Wisconsin 2018 Season Thread

[ELA]

It's odd, I felt like last year's Wisconsin got more hype at this time of year, but I think this year's team is better.  Maybe it's that the schedule was more favorable last year, and now they have trips to Iowa City, Ann Arbor, Evanston and Happy Valley?

[847badgerfan]

They lost 2 starting DE's and the #3, they lost 2 starting OLB's and they lost 3/4 of the secondary.

The offense should be incredible. The have all the WR talent back, the star TB, the QB (with a solid backup) and they have two starting offensive lines.

Will they be a better team? I'm not sure. That's a lot of defense to fix. Jimmy L will have to earn his paycheck this year.

[bayareabadger]

It's odd, I felt like last year's Wisconsin got more hype at this time of year, but I think this year's team is better.  Maybe it's that the schedule was more favorable last year, and now they have trips to Iowa City, Ann Arbor, Evanston and Happy Valley?

I think it’s PSU on the schedule. Last year it was take care of BYU and the division and 11-1.
As Badge said, defense turns over a chunk of edge guys and most of the secondary. I’m wary of the offense becuase it seems too ideal (that’s not real, just me being neurotic), and while the defense loses some dudes, UW has reloaded a lot there. I assume they will slip, if only becuase they can’t improve much more. 

[Hawkinole]

Does anyone else sense there is no shortage of talent at the QB position at Ohio State. I am constantly impressed how it seems not to matter who plays this position at this school. They all shine.

[847badgerfan]

A very insightful article from Jesse Temple at Land of 10:

Wisconsin signed quarterback Chase Wolf despite one obstacle.
 
The Badgers coaches weren’t welcome at his high school.
 
Cincinnati St. Xavier coach Steve Specht revealed to Land of 10 a rift that had developed between he and Wisconsin coach Paul Chryst. Specht lauded Wisconsin’s football program for its consistency and described the university as “fantastic,” but he won’t allow Badgers coaches to visit the high school to recruit.
 
“I haven’t spoken to any of those coaches,” Specht said recently. “That’s why Chase’s commitment is so strange. Coach and I had a little falling out when he was the head coach at Pitt. Let’s just say some things happened with an old player of mine. He and I still have not spoken. I have not spoken to anyone from Wisconsin. Currently, they are not allowed into St. Xavier High School until Coach Chryst calls me and helps make this right.
 
“I don’t have anything against the university. I’ve sent kids to play there. But Coach Chryst and I, he needs to make some things right with me. And he’s never done that because of something that happened at Pitt.”
 
Specht went on to say he was unhappy because Chryst did not accept the commitment of a St. Xavier player, who ultimately wound up at a different school. Although Specht did not identify the player, an online search revealed it to be offensive lineman Brandyn Cook.
 
Cook committed to Pitt on June 18, 2011, under then-Panthers coach Todd Graham. But Graham left Pittsburgh after one season to take over at Arizona State on Dec. 14, 2011. Chryst, who was Wisconsin’s offensive coordinator, became Pitt’s coach on Dec. 22. Graham had implemented a spread-based offense while Chryst was intent on using a pro-style offense.
 
Cook ultimately de-committed from Pittsburgh and picked Miami (Ohio) on Jan. 23, 2012. He played in 21 career games for the RedHawks with 14 starts. Chryst coached at Pitt for three seasons before returning to Wisconsin as head coach in December 2014.
 
On Tuesday, Chryst shared his side of the story with Land of 10 following Wisconsin’s spring practice. Chryst said he and his coaching staff evaluated the incoming Pitt prospects in the 2012 class to determine whether they would be good fits. Chryst said the 6-foot-2, 300-pound Cook did not possess the size necessary to compete on Pitt’s offensive line and informed him that he would not have recruited him.
 
Chryst said he and current Wisconsin offensive coordinator Joe Rudolph had interacted with Specht before with no issues. The Badgers recruited defensive end Pat Muldoon, a St. Xavier alum, when Chryst was Wisconsin’s offensive coordinator and Rudolph was the tight ends coach.
 
Chryst also said he apologized to Specht for the situation involving Cook “right away” when he arrived at Pittsburgh and once more at a later date.
 
