CHICAGO — While he may eventually make his team’s job a little harder, Wisconsin Athletic Director Barry Alvarez is a big fan of Scott Frost.
“He’ll bring trust,” Alvarez said. “People in Nebraska know him, they trust him. He understands Nebraska, he understands what they’re all about. He’s been there, he grew up with it, he did it at the highest level. The fans are sitting there looking, thinking 'He’s one of ours.'"
Alvarez, a former Husker linebacker, played with Scott Frost’s dad, Larry.
“Dad was a good player,” Alvarez said. “He could really run.”
Frost was blunt Monday in his praise for Alvarez and the Badgers, which have taken NU’s old blueprint of physical football and used it as their own. Frost said Wisconsin was “out-Nebraska-ing Nebraska."
While Wisconsin opted for a pro-style offense instead of an option attack — with former Nebraska head coach Bill Callahan running the offensive line for his first five years — Alvarez said physicality was a focus.
“I was trained in Nebraska,” Alvarez said. “I idolized Bob Devaney, and a lot of principles and things I believe in football I learned there ... The walk-on program, I said this as soon as I went (to Wisconsin), we emphasized it, much like Coach Devaney and Coach (Tom) Osborne.”