"He loves Deion Sanders," said receiver Chris Chambers, the Wisconsin sophomore cornerback's roommate and friend. "He has a dance like Deion's, but he's scared to break it out. He wants to be the best, and Deion is the best defensive back there is."
Fletcher's star has risen rapidly during his two seasons in Madison. On Saturday in Wisconsin's Rose Bowl matchup with Stanford, Fletcher had hoped to cement his status as one of college football's top returning defensive backs by shutting down Troy Walters, the Cardinal's All-American receiver. Walters' wrist injury on Tuesday altered those plans. But even with Walters on the sideline, Fletcher hopes to showcase his Prime Time stuff on the Badgers' biggest stage. "I'll still get a chance to make some plays, just like I did (in the Rose Bowl) last year," Fletcher said. "I'll step up to whatever challenge we get." Instead of facing Walters in a one-on-one matchup, Fletcher will be assigned to different receivers all afternoon. He will see a great deal of DeRonnie Pitts, the eighth-leading receiver in school history who would be a star on most teams. "I think everybody feels a little cheated that they're not going to see that great matchup," Stanford offensive coordinator Bill Diedrick said. "It would have been great to see the country's best receiver against one of the best defensive backs there is." Fletcher has led the Big Ten in interceptions in both of his seasons at Wisconsin, and he led the nation with seven interceptions last year. He picked off seven passes again this season, even though most of the Badgers' opponents threw away from him out of fear. He also has a habit of coming up big in big games.His season's high points came against Michigan State, when he picked off two passes and stymied star receiver Plaxico Burress in Wisconsin's runaway win, and against Purdue, when he intercepted two passes by Drew Brees, including a game-clinching pick late in the fourth quarter.
Oh, and he also had a 93-yard interception return for a touchdown against Northwestern, when he also made nine tackles. Such dramatic afternoons are becoming old hat for the sophomore. "Jamar thrives in big-game situations," Wisconsin defensive coordinator Kevin Cosgrove said. "He always wants the big assignment on the big stage." Fletcher is the type of athlete Wisconsin wasn't supposed to be able to recruit to its snowy campus. Aside from Troy Vincent, not many professional defensive backs have come from Madison. In fact, the Badgers' paucity of impact-making defensive backs and receivers was seen as the primary reason for their 33-6 Outback Bowl loss to Georgia in 1998 -- the school's only bowl loss in 10 years under coach Barry Alvarez. But as a high schooler in St. Louis, where he played option quarterback, Fletcher was sold on the school's combination of athletics and academics by Alvarez. His decision was even easier after Wisconsin was run over by the Bulldogs in Tampa two years ago. "Coach came to me a little while after that and said, 'If we'd had you out there, we'd be a different team,"' Fletcher said. "He brings this defense a lot of credibility," said Wisconsin defensive backs coach Phil Elmassian, who joined the Badgers three years ago after installing the defense at national title contender Virginia Tech. After leading the nation with seven interceptions as a freshman, he made his mark in last year's Rose Bowl as well. He returned an interception for a touchdown in the fourth quarter for the eventual winning points in the Badgers' 38-31 victory. "I'd just like to do the same thing again," he said with a grin. "It probably won't happen that way, but who knows? I've got five touchdowns in my career. If I get six on Saturday, I'll probably break out a little dance."