Tag: Wisconsin football news

Jim Leonhard wins the Grit Factory Worker of the Week

Interim head coach Jim Leonhard wins arguably the most prestigious weekly award any man could win – the Grit Factory Worker of the Week. #Badgers

Madison, Wis. — On Sunday, interim head coach Jim Leonhard was the recipient of what many are calling the most prestigious award any man could win – the Grit Factory Worker of the Week.

Here is the official statement from the Grit Factory’s Twitter account:

“The boys and staff had been through a storm this week. Life tends to throw things at you that are out of your control, and you’re given a choice on how to respond. The only way to handle such a week was to come together, and in a tough predicament, someone had to rally the troops. Coach Leonhard found a way to make a hard situation into a big win in Evanston this weekend. The first of many for the man the boys would go to war for. Jimmy Leonhard was born in The Grit Factory.”

It was an emotional week for the Wisconsin football program following long-time head coach Paul Chryst’s firing. He was a father figure, mentor, and friend to many of the UW players. 

Nonetheless, there was still a game to be played at the house of horrors (Ryan Field).

With minimal notice, coach Leonhard was able to rally the team, create a solid game plan against Northwestern, and play aggressive, inspired football that led to the ass-kicking of the Wildcats in Evanston.

It’s hard to argue with anyone other than coach Leonhard winning The Grit Factory Worker of the Week. Tip of the cap to Jim for his first win as head coach of the Wisconsin Badgers – I feel confident saying many more are to come.

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Wisconsin QB Deacon Hill enters the transfer portal

A Wisconsin Badgers reserve QB has entered his name into the Transfer Portal:

On Sunday evening, Wisconsin Badgers quarterback Deacon Hill, whose been with the program for the last two seasons, announced his intentions to enter the transfer portal.

“I want to thank everyone from the Wisconsin football program for giving me the opportunity to grow into the athlete and man I am today,” Hill wrote in a statement on social media. “It is such a privilege to be surrounded by incredible teammates, coaches, and advisors. As well as the team managers who I’ve become close friends with, and I will always cherish the friendships I have made here. With that being said, after a lot of self-reflection, prayer, and difficult conversations with my family, I have officially decided to enter my name in the Transfer Portal.”

“This is not a decision I have taken lightly, and while I know I will miss my family here in Madison immensely, I believe this is an important step in continuing to grow and move forward in my football career. I love this team with all my heart, and I am confident that the relationships I have built in Madison will last a lifetime,” Hill continued. “To my teammates, I love each of you and sincerely wish you nothing but the best. Thank you Wisconsin football, and thank you Madison.” 

This decision comes one week after former head coach Paul Chryst, who recruited Hill, was fired by Athletic Director Chris McIntosh and thought it would be best for his career to pursue another opportunity.

Per the 247Sports composite, Hill was the No. 495 overall prospect in the 2023 recruiting class, the No. 39 QB in the country, and the No. 40 player in California.

During his career at Wisconsin, Hill appeared in one game and never attempted a pass.

The 6-foot-3, 250-pound QB has a strong arm and will go portaling with three years of eligibility remaining.

I’d also like to offer my deepest condolences to Zach Heilprin, who was undoubtedly Deacon’s most prominent supporter during this challenging time.

UW now has three scholarship signal callers remaining on the roster (Graham Mertz, Chase Wolf, Myles Burkett) and one walk-on (Marshall Howe).

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Wisconsin Badgers vs. Northwestern Wildcats game recap: Everything we know

Wisconsin #Badgers vs. Northwestern game recap:

Interim head coach Jim Leonhard and the Wisconsin Badgers (3-3, 1-2 Big Ten), who were ten-point favorites, righted the ship at Ryan Field on Saturday afternoon, beating the Northwestern Wildcats 42-7 (1-5, 1-2 Big Ten) behind a dominant all-around performance.

Bobby Engram’s offense looked immeasurably different in week six, producing an impressive 515 total yards (322 passing, 194 rushing) and scoring 42 points on 7.6 yards per play. Which begs the question, how much of UW’s offensive struggles were tied to Paul Chryst over inserting himself in the play calling?

The defense, which has struggled mightily the past two weeks, looked much better, holding the Wildcats to just one score but allowing 342 yards of total offense.

It was an emotional week for UW, but they came up firing and improved to 3-3 on the young season, winning the program’s first game under coach Leonhard. Also worth noting, this was Wisconsin’s first win in Evanston since 2016.

