Tag: Luke Fickell

Badgers offer three-star athlete from Chicago

Wisconsin offered Tysean Griffin, a three-star athlete from Chicago on Thursday.

The Badgers offered Tysean Griffin, a three-star athlete from Chicago, Illinois on Thursday. The 5-foot-11 Griffin has experience on both sides of the ball, operating as a running back, wide receiver and cornerback for Morgan Park, High School.

Griffin would be a member of the class of 2024 and therefore has one more year before he’d join a collegiate program. He has already received multiple offers from other schools outside of Wisconsin, including one from Cincinnati, new Badger head coach Luke Fickell’s former team.

So far, Wisconsin has earned two commitments for the class of 2024, four-star quarterback Mabrey Mettauer (The Woodlands, Texas) and cornerback Austin Alexander (Chicago Heights, Illinois).

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Chad Bowden is Notre Dame’s New Defensive Director of Recruiting

Notre Dame found itself a nice asset when Marcus Freeman left Cincinnati to become the Irish’s new defensive coordinator.

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Notre Dame found itself a nice asset when Marcus Freeman left Cincinnati to become the Irish’s new defensive coordinator. It turns out the Bearcats, from whom Brian Kelly joined the Irish, are not finished losing personnel to South Bend. Chad Bowden has been the Bearcats’ director of recruiting. Not anymore:

This move represents a shift in Bowden’s thinking. He recently told the Cincinnati Enquirer he was pleased with where he was at and who he was working for (Bearcats coach Luke Fickell). Now, he’s decided a change of scenery is in order. It makes the storyline for when these teams meet Oct. 2 at Notre Dame Stadium all the more intriguing.

Cincinnati also has lost associate head coach and running backs coach Dan Enos to Maryland, where he will be the offensive coordinator. All of this turnover on the coaching staff already has resulted in two de-commitments from the Bearcats. To say this has been a tumultuous month for that program would be an understatement. Alas, there’s no choice but to press on because college football stops for nobody, especially at the highest level.

Report: Badgers hiring new special teams coordinator

Wisconsin is hiring another coach Sunday, bringing in Mike Mitchell to lead their special teams unit and outside linebackers in 2023.

The Badgers are hiring Grand Valley State head coach Matt Mitchell as their next special teams coordinator and outside linebackers coach. Mitchell has produced a 117-31 overall record as the head coach of the Lakers, finishing just one win short the program’s all-time leader Brian Kelly (118 wins).

Mitchell played collegiate football at Cornell College in Mount Vernon, Iowa, earning First-Team All-Midwest honors twice during his career with the program as a defensive lineman. He graduated from the college in 1997 and quickly launched a coaching career a few years later.

The former player started as a defensive coach with Wartburg College in 2000 before joining the Grand Valley State coaching staff in 2003. Over nearly two decades with the team, Mitchell worked his way from linebackers coach (2004-2007) to defensive coordinator (2008-2009) before spending a dozen seasons as the head coach of the Lakers (2010-2022).

Mitchell will be reuniting with Wisconsin’s new defensive coordinator Mike Tressel, who he coached alongside with at Wartburg in the early 2000’s.

Luke Fickell and the Badgers’ program will certainly benefit from bringing in such an experienced coach to lead their specials teams unit and outside linebackers in 2023.

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Badgers add transfer WR Bryson Green

Transfer wide receiver Bryson Green committed to Wisconsin on Friday after spending two seasons with Oklahoma State.

The Badgers added another wide receiver in the transfer portal Friday, acquiring former Oklahoma State Cowboy pass-catcher Bryson Green. Green appeared in 11 games with Oklahoma State in 2022, reeling in 36 catches for 584 yards and five touchdowns.

Green opted to sit out the Guaranteed Rate Bowl game versus the Badgers on December 27, but he will now join the ever-expanding Wisconsin roster heading into the 2023 campaign. The wide receiver will become the fourth player at his position to transfer to the Badgers following the 2022 season, joining CJ Williams (USC), Will Pauling (Cincinnati) and Quincy Burroughs (Cincinnati).

Wisconsin has now added 14 athletes via the transfer portal this offseason as head coach Luke Fickell and his new coaching staff usher in a new era in Badger football.

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Which first-year head coach has best opportunity to mimic TCU?

Just hear me out, these five coaches could capture lighting in a bottle for the 2023 season.

Everyone wants to know who the next best thing is in college football. To everyone’s surprise, it was the TCU Horned Frogs last season. Time and time again they defied the odds with their epic comebacks until the final game, there was no comeback this time.

Still, TCU achieved something that the Big 12 and Oklahoma failed to do in three opportunities, make the CFP championship game. It was even more remarkable that first-year head coach Sonny Dykes did this with Gary Patterson’s players that finished 5-7 the previous year.

