By William Qualkinbush.

Ben Boulware is not afraid of much. In fact, the linebacker prides himself in playing football with a fearlessness that allows him to fly around and make plays.

But to prepare for last week’s game against Louisville—his first career start—Boulware had to conquer one of his greatest fears.

He had to ask Brent Venables some questions.

“He’s a very intimidating person,” Boulware said, with clear sincerity in his voice. “He’s a very scary guy.

“I’ve been scared to ask him questions sometimes. I don’t want to sound stupid.”

Venables says Boulware was constantly tapping him on the shoulder last week as he prepared to play a major role against the Cardinals, and he did just that in a 23-17 victory. Filling in for the injured Tony Steward, Boulware was more than merely adequate, although he would prefer to be more critical of his performance.

“I think I played decent for how well I prepared,” Boulware said. “I made a couple of mistakes that are very correctible.”

The mistakes were there. He lost his bearings in coverage and gave up a long pass play to a running back. There were a couple of assignment issues in the running game. All of that pales in comparison to the positive impact Boulware made.

The sophomore totaled 12 tackles in the game, matching his season total from the first five games combined. Three of those tackles were for lost yardage, including a sack. Boulware accomplished all of it in 59 snaps, which almost equaled the 65 snaps he had seen in 2014 prior to last week’s game.

The prior week, Boulware did not see a single snap on defense against N.C. State. Before the Louisville game, he had only participated on defense in seven of his 20 career games. The sophomore from Anderson is attempting to prove he is more than just a reckless-abandon special teams contributor, both with his preparation and his play.

“I put in a lot of work last year, but I didn’t know how to study film or to study my gameplan or my playbook,” Boulware said. “A lot of times last year, I was just playing ball, just running around making tackles.”

Saturday was proof positive Boulware has grown significantly since then. He says he felt more comfortable reading and reacting on the field, which is a testament to the work he put into his preparation.

Venables noticed Boulware’s persistence, and he applauded the Anderson native’s performance. However, the Tigers’ defensive coordinator was quick to point out areas where improvement is needed when he looked over Boulware’s film this past weekend.

“He’s not one to give a lot of praise, and I don’t want him to give me praise,” Boulware said. “I want him to continue to push me every day so I can go out there and work my butt off.”

Saturday was a landmark day for Boulware. He says he recognized the importance of working hard by seeing tangible results on the field. Now that he knows what it feels like to invest and reap the rewards, he wants the public to know how tough it is to get ready to play a football game.

“I don’t think the community really realizes how much work we actually put in,” Boulware said. “We’re here, throughout the season, literally all day, every day.”

This means Boulware might have to cross paths with Venables, who is not quite so scary anymore.