“We want to try to do it the right way,” Chryst said. “And we wanted to do it the right way for that kid when we first went to Pitt and knew it wasn’t a fit. And then you’re like, ‘OK, then it is what it is.’”
Specht has been St. Xavier’s coach since 2004 and has a record of 129-48 with three state championships in Ohio’s largest high school division. Athlon named Specht one of the top 10 high school coaches in America, and he twice has earned Ohio Division I Coach of the Year honors.
 
St. Xavier routinely cranks out high-level FBS players. The quarterback one grade ahead of Wolf was 4-star prospect Sean Clifford, who went to Penn State. St. Xavier’s most well known recent football alum is linebacker Luke Kuechly, a two-time All-American at Boston College who was a first-round NFL draft choice of the Carolina Panthers in 2012.
 
Specht noted that he currently coaches the best high school offensive lineman in the country for the 2020 class. Paris Johnson, a 6-7, 275-pound sophomore tackle, is rated by 247Sports as the No. 1 tackle in the country. And while he holds 35 scholarship offers, Specht said Wisconsin has not recruited him.
“He’s been offered by everyone in the country,” Specht said. “Wisconsin has not recruited him because they’re not involved. I just don’t talk to them. It’s pretty interesting.
 
“I have nothing against Wisconsin. The university is fantastic. The football program speaks for itself. I just have differences with Paul Chryst. And I would love for him to call me and talk to me about my differences, but he refuses to do that.”
 
So how did Wisconsin wind up with Wolf if Badgers coaches weren’t allowed to make in-school visits?
Chryst said Wisconsin’s staff explained the situation to the Wolf family before the Badgers became heavily involved in his recruitment.
 
“We told them exactly what it was and then if you want to keep going, this is the way we’ve got to do it,” Chryst said. “We just said, ‘We’re not here to make it hard on the kid.’ So we didn’t go [to St. Xavier] in the fall evaluation and didn’t want to create any drama for him. … Knowing the family, I think there was some dialogue. If that’s what they want, then we’re going to honor that. But if the kid wants to be recruited by us, then we’re going to recruit him.”
 
Wolf developed a strong relationship with Jon Budmayr, who is now the Badgers quarterbacks coach, particularly during an unofficial visit to Madison last April 18. Wolf committed to Wisconsin on May 5, 2017, and signed with the program in December. He had 18 scholarship offers and was strongly considering Boston College and South Carolina.
 
Chase’s father, Steve, indicated that any disagreement Specht had with Chryst played no factor in how the family approached Chase’s recruitment at Wisconsin. He said Wisconsin’s coaching staff went out of its way to make the family feel comfortable. He noted that several coaches and their wives met the Wolfs for an impromptu dinner in Madison the night before Chase’s unofficial visit last April was supposed to begin.
 
Budmayr visited the family home and was able to get in one of Chase’s home high school basketball games this winter. Meanwhile, Rudolph and Chryst visited the Wolfs after the Big Ten Championship Game in December. Chase and his parents were in Madison last weekend to watch Wisconsin’s spring practice Friday and visit campus again.
 
 “Coach Chryst has come to the house, and actually my wife and I were out of town,” Steve Wolf said. “My 92-year-old dad got to spend time with Paul Chryst. My dad’s been around a lot. And the fact that my dad was so impressed with him, it really fired me up as a father. But I got a chance to talk to Paul, and I like his laid-back approach. We don’t talk football. We just talk about the kids.
 
“I’ve taken my son, he’s 17, 18 years old now, I’m handing him off. I see a lot of programs where I’m not sure if I want my kid to be there. But the coaches there have been wonderful. They come over, Chase plays ping pong with Bud. They do something where they flip bottles like kids. That’s just the way it is. And it’s more about life than football when we deal with them.”
 
Wisconsin’s ability to hang on to Wolf was more impressive considering how many college coaching staffs were allowed to visit him at the high school. Ohio State, in particular, put the pressure on late after Wolf had committed to the Badgers.
 
Wolf said Ohio State quarterbacks coach Ryan Day visited the school, as did coach Urban Meyer, who tried to convince him to change his mind. Meyer’s first coaching job was as a defensive backs coach at St. Xavier in 1985.
 
“He just talked to me saying, ‘So, we’re going to be able to flip you, right?’ ” Wolf recalled. “I’m like, ‘No, no. We’ll see you in the Big Ten championship.’ ”
 
Chryst indicated he had experienced a similar situation as a head coach one other time, when he first arrived back at Wisconsin in December 2014. Quarterback Austin Kafentzis committed to Wisconsin under former coach Gary Andersen and planned to enroll early for spring practice. But when Chryst arrived, he signed Alex Hornibrook in the class and didn’t see Kafentzis as a good fit at the position.
 
