Chase Wolf Preparing Like Wisconsin's QB1

MADISON, Wis. – Chase Wolf views himself as a playmaker. Problem is it has been hard for the redshirt sophomore to shine outside of the practice opportunities he’s received with the third-team offense.

Entering his third season with Wisconsin, the former three-star quarterback spent his first season on campus as a redshirt and last season as a co-backup behind Jack Coan, having game experience limited to three outings, both in mop-up duty that included just one pass and one rush attempt. Something is better than nothing, and it was a little sliver of experience for Wolf that has fostered growth.

“I felt last year that I was ready to play if they needed me, and this year I am more confident about my abilities if I need to go in,” Wolf said. “Of course, the more reps you get, the more learning opportunities you have on the field while repping at it in practice. I felt pretty good last year, but the more I play now, the more reps I get, I understand there are things I need to work on. The more I learn, the more comfortable I am if they need to play on Saturday.”

The development of Wolf has suddenly become a bigger storyline for Wisconsin, as Coan’s foot injury and subsequent surgery on Oct.6 leaves the senior quarterback out indefinitely. Wisconsin quarterback coach Jon Budmayr has said things are trending toward redshirt freshman Graham Mertz (Wolf’s co-backup last season) getting the start for the Oct.23 primetime opener against Illinois, but Wolf remains in the mix.

“I think I can make anything happen with the ball. I am still figuring out my strengths and weaknesses each day,” Wolf said. “I just think I can make plays, but with that strength comes weaknesses, like trying to make too many things happen, force the ball down the field and taking a sack when I could have thrown the ball away. There’s a lot of things that comes with that strength, but my goal is to find a medium between that so I can maximize my strength and have as few negatives as possible.”

Since Coan’s injury, UW’s coaches said Mertz has worked primarily with the first-team offense with Wolf and redshirt junior Danny Vanden Boom being elevated to the second team. A championship quarterback in high school, Wolf has been a predominately under-center quarterback that mixes in good mobility, the ability to extend the pocket and throw accurately while on the move.

Like many others, Wolf takes his craft seriously. In August, after the Big Ten initially canceled the season, Wolf returned home to the Cincinnati area and worked with Tony Pike, the former Cincinnati Bearcat quarterback who was a sixth-round pick of the Carolina Panthers back in 2010.

“There’s a lot of things you can learn from the film, but I also think those things are easier to understand once you do it in practice and mess up,” Wolf said. “I had a couple mess ups in practice, things I should know about, things I should be highlighting, lowlighting, things I should know that on film it’s pretty easy to see, but on the field it’s a little different. The more I get used to the reps, the more I get a feel for the game, then I can correct those mistakes.”

The quarterback room has also benefited from having Coan present over what has been a rough 10 days for him. The day after his injury, Wisconsin had scheduled a thorough intersquad scrimmage that covered a wide variety of situations. According to Budmayr, Coan spent the day crutching around the field speaking to the offensive players and coaching the quarterbacks on reads and progressions.

“That’s just who Jack is,” Budmayr said. “He’s an unbelievable leader. He’s an unbelievable presence for our team.”

Coan serves as a big presence to Wolf, as the two live in the same apartment building and the veteran spends time telling Wolf about things the redshirt sophomore can improve on as he preps for game action.

“He’s not gone; he’s still in the program,” Wolf said. “He’s still our leader. He’s still the captain in my eyes.”

Asked last week if he still viewed himself as in contention to be the starting quarterback for Friday’s opener, Wolf downplayed the question. For a room as close as the quarterbacks are, Wolf is letting his resume decide what role he plays at the beginning of the season.

“Right now, I am just trying to get prepared to play,” Wolf said. “I am preparing every single day. I am watching film every single day as if I am QB1. I am going to do everything in my power to get ready to play. If Graham gets the nod, we’ll support him and hopefully lead us to victories.”