Speed is used literally in that previous sentence. Saturday’s spring practice, the team’s fourth at the McClain Center and the first in full pads, saw the offense moving at its fastest pace yet. The No. 1 offense snapped the ball with at least 28 seconds on the play clock during a 14-play stretch that spanned two of the six 11-on-11 periods of practice.

Who’s injured, not practicing in Wisconsin football’s fourth spring practice

Playing at that tempo caused a few hiccups, but it’s clear new UW coach Luke Fickell and offensive coordinator Phil Longo believe the benefits of playing that fast outweigh any miscues that come along with it in the early stages of spring practices.

It’s also clear the work the duo leading UW’s offense did in the transfer portal this winter will have an impact on the field this fall.

Here are three observations of the offense from practice Saturday.

Transfer receiver CJ Williams, a sophomore who started his career at Southern Cal, was the star of practice with five catches of more than 20 yards, three of which went for more than 30. He was the target of four of deep passes down the sideline from No. 2 quarterback Braedyn Locke, and Williams showed a variety of skills in hauling each of them in.

He got free after cornerback Jonas Duclona slipped when turning to run with him, but Williams’ footwork in pressing up on Duclona as he got going in his route put pressure on the freshman cornerback to have perfect footwork to keep up. Williams caught the ball for a 40-yard touchdown. Williams’ second catch on the sideline saw him use a quick release from the line and find the open space between a cornerback and safety in what appeared to be a Cover-2 defense. Williams leapt high in the air to catch Locke’s pass and brought it down for a big gain.

2 of the best coaches in football were college roommates and remain close friends

Williams authored the highlight play of the day by running past cornerback Avyonne Jones, diving to make a catch of about 35 yards down to the 3-yard line and holding on through hitting the ground. He had another impressive catch when he won a jump ball against freshman cornerback Jace Arnold for another gain of about 30 yards.

Williams’ weakness might be controlling his emotions after a play. He was at the center of a small skirmish during Thursday’s practice and he was flagged by the referees on hand Saturday for taunting Arnold after his play.

The run-pass option is going to be a feature of the new offense under Longo, and the team appeared to use more of those plays during practice Saturday.

Quarterbacks and running backs spend an individual period early in practice drilling the mesh point — the moments when the quarterback has the ball in the back’s midsection and makes a read before deciding whether to hand the ball off or pull it back and throw. What the quarterback reads at the mesh point depends on the play and the routes being run, but typically he’s looking at how the linebackers are reacting to the run action. If the linebackers immediately step up, the passing lane is open. If the linebackers hang back, the quarterback hands the ball off.

Why a Wisconsin football linebacker is studying a lesser-known NFL prospect

Third-team quarterback Nick Evers had an impressive deep pass to receiver Markus Allen down the right sideline after pulling the ball on an RPO, while Locke and top QB Tanner Mordecai made good reads on RPOs for passes over the middle.

Perhaps the most impressive element of transfer receiver Will Pauling’s game is his ability to get to top speed quickly. It’s on display with how often he’s sent in motion and used on swing passes that essentially turn into screens on the edge. He’s running at the snap of the ball and at top speed by the time the pass arrives to his hands, which changes the angles defenders have to take to stop him and can result in big gains on relatively easy throws.

Ep. 35 BadgerExtra podcast: Badgers basketball wrap-up and football spring practice standouts

Pauling came to UW after spending his freshman season at Cincinnati with Fickell and other now-UW coaches. Their trust in him appears to be growing as he took some first-team reps in the slot, and made a pair of catches on short passes over the middle of the field.

It’s difficult to tell just how much Pauling can do after the catch — there’s a quick whistle at practice and players almost sprint to get back to the line after letting the defense work on their pursuit angles for a few seconds after the whistle — but he seems agile in his route-running. He’s one to keep an eye on the rest of this month.