Could there be another “Sonny Dykes” moment in 2023? If so, which first-year head coach could be the one to get it done? There was no shortage of candidates across the college football landscape. From Luke Fickell to Trent Dilfer, the coaching carousel was getting almost as much action as the transfer portal.

After thinking it over, I broke down my five candidates who could do it. While achieving what TCU did in 2022 isn’t probable, it certainly is possible.

Notre Dame misses out on 2023 Illinois wide receiver who elects to stay home

The Irish hat was left on the table

The Irish had their hat on the table for Illinois wide receiverĀ [autotag]Malik Elzy[/autotag] at theĀ [autotag]All-American Bowl[/autotag] but it really didnā€™t seem likeĀ [autotag]Notre Dame[/autotag] was a contender. Having know Elzy since his freshman year, I knew he was going to be a big-time threat.

At one point, Elzy was committed toĀ [autotag]Cincinatti[/autotag], but whenĀ [autotag]Luke Fickell[/autotag] left to take theĀ [autotag]Wisconsin[/autotag] job, the six-foot-two-inch and 205-pound receiver opened things up again. During the All-American game, Elzy made his decision, selecting Illinois and staying close to home.

This really doesnā€™t hurt the Irish, as they signedĀ [autotag]Braylon James[/autotag],Ā [autotag]Jaden Greathouse[/autotag],Ā [autotag]Rico Flores[/autotag], andĀ [autotag]Kaleb Smith[/autotag].Ā [autotag]Brandyn Hillman[/autotag] could end up playing the position as well.

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The day after: Thoughts on Ohio Stateā€™s crushing loss to Georgia

So many thoughts but these stuck out in my mind the most. How about yours Buckeye fans? #GoBucks

If you were like me, it was hard to sleep Saturday night.

For more than three quarters of the [autotag]Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl[/autotag], it looked like [autotag]Ohio State[/autotag] would face [autotag]TCU[/autotag] with a national championship on the line. Georgia had different plans. It mounted a massive comeback during the fourth quarter and sent the Buckeyes back to Columbus with a disappointing loss.

Since the game ended, many thoughts have passed through my head, some good, some bad and a great many pondering what the future for [autotag]Ryan Day[/autotag] and his program will look like. Here are my thoughts the day after Ohio Stateā€™s 42-41 loss to Georgia in the College Football Playoff semifinal. (Also, happy New Yearā€™s everyone, even if it wasnā€™t what many of us wanted).

Contact/Follow usĀ @BuckeyesWireĀ on Twitter, and like our page onĀ Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Ohio State news, notes, and opinion. Follow Michael Chen on Twitter.

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PHOTOS: Wisconsin beats Oklahoma State 24-17 in Guaranteed Rate Bowl

Photos from Wisconsin football’s 24-17 victory over the Oklahoma State Cowboys in the Guaranteed Rate Bowl:

The Wisconsin Badgers ended their season the right way on Tuesday night with a 24-17 victory over the Oklahoma State Cowboys in the Guaranteed Rate Bowl.

The Badgers utilized their run game heavily to beat the Cowboys and finished with over 258 total rushing yards. Wisconsin running back Braelon Allen led them in rushing with 116 yards and a touchdown. Because of his performance, Allen was named the game’s Offensive MVP.

The Wisconsin defense also played pretty well throughout the game, holding the Cowboys to only 10 first downs and 3-14 on third down. Wisconsin cornerback Cedrick Dort Jr. also helped to seal the victory with an outstanding interception with only a few minutes left in the game.

Although it wasn’t the most exciting bowl game for the Badgers, this victory will give them even more momentum heading into the offseason under new head coach Luke Fickell.

Below are photos from Wisconsin football’s 24-17 victory over the Oklahoma State Cowboys in the Guaranteed Rate Bowl:

WATCH: Wisconsin HC Luke Fickell’s interview with Rivals about Wisconsin’s 2023 recruiting class

Watch HC Luke Fickell’s interview with Rivals’ Clint Cosgrove about Wisconsin’s 2023 recruiting class:

After an outstanding performance to start his first early signing period as Wisconsin head coach, Luke Fickell spoke with Rivals’ Clint Cosgrove about the Badgers’ additions to their 2023 recruiting class on Wednesday.

In the interview, Fickell spoke extensively about the importance of creating strong relationships with current players and recruits, as well as his respect for the culture at Wisconsin. He believes that these were vital to the Badgers keeping many of their commits and adding even more.

Fickell surprised many throughout the county with two huge signees in wide receiver Trech Kekahuna and cornerback Amare Snowden, who are rated as four-star prospects by Rivals. Kekahuna had initially committed to Wisconsin, but de-committed shortly after HC Paul Chryst was fired. The Badgers were, fortunately, able to flip him back on Wednesday after he committed to Arizona last week.

It should be exciting to see what Luke Fickell will continue to do in his first recruiting cycle as the Badgers’ head coach.