University of Wisconsin senior linebacker Jaevery McFadden never has to look far for inspiration on the football field.

It usually lines up a couple of feet in front of him.

The way senior defensive end O'Brien Schofield has played in the Badgers' first seven games has been an inspiration to many of his teammates. Coaches always talk about seniors playing their best football and Schofield is the embodiment of that.

It's not just that Schofield is putting up numbers that warrant All-American consideration. He leads the country with 14½ tackles for loss and has had at least 2½ TFLs in four games this season.

As impressive as his production has been, it's the effort and desire Schofield puts forth on every play that resonate most with his teammates.

"I always knew O'Brien had talent, but to see him play at this level, it shocked everybody," McFadden said. "The dude is just coming out of nowhere.

"I always knew what he was going to do this year, but to do it at this level, the type of intensity he's (playing) with right now, I couldn't be more proud, where he came from."

Schofield's journey, which involved a position switch from linebacker and included a couple of years when he was buried on the depth chart, is especially meaningful to McFadden, who followed a similar path.

"He and I went down the same road, pretty much, switching positions," said McFadden, who is from Riviera Beach, Fla., and started out at tight end.

As the Badgers (5-2 overall, 2-2 Big Ten Conference) attempt to halt a two-game slide and finish strong in the second half of conference play starting Saturday against Purdue, Schofield's example is more important than ever, especially to McFadden.

UW will be without redshirt freshman linebacker Mike Taylor, the starter on the strong side who leads the defense in tackles (46) and is third in TFLs (6½). Taylor will miss the rest of the season with a knee injury suffered in UW's last game, against Iowa two weeks ago.

Practice makes perfect

McFadden has been productive, but the defense will need more from him the rest of the way. He is tied for second on the team in tackles with 42, including four TFLs, and is tied for the team lead with two forced fumbles.

After moving back to his more natural position on the weak side (he started last year in the middle), McFadden was pegged as a leading playmaker on defense.

"He's been playing to the field (side) a lot," UW coach Bret Bielema said of the wide side of the defense. "(He) hasn't had as many explosive plays as I thought he was (capable of) at the beginning of the year, but some of those other guys are playing pretty well. Because of the absence of Mike Taylor, he's got to step it up these last five games. I like what I've seen in practice so far."

Because Purdue likes to throw the ball, this game should be big for McFadden, a point Schofield drove home Wednesday before practice.

"That's one thing I told him, 'This is a game for you to get your interceptions, they're passing the ball, I want to see you get a pick,' '' Schofield said. "I said, 'The only way that's going to happen is if you get a pick in practice.' ''

One of the things Schofield has learned during his transformation is the importance of putting maximum effort into practice.

"I tell Jaevery all the time, he's like my brother, but I tell him he's got to work harder in practice," Schofield said. "I say, 'If you work harder in practice, it'll come easier to you in a game. You won't really have to wait around for those plays because you'll see the play develop and you'll be able to go and make it happen.'

"A lot of times, when you wait for plays, they don't come. That's the biggest thing for my turnaround this year is that I've really been able to get my pre-snap keys and figure out what plays are about to come and really anticipate that and put myself in the right position, as well as (the other) guys on the defense doing their jobs."

That's why Schofield was excited to see McFadden come up with an interception on one of the first plays of Wednesday's practice.

"I'm like, 'Yeah, that's what I'm talking about,' '' Schofield said. "He got a big smile. Just to fire up a guy like that, a senior, to motivate him, he was a big player for us last year, he's a big player for us now.

"I know the time is going to come where he's going to be that guy in the game who's making all the plays and we need him to be ready."

Unhappy beginnings

One reason Schofield and McFadden are so close is they both considered transferring early in their careers due to a lack of playing time. They also confided in each other during that stretch.

"We were close buddies during that period of time," McFadden said. "We were going through a lot, the whole position changes, feeling like we could play, but we weren't playing."

Schofield, from Zion, Ill., was the last one to get on the field among a linebacker recruiting class that included Jonathan Casillas, DeAndre Levy, Travis Beckum and Elijah Hodge.

"I'm telling you, it was really hard," Schofield said. "I can't say I just took it with a grain of salt, because I didn't. At times, I was frustrated because I didn't understand why I wasn't on the field. I felt like I was big and athletic."

Like many young players buried on the depth chart, Schofield considered transferring as a redshirt freshman. He never reached the point of contacting another school but said he was "pretty close" to leaving.

"The linebacker depth just showed me I wasn't going to play for a long time," Schofield said. "But transferring would have been a cop-out. I talked to Coach B about it. He said, 'We'll try to move you somewhere else.'

"It was hard work. I had to work and learn the (defensive end) position, gain weight, get stronger. I was only 230 (pounds), going against 300-pound linemen."

McFadden was in the same boat, having moved from tight end to linebacker. He also had a chat with Bielema around the same time.

"We sat down and had a good talk," McFadden said. "I'm very close with Coach B. When he was at Kansas State (co-defensive coordinator), he recruited me. We've got a good connection. He's very close to my family. He told me things were going to be on the upswing for me in the future, just stick with it."

McFadden started getting playing time as a sophomore in 2007, although a dislocated elbow forced him to miss three games. He started at middle linebacker last season and led the team with 84 tackles, despite playing about half of the season with a wrap on his broken hand, which made tackling difficult.

McFadden and Schofield are glad they stuck it out to become key cogs in the defense. That's a message they share frequently with young players.

"They come in here from high school, winning state championships and being the man," McFadden said. "I know how they feel. I try to let them know to stick with it. 'A lot of things aren't going to go your way here. You came up here for a reason, you felt like this was the place for you and it is. Don't doubt yourself.'

"You have to overcome adversity. When you overcome adversity, the rewards and successes in the future are going to be greater, because of what you overcame."

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