One thing that should not be overlooked is that Fickell has deep connections to the SW Ohio recruits. The Cincinnati area and SW Ohio is an absolute hot bed of talent and it would be incredible if he can keep getting guys out of this area we are going to like him a lot.
He has arrived in Madison with his family
Cade McNamara, the Michigan QB has entered the transfer portal. He has 2 years of eligability remaining. Is he worth taking a look at?
McNamara is certainly better than Mertz but why would he transfer? Is he a headcase? Does Michigan have someone better? Seems odd given the Wolverines have a fast track to the playoffs.
I donât get that at all.
Per Wisconsin, Luke Fickell spent an hour with Jim Leonhard Sunday and will have another meeting with him Wednesday. He stated that he's "very open" to exploring options with Leonhard, which would assume having him stay on as defensive coordinator #Badgers
â Benjamin Worgull (@TheBadgerNation) November 28, 2022
Luke Fickell on whether he's considering keeping Jim Leonhard on his staff: "Yes, definitely I am. I met with Jim for about an hour last night. Weâll meet against Wednesday. We had a great conversation. Iâm very open to obviously picking his brain for a lot of things."
â Jesse Temple (@jessetemple) November 28, 2022
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@Tschmack posted:McNamara is certainly better than Mertz but why would he transfer? Is he a headcase? Does Michigan have someone better? Seems odd given the Wolverines have a fast track to the playoffs.
He lost the starting job to J J McCarthy. No different than an NFL player demanding a trade or becoming a free agent.
@ammo posted:He lost the starting job to J J McCarthy. No different than an NFL player demanding a trade or becoming a free agent.
He isnât demanding anything. Heâs literally a free agent.
Come on Goalline. I didn't say he was demanding anything. I said it was like a NFL player demanding a trade because he lost his starting job.
It sounds like JL may be open to staying on. That would be encouraging to help work through the transition.
i canât see leonhard staying but i suppose itâs possible.
I think it could be a long shot, but ironically Fickell stayed at Ohio $tate after not being awarded the HC position.
JL loves WI. If given the right title and assurances to be a part of the big picture he returns in whatever capacity. He and his family love it here in Madison, he will stay if givin the opportunity. JMHO.
It's a little absurd to think, but I don't feel you are wrong. Jimmy loves Madison and wants to be here. That he is coaching the team to a bowl game while Fick is watching says a lot I think.
I hate to get my hopes up, because I think Jim is a big time defensive coordinator and will be courted everywhere, but he just might stick around.
Depends on the offers he getsâĶ.From Madison and elsewhere.
There just may be one coming from up north.
If Iâm JL, I might want to stay another year or two at UW as defensive coordinator. Imagine he and Fickell collaborating on defensive schemes? That could be tremendous. Hell, imagine if you are a big time defensive recruit. Fickell and JL on the staff together? Holy crap.
The other issue is you can make a case JL could become even more valuable and sought after if Fickell is able to come in and have immediate success. Plus, Iâm not sure there are any plumb jobs left as HC. Wait another year or two and that could change. What if Harbaugh continues to get over on the Buckeyes? Ryan Day could be gone in 2-3 years and maybe Fickell replaces him and JL gets the UW job after all.
The final nugget is when you look at next years schedule, yes they play Ohio State but itâs at home and thereâs no Michigan or Penn State. They also get Iowa at home. Sure, they have WSU and Purdue and Illinois and MN on the road but honestly those are all winnable games. Realistically, this should be a 9 or 10 win team next year. I bring this up as a strong reason for JL and key players to stay. They should have a very good 2023 season.
@Tschmack posted:If Iâm JL, I might want to stay another year or two at UW as defensive coordinator. Imagine he and Fickell collaborating on defensive schemes? That could be tremendous. Hell, imagine if you are a big time defensive recruit. Fickell and JL on the staff together? Holy crap.
The other issue is you can make a case JL could become even more valuable and sought after if Fickell is able to come in and have immediate success. Plus, Iâm not sure there are any plumb jobs left as HC. Wait another year or two and that could change. What if Harbaugh continues to get over on the Buckeyes? Ryan Day could be gone in 2-3 years and maybe Fickell replaces him and JL gets the UW job after all.
The final nugget is when you look at next years schedule, yes they play Ohio State but itâs at home and thereâs no Michigan or Penn State. They also get Iowa at home. Sure, they have WSU and Purdue and Illinois and MN on the road but honestly those are all winnable games. Realistically, this should be a 9 or 10 win team next year. I bring this up as a strong reason for JL and key players to stay. They should have a very good 2023 season.
Assuming key players stay, being a 9 or 10 win team depends on QB play. Perhaps Mertz stays and becomes at least a competent game manager type who avoids the killer mistakes. I don't think it's the most likely outcome, but it's not impossible. Maybe they get a guy from the transfer portal instead?
As poorly as this season went, if a Jack Coan type would have been the QB, they very likely win at least 2 more games (Washington State and Michigan State). They may even win 4 more games (Iowa and Minnesota).
Good, competent QB play covers up a lot of other issues that you don't notice otherwise.
I think Fickell will deal with this issue more effectively than Chryst did.
If Braelon Allen transfers and Mertz remains as QB I doubt if they can win 6 games.
If thereâs a way to keep JL even for a year or two I doubt you will see many guys transfer out. I also think Fickell should be able to attract guys to the program (hopefully a QB). But I agree - something has to give with Mertz and he may decide to move on himself.
