One of the forgotten storylines of the 2020 Wisconsin Badgers is the foot injury to senior quarterback Jack Coan back in early October.
His story was caught up in the team’s 45-7 victory against Illinois, the COVID-19 outbreak within the program, the three weeks in between games and their 49-11 onslaught of the Michigan Wolverines. However, Coan was in line to be the starter this season and not much has been said about when he will return to the field.
In good news for Coan’s injury and his possible path to returning, the senior quarterback was out on the field before the game this weekend throwing passes and moving around without a boot on his foot.
Graham Mertz is here warming up on the field. No pads or anything yet, but signs pointing to him being available to play.
Jack Coan is also on the field throwing. #Badgers
— Colten Bartholomew (@CBartWSJ) November 14, 2020
Redshirt freshman quarterback Graham Mertz — a player who has a completion percentage of 74.4, 375 yards, 7 touchdowns and 0 interceptions through his first two starts — talked yesterday about Coan’s status and his mindset in his recovery.
“I see him in there working every day in the training room,” Mertz said. “He’s pushing himself and I’m happy to see him recovering…His edge of working back to get healthy has been great.”
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Mertz continued to cite the senior’s work ethic during his rehab, while also noting his hard work hasn’t just appeared after his injury.
“He’s always had the same work ethic,” Mertz said. “It’s not ‘Oh, I got injured now I have to work.’ He’s always had that work ethic and I think our group as a whole has always had that work ethic.”
The redshirt freshman finished by saying he is “pumped to see him getting back to healthy.”
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Here is the full clip of the interview:
"He's pushing himself and I'm happy to see him recovering."@GrahamMertz5 is ready to see a healthy Jack Coan back with the #Badgers pic.twitter.com/tRqBd1SSus
— FOX Sports Wisconsin (@fswisconsin) November 16, 2020
Mertz and the Badgers will be back in action on Saturday in Evanston, Illinois, against the 4-0 and No. 19-ranked Northwestern Wildcats.
It seems unlikely Coan will have reached 100 percent by then, and, therefore, it is unlikely he will suit up and be available. Whether he starts at quarterback when he returns is yet to be seen, though there are definitely promising signs surrounding his return and the team is happy to be getting him back.
Gameday work:
- What Michigan HC Jim Harbaugh said after the game
- Five stats that defined the win
- Five takeaways from the game
- Instant analysis: The Badgers make a statement in their return with a blowout victory against Michigan
- True freshman RB Jalen Berger’s sensational Wisconsin debut catches Jonathan Taylor’s attention
- Wisconsin rises in latest Amway Coaches Poll
- Photo gallery from the big win