Tag: Mike Tressel

A look at Wisconsin football’s entire coaching staff for the 2024 season

There was a surprising amount of turnover on Wisconsin’s staff this offseason — plus the hire of Alex Grinch:

The Wisconsin football program has experienced a surprising amount of coaching turnover this offseason.

It’s not as if Luke Fickell’s team was in the National Championship and had assistants getting promotions left and right. This turnover felt unique, with several assistants making lateral moves to other programs.

Wide receivers coach Mike Brown took the same position at Notre Dame, safeties coach Colin Hitschler moved laterally to Alabama and offensive line coach Jack Bicknell Jr. was moved to an off-field role — though that appears to have been performance-related.

Related:Β Power ranking all 18 Big Ten football programs after the 2023 season

Brown and Hitschler are significant losses, especially on the recruiting trail. Not to raise any alarm bells. It’s just surprising to see two of the more important assistants move laterally to other jobs.

The real story here is who was hired to replace them. At safeties coach, it’s former USC defensive coordinator Alex Grinch — which fans seem unhappy about.

Here is Luke Fickell’s full 2024 coaching staff as he enters a pivotal year in his tenure at Wisconsin:

Wish list to replace Texas co-defensive coordinator Jeff Choate

Texas’ linebacker coach position could be highly sought after among college defensive coaches.

Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian is now hiring for a new linebacker’s coach and potential co-defensive coordinator alongside Pete Kwiatkowski. Given the talent present on the roster and the Longhorns’ involvement in the College Football Playoff, the role should be highly sought after in the coaching profession.

Texas fans want Gary Patterson after seeing how much the Texas defense improved with Patterson as a special assistant. The likelihood is, however, that Patterson is more interested in head coaching positions than roles underneath a defensive coordinator.

Other former big name head coaches have drawn the attention of fans on social media. Names like former Oklahoma defensive coordinator Mike Stoops and former Texas head coach Charlie Strong have been brought up by Texas faithful. Albeit, Texas donors don’t want Stoops and understandable pride could keep Strong from taking an assistant role at Texas.

While we won’t rule out those moves, let’s look at a few more options Texas might turn to at linebacker’s coach and potential co-defensive coordinator.

Ten Potential candidates to be the next defensive coordinator of Michigan State football

10 possible candidates that can be the next defensive coordinator at Michigan State

With the hiring of Jonathan Smith as Michigan State’s next head football coach, it also means that there will be a new staff coming to East Lansing. While Smith has already gotten a huge jump on hiring his staff, click here to view who has been hired by Smith so far, he has yet to announce who will be serving as the defensive coordinator for his staff.

Smith had two defensive coordinators throughout his tenure at Oregon State, so there are several options and possibilities for Smith to explore.

Let’s take a look at some of the potential candidates that could potentially be in the mix for MSU’s defensive coordinator position:

Badgers safety ranks second in the nation in tackles

Wohler is a tackling machine

The Badgers football team is going into their bye week this week with a 3-1 record and although it’s been a bumpy ride at times, Wisconsin safety Hunter Wohler has been as consistent as it gets. He currently ranks second in the country in solo tackles and solo tackles per game.

To this point, Wohler has recorded 30 total solo tackles over the Badgers’ first four contests of the year, which is 7.5 solo tackles per game, both of which rank second in the FBS.

Wohler is in his third season with Wisconsin after a strong high school career in Muskego and he’s really come into his own in Mike Tressel’s defense. Although he’ll slide down the charts by not playing this week, it’s very possible that the safety’s 7.5 STPG remains behind UTEP’s Tyrice Wright before the Badgers play Rutgers at 11AM on Oct. 7 at Camp Randall.

[mm-video type=playlist id=01eqbyzzyj3n3jt6m7 player_id=none image=]

Report: Wisconsin defensive coordinator a candidate for Michigan State’s head coach opening

Wisconsin’s DC was listed as a possible candidate at MSU…

Michigan State officially fired head coach Mel Tucker earlier this week. The program went 20-14 under his watch, and just 7-7 after a fantastic 2021 season led to a record 10-year, $95 million contract extension.

The Spartans now move forward to find their next head coach. Just last season both Wisconsin and Nebraska were able to successfully land big names in the coaching world in Luke Fickell and Matt Rhule respectively. The question now is where Michigan State stands as a program, and whether the top candidates across the country consider it an attractive opening.

The Action Network’s Brett McMurphy did report an initial list of candidates for the job. Included in that list is Wisconsin first-year DC Mike Tressel.

