Wisconsin Football 2023

[nate82]

2 hours ago, homer said:

4 star RB committed today. 

 

Will he be able to start in '24?  I doubt Allen comes back for his senior year.  It would be silly for Allen to comeback for his senior year unless he gets injured this year the way the NFL has started to pay RB's it is better to get in early so you can get that big payday earlier.

[Jim French Stepstool]

42 minutes ago, nate82 said:

Will he be able to start in '24?  I doubt Allen comes back for his senior year.  It would be silly for Allen to comeback for his senior year unless he gets injured this year the way the NFL has started to pay RB's it is better to get in early so you can get that big payday earlier.

On paper he could be the frontrunner assuming Allen goes from pro-am (college) to pro. Nate White will have a leg up on him joining the program this season, but from what I ascertain Dupree is a more physical runner & certainly was challenged by playing at a higher level in HS. I guess we'll see evidence of White's readiness by whether he gets snaps as the 3rd TB this season or if he's behind someone like Grover Bortolotti or Cade Yacamelli.

Then there's always the magic portal if there's immediate team success in '23 joined by the corresponding media attention + top two TB's leaving.

[MVP2110]

Fick & Co. have been on a recruiting tear this last week landing 3 separate 4 star guys. Very exciting

[BrewerFan]

On 7/7/2023 at 3:52 PM, nate82 said:

Will he be able to start in '24?  I doubt Allen comes back for his senior year.  It would be silly for Allen to comeback for his senior year unless he gets injured this year the way the NFL has started to pay RB's it is better to get in early so you can get that big payday earlier.

Allen has played this just about perfectly. Hope he has a big year and can go into the draft at 20 years old. 

I'm not quite as high on him as I think others are. I like JT, Gordon, and a few others better, but maybe that's partly because Allen is still so young. 

I'd think he's a Rd2/3 pick at the moment with a chance to move into the late 1st/early 2nd if he can show some pass catching ability in this scheme. He was a safety coming into School and had good ball skills.

 

I suppose it could also mean he's making a LOT of money in NIL, but I'd tell any College RB projected to go in the first or second day to leave.

[homer]

Any Northwestern recruits worth flipping? Any transfers worth pursuing?

[LouisEly]

21 hours ago, BrewerFan said:

I suppose it could also mean he's making a LOT of money in NIL, but I'd tell any College RB projected to go in the first or second day to leave.

He's making over $500K in NIL from what I hear.  Maybe $750K.

[BrewerFan]

6 hours ago, homer said:

Any Northwestern recruits worth flipping? Any transfers worth pursuing?

First thought is Dillon Johnson who was projected to go to Wisconsin.

 

I think this is a program killer for Northwestern. They could have simply followed through on what they'd planned, made the Fitz aware of it and they'd have taken a hit, but that would have been the best way to deal with it...IMO. This is going to crush them.

I never understood this type of nonsense, but it's also EXTREMELY common. That's not a justification, but you have two whistleblowers over 17 years and you dump the guy? Doesn't seem like the strongest way to solve the problem, to end it....?

 

Anyway, not our problem. Now lets pillage and plunder the rats from that sinking ship!

[BrewerFan]

4 hours ago, LouisEly said:

He's making over $500K in NIL from what I hear.  Maybe $750K.

Yeah, it's a VERY nice chunk of change. Not what an NFL rookie would make, but, a Heisman caliber season could push him into ~2M(I've heard he was close to a million, but it feels like these are always exaggerated a little save for the top LSU Gymnast, Arch and the top 5-10 names).

He wouldn't be the first guy to stick around when he could leave, but again, he's set up to maximize his earning potential after  re-classifying in HS. I'd guess he'd be one of the youngest in the 2024 draft. I'm not sure it's gonna matter. It doesn't seem like the Badgers will be so dependent upon their RB talent.

