Wisconsin Football 2022- The Jim Leonhard Show ends, the Luke Fickell era begins

[UpandIn]

40 minutes ago, LouisEly said:

The last sentence is it - it's a chance for UW to evaluate Leonhard on an interim basis, and it's a chance for Leonhard to evaluate being a HC on an interim basis.  Leonhard really is a family man and really does enjoy his life right now and, like you said, he turned down the GB DC job to stay at UW.  Leonhard is evaluating a HC position as much as UW is evaluating Leonhard.

Yeah...perhaps he'll find out it's too much BS and it's not what it was back when he talked about his goal of becoming a HC. But he has explicitly stated his dream is to become a HC. And with the VERY high profile jobs he's passed on, it'd have to be a pretty big change in his mindset. 

The thing I do like about Leonhard, he's UW through and through. You don't have to worry about him leaving for other programs or jobs...even if there is one that I particularly wish he'd have left for!

[yourout]

https://theathletic.com/3661745/2022/10/06/paul-chryst-fired-wisconsin-jim-leonhard/?source=emp_shared_article

 

Pay walled but interesting.

[madbad2000]

12 hours ago, yourout said:

https://theathletic.com/3661745/2022/10/06/paul-chryst-fired-wisconsin-jim-leonhard/?source=emp_shared_article

 

Pay walled but interesting.

I read that article and it has some very disheartening takes.  

This article mentions a few of the highlights.

https://www.outkick.com/wisconsin-badgers-football-paul-chryst-no-recruiting-team-eight-months/

[yourout]

2 hours ago, madbad2000 said:

I read that article and it has some very disheartening takes.  

This article mentions a few of the highlights.

https://www.outkick.com/wisconsin-badgers-football-paul-chryst-no-recruiting-team-eight-months/

It certainly does help explain why McIntosh hit the fire alarm button when he did.

[SomewhereInTime]

7 hours ago, madbad2000 said:

I read that article and it has some very disheartening takes.  

This article mentions a few of the highlights.

https://www.outkick.com/wisconsin-badgers-football-paul-chryst-no-recruiting-team-eight-months/

Jesus, I knew they were doing a terrible job recruiting, but this is crazy.  I think they waited too long to fire this moron.

[DuWayne Steurer]

12 hours ago, madbad2000 said:

I read that article and it has some very disheartening takes.  

This article mentions a few of the highlights.

https://www.outkick.com/wisconsin-badgers-football-paul-chryst-no-recruiting-team-eight-months/

this dude signed an extension knowing he didnt have the heart for the job, knowing he'd get a fat buyout when he inevitably got canned.

 

[SomewhereInTime]

They better get moving on recruiting too.  2023 is a really small and low ranked class, and as of now 0 2024 commits.  We're most of the way through high school football season and not a single Junior has committed to Wisconsin.  Very bleak and dark times are ahead.

[yourout]

6 minutes ago, SomewhereInTime said:

They better get moving on recruiting too.  2023 is a really small and low ranked class, and as of now 0 2024 commits.  We're most of the way through high school football season and not a single Junior has committed to Wisconsin.  Very bleak and dark times are ahead.

I have to believe that's also part of the reason for the mid season change.

 

[LouisEly]

4 hours ago, SomewhereInTime said:

They better get moving on recruiting too.  2023 is a really small and low ranked class, and as of now 0 2024 commits. 

Iowa has five 2024 recruits, Michigan State has two, and Ohio State/Michigan/Penn State/Minnesota have one.  Eight Big Ten teams have no 2024 recruits.  Four of Iowa's recruits are from small towns in Iowa.

[SomewhereInTime]

9 hours ago, LouisEly said:

Iowa has five 2024 recruits, Michigan State has two, and Ohio State/Michigan/Penn State/Minnesota have one.  Eight Big Ten teams have no 2024 recruits.  Four of Iowa's recruits are from small towns in Iowa.

33 FBS schools have at least one 3 star commit for 2024.  Wisconsin has 0, they definitely need to get moving on 2024.  This is especially true with bad 2022 and 2023 classes.

[areacodes]

10 hours ago, SomewhereInTime said:

33 FBS schools have at least one 3 star commit for 2024.  Wisconsin has 0, they definitely need to get moving on 2024.  This is especially true with bad 2022 and 2023 classes.

So, about 75% of FBS school don’t have at least one 3 star recruit committed yet?

[wildcat83]

Sounds like Deacon Hill is entering the transfer portal.  Guessing it became clear that Burkett was ahead of him on the depth chart.

[SomewhereInTime]

7 hours ago, areacodes said:

So, about 75% of FBS school don’t have at least one 3 star recruit committed yet?

Correct.  Generally speaking, you'd like to have a couple 2024 commits by now.

[yourout]

Sounds like Melusi broke his arm on Sat and is done for the year.

