University of Wisconsin football coach Bret Bielema wasn't sure if junior tailback P.J. Hill was done for the day after suffering a shoulder stinger while pass blocking in the first quarter Saturday against Minnesota.

"He was sitting on the bench, all hunched over and he had a coat on (with) warm sleeves. I said, 'Is he down?' (The trainers) said, 'No, but he's got to get his strength back,' '' Bielema said after the game.

Not only were Hill and backup John Clay, who suffered a shoulder injury on a fumble in the second quarter, both banged up, sophomore Zach Brown was sidelined with bruised ribs. Senior fullback Bill Rentmeester wasn't sure who would be around to carry the ball in the second half.

Hill actually returned in the second quarter and fumbled when he was stripped from behind at the end of a 23-yard run. That only added to his determination in the second half, when he had 18 carries for 85 yards. He finished with 24 carries and 117 yards, a third straight game with more than 100 rushing yards.

Bielema regarded it as "a huge breakthrough" for Hill.

"Nobody knows him better than John Settle ... (who) really made a point to me on Sunday that he thought P.J. made a huge step forward," Bielema said. "As much pain as he was in, when he had to come out of the game and then as much resolve as he had when he went back in, to still deliver physical football and running the football in the fourth quarter to give us a victory."

Hard work pays off

Instead of wearing down at the end of the season, as he did the last two years, Hill is finishing with a flourish. Part of it has to do with the conditioning and strength work he put in during the offseason. Much was made, coming into the season, of Hill being in the best shape of his life and it has paid off.

Hill said strength and conditioning coach John Dettmann "really took a lot of time with me. Basically, every time I went in the weight room, he talked to me a lot. He said, 'The way you come in (the season), that's how I want you at the end of the season, be as strong.' ''

Hill said he is not quite as strong as he was at the start of the season., but he has been able to practice and do all the in-season lifting, things that were curtailed late in the last two seasons by injuries.

"The thing that has impressed me is the fact he hasn't missed (hardly) any practices," Settle said. "Last year at this time, he wasn't even active. For him to be active and be able to practice, every period of every day, it's big."

Shared approach

The other major factor in Hill's health is the shared workload at tailback with Clay and Brown. Hill has 197 carries on the season. He had 311 carries in 2006 and 233 last season, when he had only five carries the last three regular-season games due to a leg bruise.

He had seven games his first two seasons with more than 26 carries, including four of 30 or more. His high this season is 26 carries, which he did twice.

"I think it's all attributed to the fact he hasn't had to carry the load all year," Settle said. "I think it has helped preserve his body a little bit."