[homer]

 

 

[yourout]

4 hours ago, homer said:

 

 

Trading surf board for snowboard. Not a choice I would make at my age. :)

[homer]

On 7/10/2023 at 6:12 PM, homer said:

Any Northwestern recruits worth flipping? Any transfers worth pursuing?

 

 

[Jim French Stepstool]

On 7/11/2023 at 12:39 AM, BrewerFan said:

First thought is Dillon Johnson who was projected to go to Wisconsin.

 

I think this is a program killer for Northwestern. They could have simply followed through on what they'd planned, made the Fitz aware of it and they'd have taken a hit, but that would have been the best way to deal with it...IMO. This is going to crush them.

I never understood this type of nonsense, but it's also EXTREMELY common. That's not a justification, but you have two whistleblowers over 17 years and you dump the guy? Doesn't seem like the strongest way to solve the problem, to end it....?

 

Anyway, not our problem. Now lets pillage and plunder the rats from that sinking ship!

NW apparently is planning to keep their entire staff of ass't coaches. That may be the best move they could make as far as keeping their current recruiting class as intact as possible (although it didn't work w/Johnson). OTOH it all but eliminates them from making any kind of significant hire now. Throw in the lateness of the move & you're almost certainly looking at an interim situation.

They've maximized their situation in recent years, greatly improved the practice facilities, etc and I think Fitz had a great deal to do with that rising tide. It'll be a challenge to find as good a fit as he was.

[BrewerFan]

2 hours ago, Jim French Stepstool said:

NW apparently is planning to keep their entire staff of ass't coaches. That may be the best move they could make as far as keeping their current recruiting class as intact as possible (although it didn't work w/Johnson). OTOH it all but eliminates them from making any kind of significant hire now. Throw in the lateness of the move & you're almost certainly looking at an interim situation.

They've maximized their situation in recent years, greatly improved the practice facilities, etc and I think Fitz had a great deal to do with that rising tide. It'll be a challenge to find as good a fit as he was.

Wow...I'm glad they were able to flip Johnson. That was quicker than I thought. 

I'm skeptical that he's going to be able to Wrestle and play FB at UW, but probably won't hurt for the first year and should be great for his motor.

 

But as far as NU, they're just in about as bad of a spot as a program can be in. I understand that a lot of players commit because of position coaches or who recruited them, the school itself, etc...but having uncertainty about the HC is a killer. One recruit leaves, you wonder how many others may follow, and that's without even considering who you're currently recruiting.

Plus you're entire program is stuck in place for a year until they find out who the HC will be and who's going to be retained on the staff long term.

 

I've seen Leonhard's name attached to NU. That's plausible and would be a massive win for them IMO. I don't think he's in a hurry to jump into a new position, but who knows. He wanted to be a HC. NU is somewhat similar to Madison as they've got high academic standards, it's at least close so it's not like you're moving your family across the country and he'd be familiar with the B1G and many of the recruits. That really would be a home run for them.

Though as a Packers fan, I'm still hoping he's the next DC there...one more year, Bucky wins back the Axe and they borrow it to LaFleur to drop it on Joe Barry.

[Jim French Stepstool]

Leonhard would be a great hire for them for many reasons, not the least of which is they're most likely going to be in "starting over" mode which would fit him nicely. I've also heard Ed Orgeron mentioned, which reminds me of when Sam Rutigliano was mentioned for the UW job decades ago in that I think the rumor is coming from one side only---Orgerons'. I'd love to see NU seriously consider Ed, but I'm pretty sure they're too smart for that.

[yourout]

1 hour ago, BrewerFan said:

Wow...I'm glad they were able to flip Johnson. That was quicker than I thought. 

I'm skeptical that he's going to be able to Wrestle and play FB at UW, but probably won't hurt for the first year and should be great for his motor.

 

But as far as NU, they're just in about as bad of a spot as a program can be in. I understand that a lot of players commit because of position coaches or who recruited them, the school itself, etc...but having uncertainty about the HC is a killer. One recruit leaves, you wonder how many others may follow, and that's without even considering who you're currently recruiting.