[DuWayne Steurer]

luckily badgers have some depth there. guerendo and j. Davis. an both move up a spot on the depth chart and they should be ok. 

obviously sucks for mellusi. 

[MrTPlush]

On 10/7/2022 at 5:34 PM, DuWayne Steurer said:

this dude signed an extension knowing he didnt have the heart for the job, knowing he'd get a fat buyout when he inevitably got canned.

 

He always looked and came off as a lazy bum...I thought it was just the lack of emotion and sweater. 

Seems like he kind of took his job for granted thinking he had a long leash and was riding the wave of success prior to him. Is it really a coincidence he had three widely successful years to start, but when the team really became only his recruits it tanked? He was on pace for 4 of the last 5 years taking the Badgers to an unranked season at the end. 

Maybe the Badgers are getting wiser and will dump Greg Gard soon too

[Jim French Stepstool]

6 hours ago, DuWayne Steurer said:

luckily badgers have some depth there. guerendo and j. Davis. an both move up a spot on the depth chart and they should be ok. 

obviously sucks for mellusi. 

I think it's more the wrist for Mellusi, than the arm. Slightly better news I guess, as there supposedly is a slight chance he could return at the tail end of the season.

My main concern about this is your new #2 (Guerendo) has had health issues of his own. So far so good this year but you need him to avoid the injury bug. This may mean he won't be returning kicks anymore.

Maybe, just maybe, this gives Julius Davis a little shot of urgency on the practice field for the first time in his career. The kid has ability.

[areacodes]

On 10/9/2022 at 10:32 PM, SomewhereInTime said:

Correct.  Generally speaking, you'd like to have a couple 2024 commits by now.

Then I guess 75% of the country is struggling to recruit and better get moving.

[areacodes]

On 10/10/2022 at 8:18 AM, MrTPlush said:

 Maybe the Badgers are getting wiser and will dump Greg Gard soon too

Why would the Badgers do that?

At least with firing Chryst they had an in-house replacement that could be viewed as a better option in the long run.

[SomewhereInTime]

1 hour ago, areacodes said:

Then I guess 75% of the country is struggling to recruit and better get moving.

Uh you realize half of FBS is group of 5 schools right?  Like if you're UW and you're middle of the pack in recruiting rankings year after year that means your ceiling will probably be around 7 or 8 wins.  If that's acceptable to you at a big school like UW then you are probably really angry about the firing.

[UpandIn]

8 hours ago, SomewhereInTime said:

Uh you realize half of FBS is group of 5 schools right?  Like if you're UW and you're middle of the pack in recruiting rankings year after year that means your ceiling will probably be around 7 or 8 wins.  If that's acceptable to you at a big school like UW then you are probably really angry about the firing.

That is where Wisconsin has been the overwhelming majority of the time the past 20 years...and their ceiling has not been 7 or 8 wins. Their BEST classes are coming through right now...as has been repeatedly mentioned. 

 

[MrTPlush]

10 hours ago, areacodes said:

Why would the Badgers do that?

At least with firing Chryst they had an in-house replacement that could be viewed as a better option in the long run.

Well, I just don’t think Gard is that good. But that’s just the opinion of an outsider, not a Badgers fan.

In football I can see wanting to keep a coach that will stick around and be loyal to the end of time…I just don’t think that really need to do that for basketball. It’s not like Wisconsin basketball recruits well and the coach leaving would be a disaster. Also much easier for teams to rebound after losing a coach in basketball.

I just think Badgers basketball has way more potential than Gard is getting out of them.

[CheezWizHed]

I seem to remember that Chryst's recruiting was blasted at Pitt also, but coming over it was assumed that was because it was PItt and WI would be better. I guess not. 

Poor Chez... Transfers to WI to be the #1, gets passed by a rookie, loses half the season to injury, returns, starts doing well and lost for half the season again.  Perhaps he needs another "e" in this name.

[Jim French Stepstool]

16 hours ago, areacodes said:

Why would the Badgers do that?

At least with firing Chryst they had an in-house replacement that could be viewed as a better option in the long run.

Maybe not "better", but Dean Oliver & Joe Krabbenhoft are assistants that have been terrific, and quite possibly could be head coaches someday. Lamont Paris didn't receive much love from the national hype machine when he worked at UW, and he did a magnificent job rebuilding Chattanooga which led to the South Carolina job.

Which is all beside the point. Greg Gard is just fine where he is.

[SomewhereInTime]

10 hours ago, UpandIn said:

That is where Wisconsin has been the overwhelming majority of the time the past 20 years...and their ceiling has not been 7 or 8 wins. Their BEST classes are coming through right now...as has been repeatedly mentioned. 

 

Their best class is already on campus.  Before that they had a good one on paper in '19 but the two highest ranked recruits of that class turned into huge busts in brown and mertz.  '22 class and onward is very bleak.