“He was coming before we could even get there,” Chryst said. “He had to call me, in fact. He asked, ‘Would you recruit me?’ I said, ‘I wouldn’t recruit you. But now you don’t have any options. He’s a mid-year. If you want, you can come and try. You’ll get an opportunity.’ But the question was, ‘Would you recruit me?’ No.”
 
Kafentzis participated in spring practice, transferred from the program and is now at BYU as a defensive back. Hornibrook is 20-3 as Wisconsin’s starting quarterback the last two seasons.
 
Chryst said he attempted to handle the Cook situation as best he could, including communicating with Specht. Whether Wisconsin’s coaches will be allowed back into St. Xavier under Specht’s watch, however, remains to be seen.
 
“In the end, it’s choices,” Chryst said. “And if his choice is about that, then that’s what it is. There’s no one better with people and in schools than Joe Rudolph. And I know the history, and I know what we did along the way. So you just try to make the best of it. And you really didn’t want Chase to be in the middle of it. That was the thing that became more foremost in my mind when going through the whole process.
 
“That’s why I was really open and said, ‘This is where it’s at. This is the situation. This is what it stems from.’ That was a long time ago. And if he’s going to hold that one, you’re not necessarily proud of it. But I think in the end, if you try to base it on what you think is right for the program, the people and the kids, then you live with that.”
 

[847badgerfan]

UW picked up a transfer last night, from Houston. From Jason Galloway at the Wisconsin State Journal:



Houston safety Collin Wilder announced via Twitter on Monday night that he will transfer to the University of Wisconsin, less than three weeks after revealing his plans to leave the Cougars.

"Grateful for another opportunity," Wilder tweeted. "Without so many people it wouldn't be possible. I'm betting all in on myself."

Wilder played all 13 games for Houston as a true freshman in 2016, mostly on special teams. He only saw action in two games last year before suffering a season-ending knee injury.

Wilder's set to be a junior in 2018 but will likely re-gain a year of eligibility after playing in only two games last season. He'll be required, per NCAA transfer rules, to sit out this year before taking the field for the Badgers in 2019.


UW reportedly offered Wilder before he signed with Houston in 2016. The Katy (Texas) High graduate was rated as a three-star prospect by Rivals, 247sports and ESPN.

[bayareabadger]

That’s an interesting pickup for UW. Hopefully develops into something.

[847badgerfan]

Another Nick Nelson would be good. Even better if he stayed for two years, unlike Nelson.

[847badgerfan]

From Jeff Potrykus of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel:

MADISON – The amended contracts approved in February by the University of Wisconsin Board of  Regents should move UW's Jim Leonhard and Joe Rudolph up significantly in annual compensation for football assistants among all FBS schools. 
 
Both contracts run through Jan. 31, 2021.
 
Leonhard, entering his second season as defensive coordinator/secondary coach and third season overall on the staff, is to be paid a total of $966,666 next season. That includes a base salary of $304,800, another $495,200 from the UW Foundation and a retention bonus of $166,666.
 
He is to receive a bonus of $166,667 after the 2019 and '20 seasons. 
 
Leonhard's annual compensation package last season was $600,000, the No. 66 mark nationally according to USA Today.
 
Florida defensive coordinator Randy Shannon was No. 17 nationally in assistants' pay last season at $976,500.
 
Rudolph, entering his fourth season as UW's offensive coordinator/line coach, is to be paid a total of $775,000 next season. That includes a base salary of $304,800, another $420,000 from the UW Foundation and a retention bonus of $50,000.
 
Rudolph is to receive a bonus of $50,000 after the 2019 and '20 seasons.
 
Rudolph's 2017 annual compensation package was $654,800, the No. 51 mark nationally according to USA Today.
South Carolina defensive coordinator Travaris Robinson was No. 36 nationally in assistants' pay last season at $750,000.
 
The top assistant was LSU defensive coordinator Dave Aranda at $1.8 million. Aranda was UW’s defensive coordinator from 2013 through ’15. 
 
Bobby April III, entering his first season as UW's outside linebackers coach, is to be paid $300,000. His contract runs through June 30, 2019. 
 
He replaced Tim Tibesar, who was paid $350,000 last season.  
 
