The hire of a running backs coach at the University of Wisconsin is a big deal, after all the Badgers aren’t called “Running Back U” for some crazy reason. Wisconsin has produced some of the most prolific running backs in the history of the game, and that tradition continued in 2014.
Helping coach Melvin Gordon to his record-breaking 2,500-yard season was first-year coach Thomas Brown. But, Brown’s prowess on the recruiting trail caught the attention of the previous coaching staff and the UW fanbase that follows such things.
The newest member of the Badgers coaching staff found himself in the middle of some big time recruiting battles outside of coaching an interesting and dynamic group of running backs.
The prowess in recruiting the south and helping to get 4-star running back Jordan Stevenson and other big 2015 targets has given him a pretty good reputation around the fanbase. So much so that when a report on Wednesday afternoon surfaced that former running back coach John Settle was coming back with Paul Chryst, the Badgers corner of the internet nearly broke with apoplectic responses.
Settle has a long history with the Badgers and Paul Chryst, having coached at UW from 2006-10 and was added to Chryst’s staff at Pitt this past season. However, for those who know recruiting, Settle wasn’t thought of that highly in landing top prospects from nearly anywhere.
Yet, for those who were worried about Settle returning and his affect on the recruiting trail, fret no more. That’s because Evan Flood of our recruiting partners at Badger247 is reporting that Chryst is actually going to be keeping Brown in place as running backs coach.
Brown has already had a hand in landing four members of the 2015 recruiting class, and has gotten 4-star and top 10-ranked running back Antonio Williams‘ verbal pledge in the 2016 recruiting class already.
So, for those who worried about Wisconsin’s future on the recruiting trail, take a deep breath and revel in the fact that Brown is back and Settle apparently nowhere near the program.
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