Our friends over at Badger247 have really been on top of the coaching staff changes and today they are reporting along with other sources that Wisconsin has made it’s first offensive staff hire and it’s a WR coach in Zach Azzanni. We have to give a shout out to Evan Flood and Kyle Heikkinen for their great work and willingness to be a part of our Badgers Power Hour radio shows throughout 2011 and into the new year.
Azzanni was the Offensive Coordinator and WR’s coach at Western Kentucky this past season and has ties to the Urban Meyer coaching tree, having coached under him at Bowling Green and Florida. He replaces the departed DelVaughn Alexander who was with Wisconsin since 2007.
For me this is one of the best gets for this staff, as he’s a very good WR’s coach and more importantly he is known as a very hard recruiter, working the state of Florida especially well. The University of Florida was his last stop before becoming the OC at Western Kentucky and we all know how big of a state Florida has been for Wisconsin recruiting wise. Just look at players like Antonio Fenelus, James White, etc. for proof of the types of players we try and draw and he’ll only serve to help that cause and maybe even better our results in the state.
After losing Joe Rudolph to Paul Chryst and Pitt it was the hire of someone with great recruiting skills that was of the utmost importance honestly.
On the field Azzanni lead a resurgence in Hilltoppers football, getting them to 2nd in the Sun Belt Conference this past year, but were snubbed for a bowl game after finishing 7-5 (7-1 Sun Belt) for the 2011 season. His offense there had a running game that went for 181.6 yards a game, coupled with 167.3 yards a game passing. The WKU offense was heavy on the run and sparse on the pass in comparison, but still averaged 6.7 yards per attempt on the passing side of things.
It’s clear that he’s willing to adapt his offensive philosophy to the personnel he has and as a WR’s coach here he’ll fit in well with the pro-style offensive system.
I fully expect a lot of news to come out over this weekend as to new staff hires as we enter a new recruiting period that starts this weekend. Wisconsin now has 4 open positions left to fill on the staff. So be sure to tune in here as we get the news of who’s hired and we break down the hire and what it means for Wisconsin football on and off the field.
(a look at the reports coming from Western Kentucky as well)
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
