Wisconsin

WhatTheBuck · October 2, 2019

On Wisconsin was my Junior High School's fight song. It's also quoted in the Beach Boys song Be True To Your School.

HornsOverIthaca · October 2, 2019

When Hays stopped using Dixie as their fight song, they also decided to go with On Wisconsin.

LTtxfan · August 21, 2023

Luke Fickell brought a bunch of guys from Cincinnati, and complemented them with some big time additions.

For the #2 spot, our focus narrows to the guys Luke Fickell has assembled in Madison, Wisconsin.

COORDINATOR RECAP

Luke Fickell's two coordinator hires were arguably among the best of the new staff hiring cycle.

On the defensive side of the ball he brought Mike Tressel with him from Cincinnati. Tressel, a former Big Ten coordinator at Michigan State before joining Fickell's staff, helped develop the Bearcat defense into Group of Five program that broke a barrier into the College Football Playoff.

Joining Tressel on the defensive side of the ball as a co-coordinator is Colin Hitschler, who climbed the ranks from South Alabama DFO to their safeties coach, to quality control coach at Cincinnati before becoming safeties coach, eventually adding the co-defensive coordinator title with the Bearcats in 2022 before departing for Madison.

On offense, I would argue with anyone that Fickell made the best hire of season in adding Phil Longo from North Carolina to usher in a new era of Wisconsin offense. Longo has Air Raid roots that have combined with a power run game that has developed both some of the top quarterbacks and receivers in college football, as well as a season with two 1,000 yard rushers in Chapel Hill. With a some key transfers at quarterback, and one of the best running back rooms in college football, Longo's offense will be must-watch football every weekend for college football fans.

BIGGEST HIRE

This is an easy one.

Fickell brought a number of critical staffers from Cincinnati with him, so Longo's addition from UNC stands out for a variety of reasons.

The opportunity to join Fickell in Madison was so good that Longo was willing to leave one of the top returning quarterbacks in college football in UNC's Drake Maye (the 2022 ACC Player of the Year and widely believed to be a top Heisman candidate in 2023) to take over an offense, and roster, that would require significant revamping to fit a completely new style of play.

The fact that Longo made the jump with Fickell while former Cincinnati offensive coordinator Gino Guidugli was also initially on the staff (as tight ends coach) tells you the high regard Fickell has in Longo as his offensive play caller. Guidugli would eventually leave for the opportunity to coach the quarterbacks at Notre Dame.

One of the top play callers in college football who has produced explosive offenses through the air as well as on the ground, Longo and company inherited a roster heavy with tight ends, and had to bring in some new quarterbacks and receivers to make the switch to a more wide open and uptempo offense more seamlessly. However, his offenses have always put up impressive numbers from Sam Houston State, to Ole Miss and North Carolina, and I fully expect that same thing to happen with the Badgers.

He's joined on the offensive side of the ball by Jack Bicknell Jr., Mike Brown, Nate Letton, and Devon Spalding.

BIGGEST CHALLENGE AHEAD

The roster makeover that they've had to make on the offensive side of the ball mean a bunch of new faces at receiver as they adapt from multiple tight end sets to three and four receiver sets.

Longo's offenses have long featured 11 personnel, so they'll still be a place for tight ends, but versatile receivers that can stretch the field, and find (and create) space are now a premium, and associate head coach Mike Brown is the man overseeing their development.

Brown started off coaching the receivers at Cincinnati for Fickell in 2019 before adding the pass game coordinator title in 2022 and is widely considered one of the most impressive young coaches working with receivers in college football.

A former Michigan analyst and starting quarterback at Liberty, Brown has also coached the running backs at Delaware and Liberty before Fickell hired him to work with the receivers at Cinci.

UNDERRATED HIRE

Matt Mitchell steered the ship of one of the top Division II programs in college football at Grand Valley State (D-II - MI) for over a decade before the opportunity to join Luke Fickell's staff at Wisconsin lured him to major college football for the first time.

In his final season, the Lakers won the ultra-competitive GLIAC title, beating back-to-back D-II national champs Ferris State for the regular season crown, and entered the playoffs as the #1 team in the country before falling to the Bulldogs in a playoff rematch.

After 17 total seasons at Grand Valley State, where he went from coaching defensive backs to linebackers before being named head coach in 2010 following the departure of Chuck Martin for the Miami (OH) job, Mitchell decided to take a new challenge as outside linebackers coach / special teams coordinator for Fickell.

In Mitchell, Fickell adds a seasoned head coach that helped to successfully carry on the tradition of a national power with integrity and class, and someone who can now serve as a sounding board for issues that are unique to the head coaching chair that a lot of assistants don't have experience with.

BEST SUPPORT STAFF ADDITION

The Badgers have a number of support staff guys that could go here, but my vote goes to Rob Everett.

Everett, the senior offensive analyst on staff, worked closely with Longo as his right-hand guy at UNC and has a wealth of experience on the defensive side of the ball.

Well known for his knack with football related technology, Everett has a background evaluating efficiency, tackling analytics, and 3D simulation training among a host of other things.

He has worked on high school state championship staffs in Virginia, has been a small college defensive coordinator who led the league in total defense and a host of other key metrics, and has a unique eye for the game that will provide Longo and the offensive staff invaluable insight in a Big Ten West race that seems as wide open as its ever been.

With this staff, the Badgers could be poised to make some noise immediately.

https://footballscoop.com/news/most-impressive-new-staffs-2-wisconsin