Here’s a recap of Wisconsin’s road victory over the Northwestern Wildcats:

ESPN’s FPI projection for Wisconsin’s contest vs. Northwestern

Wisconsin enters Saturday’s contest vs. Northwestern as ten-point favorites:

The Wisconsin Badgers (2-3, 0-2 Big Ten) enter Saturday’s road contest against the Northwestern Wildcats as ten-point favorites and are looking to right the ship following an emotional week for the program.

Jim Leonhard, now the interim head coach, inherits a program coming off its second straight embarrassing loss, most recently at the hands of the Illinois Fighting Illini.

Between Leonhard and offensive coordinator Bobby Engram, the Wisconsin Badgers need to find a way to ignite the offense after two lackluster performances.

Ahead of Saturday’s matchup, ESPN’s FPI model gives Wisconsin an 79.9% chance of winning on the road against the Wildcats.

Despite the fact UW is playing Northwestern, this projection seems a bit high. Wisconsin fired long-time head coach Paul Chryst last Sunday, and the coaching staff has been forced to throw together a game plan under short notice, with several coaches having to expand their respective roles.

For Wisconsin, I’d love to see the Badgers come out and play with passion on Saturday and dominate in the trenches. This program needs to find an identity on both sides of the ball.

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Wisconsin AD Chris McIntosh explains his decision to fire Paul Chryst

Wisconsin AD Chris McIntosh has largely sidestepped why he fired Paul Chryst. He did, however, give a little insight:

Following an underwhelming 2-3 start to the season, University of Wisconsin Athletic Director Chris McIntosh made the difficult choice to move on from head coach Paul Chryst – naming defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard the interim head coach for the remainder of the season.

Wisconsin AD Chris McIntosh has largely sidestepped why he fired Paul Chryst. He did, however, give a little insight when asked why he felt the need to make a move now; he had this to say:

“The expectations of our program at Wisconsin are to win championships,” said McIntosh. “I felt that it was the right time to make a change to pursue those.”

Although Wisconsin has won three Big Ten West titles during Chryst’s tenure (2016, 2017, 2019), the Badgers failed to win a B1G Championship and haven’t won the conference title since 2012.

This move, while risky, signals the department’s desire to reinvigorate the program and help it reach new heights.

While we may never know the actual reason, this statement at least offered a potential explanation. UW desires to become an upper echelon program, and McIntosh didn’t feel like the Badgers would be able to accomplish that with Chryst at the helm.

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Wisconsin football offers 2025 tight end Ryan Ghea

Wisconsin extended its second scholarship offer to a tight end in the 2025 recruiting class:

This past weekend, Paul Chryst and his coaching staff extended a scholarship offer to 2025 tight end Ryan Ghea out of Alpharetta, Georgia, following an unofficial visit.

The 6-foot-5, 220-pound TE currently holds offers from Florida State, Georgia Tech, Indiana, Louisville, Ohio State, Ole Miss, Tennesee, and now, Wisconsin.

Ghea is just the second tight end Wisconsin has offered in the 2025 recruiting cycle, along with Arizona native Bear Tenney.

According to MaxPreps, as a sophomore for Milton High School, Ghea has caught four passes for 65 yards in five varsity games.

You can watch his HUDL film here. 

The Georgia native announced his scholarship offer from the University of Wisconsin via his Twitter account:

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Kansas HC Lance Leipold comments on Wisconsin football job opening

Lance Leipold, one of the hottest coaching candidates in the country, offered his thoughts on the current head coaching vacancy at Wisconsin:

University of Wisconsin Athletic Director Chris McIntosh made the difficult choice to move on from head coach Paul Chryst after a disappointing 2-3 start to the season.

For now, Jim Leonhard, the program’s defensive coordinator, will assume the role as the interim head coach and is believed to be the favorite to take the full-time position at the end of the season.

That said, this decision has left local and national media to speculate on other potential head coaching candidates that could make sense if Leonhard doesn’t run away with the job.

One of the first names that come to mind is Kansas football head coach Lance Leipold, who has done a terrific job with the Jayhawks and also has significant ties to the state of Wisconsin.

Leipold, a Wisconsin native, spent eight seasons as the Division III Wisconsin-Whitewater Warhawks head coach, where he won six national titles during that span – truly unprecedented success.

On Tuesday, Leipold was asked to address the current vacancy at UW after the firing of Paul Chryst, a rumor he quickly shot down.

