'd much rather have them sleep in their own bed in the air conditioning and let them kind of feel the comfort of home."

"Bottom line, when we're in season, we're not going to be off at camp, and that's the part that I like is there's no transition issues. "

You could argue that getting away from campus, like Northwestern and Minnesota are doing, would help minimize distractions. Bielema sees it from a different angle.

"You always have distractions," he said. "What I think it does, it minimizes distractions because they 're consistent. They're dressing in the same locker room they're going to dress in for every practice and every home game. They get the same locker room, they're in the same meeting room and everything hopefully just kind of carries forward."

Time for freshmen: The last period of Tuesday's practice was devoted to the newest Badgers. It was a chance for the true freshmen and redshirt freshmen to get some valuable reps in a comfortable setting.

One player who took advantage of the opportunity was Nick Toon, a wide receiver from Middleton. Toon made a spectacular one-handed grab on a pass over the middle from quarterback James Stallons.

"We feel that there's guys that show up during those periods who are a little bit at ease because they're going against guys at the same age level, maybe the same ability right now," Bielema said. "So we really felt that that last part of practice was important for us to see who could come out as freshmen, and a couple guys made plays."

Graham shines: Garrett Graham won't be stealing the starting tight end position from Travis Beckum anytime soon. But Graham has done enough to make Bielema get excited about the possibility of the two getting on the field at the same time.

While the 6-foot-4, 227-pound Graham isn't as fast as Beckum, he's athletic enough to create matchup problems for opposing defenses. The development of Graham, a third-year sophomore from Brick, N.J., adds to an already deep position that includes Beckum, co-starter Andy Crooks and backup Mickey Turner. Crooks and Turner are more of the blocker/receiver type, while Beckum and Graham can stretch the field in the passing game.

"He's what I think our program player is," Bielema said of Graham. "He's a guy that has really developed his body, has really bought into what we're trying to do -- not only on the football field, but with (strength and conditioning coach) John Dettman in the weight room.

"He makes some pretty athletic plays, and the part I like about him is he gives us another X-factor. We all know what Travis can do, and we all know our opponents know what Travis can do. But if you can get another guy in there with some type of similar athleticism and couple him on different sides with Travis, it's a unique advantage."

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