Three Native Wisconsin Football Players Agree to Play for the Badgers

Verbal commitments to the Badgers have been ramping up this off-season. Though the team lost consecutive Rose Bowls, the fact that it appeared in both is certainly an incentive to these 2012 prospects who have already committed to the Wisconsin football program. Once again, the Badgers first look in their home state for talent. Two running backs and one outside linebacker are from Wisconsin. Will these young men come to play as starters at Camp Randall? Their fate is unknown at this time. What’s important to many others is whether the Badgers will have a capable quarterback as a starter this coming season.

2012 Commitments to Wisconsin Football Program

- QB Bart Houston: Concord, CA

- OG Dan Votlz: Barrington, IL

- S D.J. Singleton: Jersey City, NJ

- OLB Vince Biegel: Wisconsin Rapids, WI

- RB Vonte Jackson: Kenosha, WI

- OG Walker Williams: Tacoma, WA

- DT Arthur Goldberg: Pittsburgh, PA

- OT Jake Meador: Whiteland, IN

- WR Reggie Love: Boca Raton, FL

- CB Reggie Mitchell: Pittsburgh, Pa

- RB Leo Musso: Waunakee, WI

- CB Hugs Etienne: Plantation, FL

Badgers Hire Matt Canada as Tight End Coach

Newly appointed tight end coordinator Matt Canada brought along some top-shelf coaching talent from Northern Illinois. This move will certainly help Wisconsin's Bret Bielema round out his coaching staff roster for 2012. Eddie Faulkner came along with Canada and played for Wisconsin in the late nineties. He served under Canada as his tight end coach at NI, and will fill the same position at Madison next year.

Faulkner just couldn't pass up the opportunity to be back at his alma mater. He passed on a similar offer from Pittsburgh. During his college years, Faulkner rushed for over 1,000 yards and scored seven touchdowns while serving on two Big Ten championship teams. In 2001 he signed a contract with the Pittsburgh Steelers, but found his way to the Edmonton Eskimos of the Canadian Football League. That was the extent of his short professional career.

The call to coach at the college level seemed to be the right fit for Faulkner. The majority of his coaching experience came at Ball State, where he served eight seasons at various positions. From 2003 to 2010, he climbed the ladder of coaching hierarchy, going from a graduate assistant to running backs and special teams coach. His highest coaching position was offensive coordinator at Ball State.

Bielema has hired six new coaching staff member this off-season, the last being Faulkner.

2012 Badgers Football Hires

• Matt Canada (Offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach)
• Zach Azzanni (Wide receivers coach)
• Andy Buh (Linebackers coach)
• Mike Markuson (Offensive line coach)
• Ben Strickland (Defensive backs and special teams assistant coach)

Badgers Jump Around versus Shout by the Ducks Fans

Take solace Badger fans. It seemed to me that the sea of red at the Rose Bowl on Monday evening won the unofficial third quarter dance off. The Wisconsin Badgers may not have won the game, but their fans know that they are the best.

In recognition of the mutual end of the third quarter chants that both organizations have become so known for - Wisconsin's “Jump Around” and Oregon's “Shout” - a cheering battle ensued between the supporters in the stands. Players stopped to watch before going back onto the field to begin the fourth quarter. And while at the end of the game Russell Wilson had a distant stare on his face, at that moment between quarters he must have been smiling.

If he takes one thing away from his single year experience at Wisconsin, let it be the other win that happened in Pasadena that night. The Badgers will now look to the future for their new starting quarterback, and fans will wonder if that person can lead the team to a Rose Bowl victory.

Paul Chryst Moves on to Pittsburgh

Along with a new conference; Pittsburgh is also ringing in the New Year with a new head coach of their football team. Paul Chryst, who has been involved with the Wisconsin program as an offensive coordinator for nearly ten years, will be in the booth for Brett Bielema for the last time during the upcoming Rose Bowl. After multiple interviews with other organizations, ranging from Texas to Illinois, Chryst decided it was time to leave the Midwest, and triple his current salary on the east coast.
Earlier in the year it looked as though Pitt had all-but made up its mind to hire Florida International offensive coordinator Mario Cristobal. Their interest in Chryst was only sparked last week when spectacular reviews came in from Barry Alvarez, the Badgers athletic director, and Bo Ryan, the university's head basketball coach. A Pittsburgh spokesperson described Chryst as a more viable long-term candidate then Cristobal, and the school's final decision was based on that merit.

Chryst's track record with Wisconsin was also a likely incentive for the interviewers at Pitt. Under Chryst the Badgers have broken their season scoring average twice, once in 2005 and again in 2010. He has kept the Badgers as one of the top five most scoring teams in the country for two years in a row. One of his most attractive abilities, especially to a school in rebuild mode like Pittsburgh, is his outstanding direction of first year quarterbacks. Chryst has worked with John Stocco, Tyler Donovan, Scott Tolzien and, most recently, Russell Wilson. Under Chryst's direction, Wilson is second in the nation for passing efficiency, and fourth in completion percentage. Assuming Wilson's numbers don't nose-dive against the Ducks; those would both break school records.

Badgers Wisch Chryst Well

Bielema and the Badgers had only kind words to say about their soon-to-be former offensive coordinator. The head coach was recently asked if Chryst would be allowed to coach in the January second Rose Bowl against Oregon. The impending departure of a major face in the organization right before a bowl is something that the Badgers have faced before. Indeed just a year ago, a few weeks before Wisconsin's first shot at a Rose Bowl in over a decade, the Badgers lost defensive coordinator Dave Doeren to the head coaching position at Northern Illinois.

One thing that may yank Bielema's chain is the possibility that Chryst will attempt to bring a few other UW staff with him out east. With the Panther's moving from the Big East conference to the Atlantic Coast, the organization is looking for a complete overhaul of personnel. A silent competition has already broke-out between the two counterparts as they have each expressed interest in either promoting, in Bielema's case, or transferring, in Chryst's, two of the Badgers position coaches. Offensive line coach Bob Bostad and tight end coach Joe Rudolph are both prospects that could step up and take the spot vacated by Chryst, but an interest in following Chryst to Pittsburgh hasn't been ruled out.

Badgers Quarterback Russell Wilson Breaks School Records

As the Wisconsin Badgers football team prepares for its second consecutive trip to the Rose Bowl, fans need to thank a key player in that effort. It was only six short months ago that quarterback Russell Wilson made the decision to forget about his efforts related to minor league baseball, refused an offer from Auburn, and jumped at the chance to play for Wisconsin. Wilson’s choice certainly wasn't an easy one, but it paid off for not only him, but the entire Badger organization. Whether his career with the team ends in a Rose Bowl crown or not, Wilson has already earned himself a multitude of honors, including the first ever Griese-Brees Quarterback of the Year award.

As of now, Wilson has already broken the Badgers all-time touchdown passing record with twenty-eight, seven better than John Stocco's previous mark. In Pasadena, he will have the chance to crack two other school records: One for all-time passing yards, and the best completion percentage. His 191.6 average passer rating is also one of the best in the history of the NCAA.

We all recognize that Russell Wilson could be considered to be a “hired gun,” but all us Badgers fans are still grateful for the work he did this past season. Who will take the reins in 2012 is anybody’s guess. For now, the focus is on winning the Rose Bowl.

Russell Wilson's 2010-2011 season stats:

 2,879 passing yards

 72.5 completion percentage

 21.8 attempts per game

 221.5 yards per game

 456 running yards

 5 running touchdowns

 first team All-Big Ten

 Grange-Griffin MVP Award