 (Via ESPN):

“We’re happy here. We have no plans on going anywhere,” Leipold said.

“Anything else is rumors,” Leipold continued. “Some of these things are happening while we’re in the film room — I didn’t even know some of the stuff Sunday until later in the evening, when I’m getting all these text messages. I had no idea.”

Coach Leipold also added that he has a personal relationship with Paul Chryst and commended him for everything he accomplished in Madison.

“Paul Chryst is a close friend. I’ve known Paul since his late father tried to recruit me to Wisconsin-Platteville. That’s a good family, a good man,” Leipold said. “That’s a guy who averaged nine wins a year and got let go. But you know, that’s a part of what we signed up for these days. It’s a changing world in a lot of different ways and that’s unfortunate. “And I’m not questioning anyone’s decision because there’s a lot of factors that go into these [firings] that nobody really knows,” Leipold added, “but that’s me speaking as a person and as a fan, not as a coach.”

Despite Leipold’s best efforts to deflect the rumors, the hot stove will continue linking him to the University of Wisconsin and any other attractive coaching vacancy that may come open as the year wears on.

If Jim Leonhard doesn’t earn the full-time job as many expect he will, Leipold would be a home-run hire for the Wisconsin football program.

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Wisconsin releases week 6 injury report for contest vs. Northwestern

Six players are ruled out, and five others are listed as out for the season in Wisconsin’s injury report for week 6 vs. Northwestern:

Madison, Wis. — On Tuesday, the University of Wisconsin released its official injury report ahead of its week six matchup vs. the Northwestern Wildcats.

The unranked Wisconsin Badgers (2-3), who are in the midst of a tumultuous week after the firing of Paul Chryst, already have six players ruled out due to injury against Northwestern and five others listed as out for the season.  

After suffering a leg fracture two weeks ago, the program’s No. 1 tight end, Clay Cundiff, has officially been ruled out for the season – a crushing blow for such a talented young player. 

UW will need as many healthy bodies on the field as possible this weekend as the Badgers look to right the ship under the leadership of interim head coach Jim Leonhard.

Here is a look at Wisconsin football’s injury report for Week 6:

Badgers PFF grades: Top 5 defensive players from Week 5 loss to Illinois

Here’s a look at the top 5 highest graded defensive players from Wisconsin’s home loss to Illinois, according to Pro Football Focus:

Madison, Wis. – Head coach Paul Chryst and the Wisconsin Badgers (2-3, 0-2 Big Ten), who needed a bounce-back performance, lost their second straight contest embarrassingly on Saturday at Camp Randall Stadium. 

Wisconsin’s defense allowed an efficient 307 yards of offense to the Illini (167 passing, 137 rushing), failing to make life difficult for Tommy Devito and the nations leading rusher, Chase Brown. 

Jim Leonhard’s young defense is a far cry from UW’s defenses of recent years. They’ve continued to make the same mistakes we’ve seen up to all season: poor tackling, getting pushed around in the trenches, and failure to create pressure of any kind.

The defense registered only four pressures all day long, all of which came from Nick Herbig and Keeanu Benton, who had two apiece. 

It’s hard to take away many positives from this one.

Here’s a look at the five highest-graded defensive players from Wisconsin’s loss to Illinois, according to Pro Football Focus.

Badgers PFF grades: Top 5 offensive players from Week 5 loss to Illinois

Here’s a look at the top 5 highest graded offensive players from Wisconsin’s home loss to Illinois, according to Pro Football Focus:

Madison, Wis. – Head coach Paul Chryst and the Wisconsin Badgers (2-3, 0-2 Big Ten), who needed a bounce-back performance, lost their second straight contest embarrassingly on Saturday at Camp Randall Stadium. 

The offense mustered up a mere 208 total yards (206 passing, 2 rushing) – the Badgers’ lowest offensive output since 2016.

Quarterback Graham Mertz, while not great, was sacked five times and pressured seven more. He would finish the day 17-of-31 passing for 206 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions – and was one of UW’s only sources of offense. 

UW was completely and utterly dominated in the trenches – which is more concerning when you consider the amount of talent, on paper, Wisconsin has stockpiled at the position. 

Anytime Wisconsin finishes with two rushing yards, there are real problems that need to be corrected quickly if the Badgers are going to rebound and push for a Big Ten West title. 

Here’s a look at the five highest-graded offensive players from Wisconsin’s loss to Illinois, according to Pro Football Focus.