Tressel played his college football at Cornell before his coaching journey brought him to East Lansing from 2007-2014 as its linebackers coach, 2015-17 as co-defensive coordinator and 2020 as safeties coach. The Wisconsin DC then left to join Luke Fickell at Cincinnati in 2021. He isn’t far removed from being a highly successful coordinator at Michigan State.

Tressell replaced star DC Jim Leonhard at Wisconsin and is still working to install his system. The jury is still out on whether his defense can be great this season. But regardless, he isn’t the hot name in the coaching world that Michigan State fans will want.

20 potential candidates to replace Mel Tucker as Michigan State football’s coach

Who could potentially replace Mel Tucker? We came up with 20 coaches to consider.

Following an in-depth investigation by USA TODAY into the allegations made by Brenda Tracy against Mel Tucker, the university placed Mel Tucker on an unpaid suspension.

Operating under the assumption that Tucker has coached his last game as the head man of the Michigan State football program, as Lansing State Journal reporter Graham Couch speculated, the Spartans will be in the market for a new leader of their football program.

Check out some of the potential candidates Michigan State could look to bring in:

Badger Countdown: One goal for Wisconsin football in 2023

Luke Fickell wants to compete for championships

The return of Badgers football is just one day away as the Luke Fickell era in Madison gets underway Saturday at 2:30 versus Buffalo at home. Since he’s arrived at Wisconsin, the hype around the team has reached an incredible high.

Fickell has brought in offensive coordinator Phil Longo and his “Air Raid” offense from North Carolina while defensive coordinator Mike Tressel followed the head coach from Cincinnati.

As a group, they’ve worked to revitalize the culture of Badgers football in Madison as they usher in the next era. Transfer athletes like quarterback Tanner Mordecai (SMU) and wide receiver CJ Williams (USC) have joined the squad and Fickell is only focused on one thing, competing for championships.

[mm-video type=playlist id=01eqbyzzyj3n3jt6m7 player_id=none image=]

WATCH: Hype video highlighting beginning of Luke Fickell era

Could Luke Fickell turn Badgers in CFB powerhouse?

The hiring of Luke Fickell has a chance, and may already be, one of the most influential moves in Wisconsin football history. Fickell joined the Badgers in November after six seasons as the head coach of the Cincinnati Bearcats.

While with Cincinnati, he turned that program into one of the best in the country, posting a 57-18 overall record in his time there and even leading them to a 13-0 regular season and a College Football Playoff appearance in 2021.

Now in Madison, he has brought with him Mike Tressel, his defensive coordinator from Cincinnati, and reeled in highly-regarded offensive coordinator Phil Longo from North Carolina.

The culture of the football team changed rather quickly and it has become a destination where transfers like quarterback Tanner Mordecai (SMU) and wide receiver CJ Williams (USC) want to end up.

Finally, it seems like the recruiting efforts have stepped up a notch and Madison feels like a place where the top recruits nationally consider.

[mm-video type=playlist id=01eqbyzzyj3n3jt6m7 player_id=none image=]

Badger Countdown: Cornerback returns as number two in 2023

Is Ricardo Hallman set for big season?

The 2023 college football season is here and the Badgers are now two days from their opener against Buffalo on Sept. 2 at Camp Randall. Cornerback Ricardo Hallman is back in number 2 this season and is stepping into a larger role on Wisconsin’s defense.

Hallman appeared in 10 games last season recording nine tackles, an interception and three pass deflections. With Jay Shaw and Cedrick Dort Jr. moving on after 2022, Hallman will be more widely used in his third campaign in Madison.

New defensive coordinator Mike Tressel has brought his 3-3-5 defense over from Cincinnati and it’s a scheme that excels in providing disguised looks to the opponent’s offense, which could lead to a productive year for Hallman and the secondary.

[mm-video type=playlist id=01eqbyzzyj3n3jt6m7 player_id=none image=]

Badger Countdown: Transfer cornerback will wear number 10 in 2023

New Badgers member will wear number 10 this year

The 2023 college football season is almost here and the Badgers are now 10 days away from their opener against Buffalo on Sept. 2 at home. Last season, quarterback Deacon Hill wore the number 10, but this year a transfer cornerback will wear it.

Nyzier Fourqurean transferred to Madison in May after spending the last two seasons with Grand Valley State, a Division 2 football program. The cornerback recorded 14 pass deflections while intercepting four passes last season.

Although he had verbally committed to join Vanderbilt, Fourqurean flipped his commitment and he will look to make an impact in new defensive coordinator Mike Tressel’s defense with Wisconsin.

[mm-video type=playlist id=01eqbyzzyj3n3jt6m7 player_id=none image=]