The UW Board of Regents in February also approved amended contracts for head coach Paul Chryst and athletic director Barry Alvarez. 
 
Chryst is scheduled to be paid a total of $3.75 million in 2018 and '19. That includes a base salary of $400,000 and $3.35 million from the UW Foundation. 
 
He then receives an additional $100,000 annually through the length of his contract, which ends Jan. 31, 2023.
 
Chryst's annual compensation package last season $3.2 million, ninth in the Big Ten and 36th nationally.
 
Purdue coach Jeff Brohm recently agreed to a contract extension and will be paid $3.8 million in 2018. His annual compensation package in 2017 was $3,333,333, the No. 8 mark in the Big Ten and No. 31 nationally. 
 
Alvarez's current contract runs through Jan. 31, 2021. He is to be paid $1.175 million annually, including a base salary of $500,000 and $675,000 from the UW Foundation.

He is to receive an annual bonus of $375,000. The fourth bonus is set to be paid on Jan. 1, 2022, meaning Alvarez likely will remain on as athletic director at least through the 2021 football season.
 

[847badgerfan]

Also, in looking at the draft, former UW CB Nick Nelson probably should have stayed in school for his final year. I believe he thought he was going to be a 2nd round pick. Now it's 4th or worse. Granted, he tore a meniscus working out for some team a few weeks ago, but still.

[847badgerfan]

4th round it is.. to the Raiders. Poor kid.

[847badgerfan]

Nice read on Jonathan Taylor, from Adam Rittenberg:

MADISON, Wis. -- Jonathan Taylor's upcoming summer school load includes a course in astronomy. Wisconsin's biggest star is geeking out about it.

"I've been a science guy for a while, and space is definitely interesting, how things form," said Taylor, sitting in Wisconsin's football lobby overlooking Camp Randall Stadium on a cool April morning. "It's not like you breathe regular air. It's a totally different realm.

"You don't know what's out there, and it's fun exploring."

A year ago, Wisconsin didn't know what it had in Taylor, who in 2017 reached rarefied air at the program's loftiest position: running back. He broke Adrian Peterson's FBS freshman rushing record with 1,977 yards, eclipsed 100 yards in 10 of 14 games with three 200-yard efforts, and finished sixth in the Heisman Trophy voting. An easy choice for Big Ten Freshman of the Year, Taylor earned second-team AP All-America honors and consideration for both the Doak Walker and Maxwell awards.

Taylor has the size-speed-power combination to exhaust defenses, but his defining trait is an active, inquiring mind. He's driven to succeed but also to understand what goes into success. He constantly asks questions, not because he knows the answers but because he doesn't.

"I enjoy science, so in science, you're always asking why and how," Taylor said. "When it came to football, I definitely wanted to understand defenses, especially when I came to this level. It's imperative to know in the pre-snap reads, you're finding the safety rotations. It's just processing information.

"If you know what's going on, you can apply other situations and tools to that situation."

Taylor has always learned this way. His curiosity stood out to teachers at Salem High School in New Jersey, where he became an honor-roll student and participated in the prestigious International Baccalaureate program, drawing interest from Power 5 schools and Ivies alike. He took courses like critical thinking, where students brainstormed questions to spur big-picture discussions in a Socratic seminar format.

"We talked about how you know what you know," said Sally Lamont, Taylor's teacher for critical thinking. "We would discuss: What is the purpose of knowledge? Deep stuff. He really liked those kinds of discussions. He liked to talk about Neil deGrasse Tyson and Stephen Hawking. He liked both of them and wanted to explore them more."

For his I.B. chemistry final, Taylor studied forensics, comparing the characteristics of fingerprints used to make identifications. For his I.B. literature final, he analyzed the Tao Te Ching, an ancient Chinese text that shaped much of Eastern philosophy and religion.

Most students wanted no part of the Tao. Taylor dove in.

"It forces you to think in ways that are unconventional and maybe a little bit creative," said Regina Ilaria, Taylor's literature teacher. "He seemed to actually really enjoy it. It tells you about his independence."

Taylor, whose love for science began as a sixth-grader, thrived in I.B. chemistry. He would listen intently as his teacher, Louise Jakub-Cerro, explained mathematical formulas and how they related to theories. After Jakub-Cerro finished, Taylor would ask detailed questions.