Plus you're entire program is stuck in place for a year until they find out who the HC will be and who's going to be retained on the staff long term.

 

I've seen Leonhard's name attached to NU. That's plausible and would be a massive win for them IMO. I don't think he's in a hurry to jump into a new position, but who knows. He wanted to be a HC. NU is somewhat similar to Madison as they've got high academic standards, it's at least close so it's not like you're moving your family across the country and he'd be familiar with the B1G and many of the recruits. That really would be a home run for them.

Though as a Packers fan, I'm still hoping he's the next DC there...one more year, Bucky wins back the Axe and they borrow it to LaFleur to drop it on Joe Barry.

Or they drop it on both of them.

[BrewerFan]

1 hour ago, Jim French Stepstool said:

Leonhard would be a great hire for them for many reasons, not the least of which is they're most likely going to be in "starting over" mode which would fit him nicely. I've also heard Ed Orgeron mentioned, which reminds me of when Sam Rutigliano was mentioned for the UW job decades ago in that I think the rumor is coming from one side only---Orgerons'. I'd love to see NU seriously consider Ed, but I'm pretty sure they're too smart for that.

I like Orgeron, but the way you're saying this makes me think you don't think he's a good coach? I have no idea if he is or not, can't say that I watch any of his teams that closely. Seems like he's done a good job taking over talented team. USC, obviously his run at LSU was great...but that he was fired so quickly after is telling. I guess...he had been there for 3 years by then, so it was kind his team.

I have watched Leonhard though and I think he'd have been great at UW in a similar way to how Fitz was great at NU. He probably couldn't have elevated them, but Fitzgerald kept them about as competitive as a program with those restraints would allow for.
Leonhard would likely have gotten UW back to a double digit win team pretty regularly. I just never would have imagined a combo like Fickel and Longo coming in here.

 

45 minutes ago, yourout said:

Or they drop it on both of them.

On LaFleur? Nah, I'm happy with him. At least what I've seen. We haven't really seen his whole offense yet, but I think it's been pretty good so far. He's had talent, but he's also had some obstacles. Meanwhile that defense has roughly 19 first round picks(actually 8 that should start) and the last two years it's taken half a year and MLF to publicly comment about how they need to play more aggressive before they start...occasionally playing less than 8 yards off the ball. Though they go back to that in the biggest spots! 

I was surprised Barry wasn't fired last year. But don't wanna go too deep into Packers talk here.

[Jim French Stepstool]

4 hours ago, BrewerFan said:

I like Orgeron, but the way you're saying this makes me think you don't think he's a good coach? I have no idea if he is or not, can't say that I watch any of his teams that closely. Seems like he's done a good job taking over talented team. USC, obviously his run at LSU was great...but that he was fired so quickly after is telling. I guess...he had been there for 3 years by then, so it was kind his team.

 

Orgeron is (I think) in his 60s. He's mostly made his mark coaching (as a HC) in the SEC.  He'd have to acclimate to a tougher academic environment at NU. Always been regarded as a solid recruiter, but I don't know how successful he'd be going after the kids he'd have to target if he were in Evanston. 

He's certainly had a successful career. I just don't see NU as a good fit, for either party.

[BrewerFan]

22 minutes ago, Jim French Stepstool said:

Orgeron is (I think) in his 60s. He's mostly made his mark coaching (as a HC) in the SEC.  He'd have to acclimate to a tougher academic environment at NU. Always been regarded as a solid recruiter, but I don't know how successful he'd be going after the kids he'd have to target if he were in Evanston. 

He's certainly had a successful career. I just don't see NU as a good fit, for either party.

LOL...I'm just picturing him interviewing with the stuffy Northwestern Administration in that Bayou accent! 

And I agree, it wouldn't be a great fit based on the school and the region. I might have misinterpreted your meaning with the 'only coming from one side,' and they're too smart for that as a more general indictment on his coaching ability.

