Badgers keeping up with Kafentzis
It's been over four months since 2015 quarterback Austin Kafentzis committed to the Wisconsin Badgers during a summer trip to Madison, but other schools haven't stopped calling since then. Alabama, USC, South Carolina have all tried to keep in touch since June, but Kafentzis' father said his son only has time for the Badgers.
Advertisement
"He'll probably get 15 to 20 pieces of mail every day," Kyle Kafentzis told BadgerBlitz.com Sunday afternoon. "He opens everything from Wisconsin and everything else just kind of sits there in a big pile that I throw them in. [Most] of them are never opened. Right now his focus is the process to become a better quarterback."
So far this season Kafentzis has thrown for 2,246 yards and rushed for 1,450, helping Jordan High School to a 5-5 record against a tough slate of teams. But Kafentzis has struggled at times as well, throwing 18 interceptions to just 16 touchdowns. Kafentzis' father said Austin is trying to learn from working with a new wide receiving corps, in addition to spending more time studying film.
"His numbers are up in every category, including his turnovers," Kafentzis said. "That's just a matter of working a little bit harder to get on the same page as your receivers. That's the main focus is just to get on the same page. It's tough when you have to do that every year, but he's learned a lot from that."
Wisconsin head coach Gary Andersen and defensive line coach Chad Kauha'aha'a also took a trip out to see Kafentzis play during their first bye week of the season, in addition to their normal mailings and other forms of contact.
"The thing Gary does is send him a post card each week, which is awesome," Kafentzis said. "[It's] very personalized. But Austin doesn't need [a lot of contact]- he doesn't require upkeep like that. His whole thought process is on getting better. Every week we hear from them- every day there's a letter in the mail."
But when other schools, like Stanford, come in to watch Kafentzis and his teammates during the regular season, Kafentzis' father said the answer always stays the same.
"What do we tell them? We're committed to Wisconsin, and that's our answer. Simple as that," Kafentzis said.
Click Here to view this video.
For more Wisconsin Badgers news, notes and discussion, follow John on Twitter.