Only after fully understanding a concept would Taylor jot down notes.
"It's very unique," Jakub-Cerro said. "Usually when you're talking to the class and giving them information, they're trying to get started on a problem or trying to write down everything you're saying. I don't think I've had anybody who really waits and listens like he did.

"It feeds right into those people who go into science. It fuels science, that curiosity."

Taylor has the same thirst with football and understanding what will take his game to the next level. When he arrived at Wisconsin, he constantly asked questions of coaches and teammates. He even peppered former Badgers running backs and fellow South Jersey natives Corey Clement and Ron Dayne -- the team's last Heisman Trophy winner -- for advice on how to play consistently well.

Being in a room filled with older running backs and a veteran coach, John Settle, didn't stop Taylor from speaking up.

"He knew he'd be better off asking a question than not knowing what to do," running back Garrett Groshek said. "He's trying to be a scientist when it comes to playing football. He's just trying to ask everything he can and learn as much as he can."

This spring, Taylor entered what Wisconsin coach Paul Chryst calls the "why" phase. Taylor knows what his basic responsibilities are and how to execute them but wants to know why a certain route works against a particular defensive look, or why a teammate's responsibilities change based on a pre-snap look.

"He's really good at doing that, which is also brave, and maybe that's because there's some confidence," Chryst said. "How many guys try to just hide? You don't feel challenged by him. It's definitely not that why. It's why this fits off of this. It's putting the pieces together."

The missing pieces for the 5-foot-11, 216-pound Taylor include improved ball security (eight fumbles, six lost in 2017), a bigger role in the passing game (eight receptions in 2017) and staying on the field as an every-down back. This spring, Taylor and Groshek spent chunks of practices with Chryst, working on catching passes and how they'll be defended on certain routes.

Chryst and offensive coordinator Joe Rudolph are mindful of Taylor's workload -- his 299 carries in 2017 ranked fourth nationally -- but they're comfortable with using him on more third downs, not merely because of his ability but his proficiency. While some young running backs spend most of their film-room time studying long rushes and what goes into them, Taylor calls Rudolph, asking him to explain subtle differences in protections.

"You're like, he really wants to gain an understanding that's a little bit different. He does see a bigger picture to what we're doing and what he's going to be asked to do," Rudolph said. "I said it from the beginning: He showed a maturity that you don't often see and really carried responsibilities that I don't remember many young guys carrying here."

Salem High coach Montrey Wright saw maturity in Taylor at an even younger age. He was the kid who needed schematic concepts explained only once, who knew not only his responsibilities but those of every other player.
Wright typically pushes a handful of Salem's football players toward the school's I.B. program. Taylor was an obvious choice. "He was doing things the average kids his age weren't doing," Wright said.

On the field, Taylor bloomed a bit late. His rushing total spiked from 500 yards as a sophomore to 1,383 as a junior to 2,815 -- breaking Clement's single-season state record -- as a senior in 2016. When coaches began visiting Salem High to see Taylor and watch game film, the running back would always ask them: What do you think I need to work on?

"Coaches would look at him like, 'This is amazing. This kid has great film and he's asking how to get better,'" Wright said. "He wants to soak in as much information as possible. He's always been about the next challenge. He knows that knowing a lot and doing what he's doing goes a long way."

Taylor is still locked in on the next challenge, but he also appreciates how his life has changed. Last spring, he was preparing for track meets at Salem High. Now he's the Heisman favorite (according to Bovada), a recognized face around town.

He smiles while recalling the elderly couple that stopped him by Union South, Wisconsin's student center, to tell him they had season tickets and loved watching him play.

"It was flattering," he said. "It's definitely fun walking around. During this time last year, just a track guy. People recognize your face and know your name now. That just comes with setting yourself to a higher standard."

Judging by Taylor's past, the standard will be met. When he sat down with Settle to review last season, they agreed on two things: Taylor's accomplishments as a freshman were extraordinary, and he has a lot of room to grow.

"I can see it," he said. "I wanted to gain more knowledge."

Taylor's winter was all about upgrading physical skills: quickness, agility, strength. The spring was for sharpening football skills. The fall will be about building upon what he started in 2017.

But first, the University of Wisconsin's aspiring scientist will study astronomy, a chance to get lost in the stars.

Taylor can't wait.

[847badgerfan]

[ELA]

Good stuff, I may finally attend a Pitt football game.  I'll have lived here 21 years by that point, and football will probably no longer exist in the form that we know it...but I'll pencil it in.