[Jim French Stepstool]

8 minutes ago, BrewerFan said:

LOL...I'm just picturing him interviewing with the stuffy Northwestern Administration in that Bayou accent! 

 

😆.

[Jim French Stepstool]

9 minutes ago, BrewerFan said:

 

And I agree, it wouldn't be a great fit based on the school and the region. I might have misinterpreted your meaning with the 'only coming from one side,' and they're too smart for that as a more general indictment on his coaching ability.

Nah, the points I made above regarding Ed, I think the NU administration sees the same potential issues & therefore wouldn't be all that interested. And the age would be a factor as well. I agree the man certainly has proven he can coach.

[owbc]

Why would any good candidate be interested in the NU job? There's clearly a serious lack of intuitional control given the issues across multiple sports and the AD is in damage control mode right now. I wouldn't touch that program until they have cleaned house at the higher admin levels. 

[nate82]

Dilin Jones has committed to the Badgers (4-star RB) for 2024.  The recruiting class for 2024 is looking really good for the Badgers. 

[MVP2110]

47 minutes ago, nate82 said:

Dilin Jones has committed to the Badgers (4-star RB) for 2024.  The recruiting class for 2024 is looking really good for the Badgers. 

Grabbing two separate 4 star RBs is incredible. Guessing both have a chance of playing immediately next season

[BrewerFan]

On 7/14/2023 at 12:08 PM, owbc said:

Why would any good candidate be interested in the NU job? There's clearly a serious lack of intuitional control given the issues across multiple sports and the AD is in damage control mode right now. I wouldn't touch that program until they have cleaned house at the higher admin levels. 

Because the "problems" are...relatively minor and being addressed.

There is some weird stuff that goes on inside locker rooms. It'd always been my experience you can refuse for the most part, but there's an initiation process. It's like a family. The "car wash" would have been one I'd have refused and the "QB-C snap," but they're testing you and some of it is just stuff you have to go through. I remember being woken up with someone breaking into my dorm room banging pots and kettles making you go run, you have to do the grunt work, that stuff is fine. For as homophobic as locker rooms can be, there's no place with more homoerotic behavior though. That...that is weird. I really don't think they needed a bigger "solve,' than what they'd already come up with.

 

And what's the other issue? A coach being verbally abusive? I don't know what he said, but I don't know, I've had lots of coaches cussing me out and yelling at me. I'd need more context. Of ALL the athletes who went through NU, you had...2 people come forward and it was from 2014 I believe? That tells me this wasn't a culture with rampant hazing.

Frats are 10X worse with forcing people to drink just...ridiculous amounts of alcohol. 

 

But it's still a B1G coaching gig and again, they're addressing those "problems." 

[madbad2000]

7 hours ago, BrewerFan said:

And what's the other issue? A coach being verbally abusive? I don't know what he said, but I don't know, I've had lots of coaches cussing me out and yelling at me. I'd need more context. Of ALL the athletes who went through NU, you had...2 people come forward and it was from 2014 I believe? That tells me this wasn't a culture with rampant hazing.

But it's still a B1G coaching gig and again, they're addressing those "problems." 

So I've seen the number from as either 11 or 13 players that have came forward.  That's only the public responses and does not include anyone who has chimes in behind the scenes which is typically a lot more. And based on this Tribune article, includes current players.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/college/ct-northwestern-hazing-longterm-consequences-20230715-jwcxzdeh7vfh5cdbp2cckmnrga-story.html

There are quite a few reasons why the Northwestern gig is not a desirable position.  First off, it's an academic school and this article highlights that perfectly.  The administration and staff care more about academic reputation than sports success.  Higher standards make it harder to recruit.  You can do it successfully, but you have razor thin margins.  It's always going to be hard for NU to find success long term.  It'll likely be a stepping stone job if anyone starts to have success but there will always be suitors because it is a B1G job.