If Allen still decides to transfer so be it. Rumors of Michigan and U$C aside, his best opportunity to showcase his skills will be at Wisconsin. Heâs the main man at UW. Those other two programs are loaded with great players. He likely will play in 2023 and then declare for the draft so why not stay in Madison?
Fickell today said he will coach in some form in whatever bowl game the Badgers have, " Even if it is just the punt unit."
How long before Fickell talks to players, like Allen? Is Allen unhappy at UW? I see the Badgers' recruiting budget as something that needs to be adjusted upwards. If we added $1 million to it, we would be near Michigan's recruiting budget, which is still near the middle of the pack. Lots to do to bring a winner to Madison.
Gotta be a good one out there this off-season.
I have to think they will try to add a QB through the transfer portal. I also wouldnât be surprised if Mertz transfers out.
In retrospect it's not clear how close they actually came to getting him, but if Caleb Williams transfers to Wisconsin instead of USC, there is no doubt the Badgers would be playing Michigan tomorrow because their record would be, at worse, 10-2. They'd have likely still lost to OSU, and may have still lost to Illinois, but that's it.
There are likely QBs out there that would upgrade the position fast.
Notre Dame QB Drew Pyne will enter the transfer portal. He has 3 years of eligibility left. He went 8-2 as Notre Dames starter this year, going 4-1 against top 25 teams. He will not play in the Fighting Irish bowl game. Get on the phone Luke and get that young man to Madison. Fickell is exactly the type of coach Pyne should want to play for.
hoping mertz hits the portal soon
@ammo posted:Notre Dame QB Drew Pyne will enter the transfer portal. He has 3 years of eligibility left. He went 8-2 as Notre Dames starter this year, going 4-1 against top 25 teams. He will not play in the Fighting Irish bowl game. Get on the phone Luke and get that young man to Madison. Fickell is exactly the type of coach Pyne should want to play for.
They guy who could not beat out Jack Coan
He was only a freshman when Coan QB the Irish.
Will a QB want to come with the coaching change? What offense are they running? Badgers have generally been run first and pass occasionally. How do they adapt with the players they have? A lot of questions.
I don't think of it Badger offense, I think of it as Luke Fickell offense. In 2022 Cinncy ran the ball 388 times, passed 400 times. 19 rushing TD, 21 passing TD. If he has the right QB, (not Mertz) I expect him to do the same or maybe pass more.
With players he recruited for his system. I watched the Bearcats a lot. Father in law graduated from there and a niece just graduated. Wife is from Cincinnati. Fickle can coach. They play a different defense also 3-3-5?? Offense will depend on o coordinater. Will the current one come to Wisconsin?
Bob Bostad is leaving the program. Not a huge surprise as he was one of PCs most loyal guys, but heâs also (arguably) the best position coach in UW football history. Under his watch as OL coach, they churned out a dozen or so All American OL. When he moved to LB coach, he made a similar impact. This year? I have no idea what happened to the OL although Iâm not sure they had the right level of talent or strength/conditioning for those interior OL positions.
Bobby April is a guy to watch as well and like JL I hope they are able to keep him. Heâs probably their best recruiter on the PC/JL staff and heâs done well developing guys. That being said, he probably could land a DC position for the right program so itâs worth following. If JL goes Iâm sure April will as well.
As for the Badgers offense, I really think other teams figured out that schematically it was easy to defend them and obviously other than the RB position this team has been abysmal at TE and WR the last half decade or so. Skylar Bell is intriguing but heâs a backup on most good teams. Dike is nothing special and for as reliable as Ferguson was he was no threat to make game breaking plays.
Weâve also talked about this but Taylor and Allen covered up a ton of warts on that side of the ball. If JT didnât play for this team my guess is PC would have been canned earlier. He was a once in a decade talent at RB.
If Fickell is able to come in and effectively recruit top 20-25 classes like Cincinnati this should be a 9-10 win team or even better. I also expect he will make some changes or upgrades in strength and conditioning because thatâs been a problem since Bielema moved on.
Yup, get the OLine back to where it was and a lot of things look better.
@GBFanForLife posted:With players he recruited for his system. I watched the Bearcats a lot. Father in law graduated from there and a niece just graduated. Wife is from Cincinnati. Fickle can coach. They play a different defense also 3-3-5?? Offense will depend on o coordinater. Will the current one come to Wisconsin?
The OC, Gino Guidugli is no stranger to Wisconsin. He played QB twice for the Green Bay Blizzard of the AFL and 1 season with the Milwaukee Mustangs. He also was with the Tennessee Titans as a QB for 1 season and also played in the CFL.
Details of Fickell's contract have been released. Badgers not going cheap on this one.
Jim Leonhard, who played four seasons at UW and has been a member of the coaching staff for seven seasons, has decided his heart remains in Madison. https://t.co/Raw1l1dsbT
â JSOnline - Badgers (@js_badgers) December 3, 2022
PSA: Jim Leonhardâs statement to the state of WisconsinâĶ pic.twitter.com/N5yntyAzA3
â Dillon Graff (@DillonGraff) December 3, 2022
Jim Leonhard returning to Wisconsin. pic.twitter.com/E0WqGDFcso
â Ben Stevens (@BenScottStevens) December 3, 2022
That is fantastic news.
