4/14/2022 football Edit

Chris Haering on taking over Wisconsin's tight ends group, injuries

Jake Kocorowski • BadgerBlitz

Senior Writer

Senior Writer, BadgerBlitz.com -- part of the Rivals.com network; Co-Author, Walk-On This Way; Galatians 5:22-23

MADISON, WIS. -- Wisconsin's tight end room has been hit by key injuries to contributors, a departing standout in Jake Ferguson, and a transition in position coach. Chris Haering now mentors this room after UW announced that Mickey Turner would lead the program's recruiting endeavors.

Haering, formerly the special teams coach since the 2015 season, spoke to reporters on Wednesday inside the McClain Center. BadgerBlitz.com captured his full session. Questions and answers are lightly edited for clarity.

Chris, how much time are you gonna need, I guess after spring ball, to really have a good sense of what you have in that room? I ask that only because there are so many guys out right now.

"Yeah, and we're hopeful that those guys will have a full summer, most of them that have been on the long-term rehab. Summer is going to be a great time for those guys to develop into what we're asking the tight ends to do now with some of the changes on offense.

"I think the entire summer is going to be important for those guys. Fall camp, obviously, if you get those guys back healthy, that'll tell us a lot, too, in terms of their capabilities and where they are with their injuries and the offense going forward."

What have we been able to glean, now that you have been working exclusively with tight ends, with the guys who you do have who's healthy? Especially like guys like Franklin, Pugh and Rucci?

"I like those guys. I think they've had a really good start to the spring. They've continued to get better each practice. They've been available, which is big, so that's helped those guys get better each day, and we're really focused on fundamentals right now.

"And the stuff we saw at the beginning of spring, fundamentally, the mistakes are starting to get cleaned up. So as a position coach, you're excited for those guys that they're picking up on the coaching and what we're asking them to do."

What are some of those new things?

"Without getting into specifics, I think it's kind of a blending of what the offense was before, and some of the things coach (Bobby) Engram's bringing into the fold. And being a tight ends coach with the Baltimore Ravens, he's got big plans for the tight ends and asking those guys to be a big part of the offense. So I think it's going to be an important, important mesh of both systems, for sure."

It may be tough to tell now, but where is Clay Cundiff in this picture for you, from what you saw on film last season, and just in his recovery?

“I think he made a lot of progress last year, just watching his early film and up until the time he got injured. We're hoping that Clay first of all, gets a full summer of training. If he can do that, really feel good about him in the position. I think he can add a lot of value to the room being that he's going to be healthy.”

Does he bring a nice mix in terms of his catching ability, but he's also big enough to block – is that one of the things he does well is being versatile?

“I absolutely think he's in every down tight end, based on what I saw on last year's film, and just talking with him and talking about some of the things that he sees for himself.”

With Hayden Rucci, where have you seen him have to work back from in terms of injury, and how do you see him both in terms of blocking, but also being a receiver, too?

"I think we're coming back from injury's been pretty big for him this spring. I think he's gaining a lot of confidence. It was a battle for him in the past. There was something always bothering him, injury-wise, and I think he's kind of gotten past that, and his approach has been tremendous this spring in terms of every day coming out and being available, and really working on the fundamentals. I think he can do both. I don't see him as just a blocker. I see him as an every down tight end as well."

What's been your experience kind of transitioning into this tight end coaching role? Did you reach out to anybody about coaching this specific position, or how did you kind of go about it?

"Well, we're fortunate. Obviously, Coach Engram was a tight ends coach in the NFL. Coach (Paul) Chryst has been a tight ends coach in the NFL and knows the offense really, really well. Mickey Turner's still in the building, so we got three pretty good resources right there, and the fourth is always Bob Bostad, who coached tight ends in the past. So thus far, that's been the group that I've talked to the most, and certainly as I continue to coach the position, we'll get other thoughts and ideas from outside the building. But right now, that's been the focus."

What would say is Jaylan Franklin's skill set is? Do you get the sense he's ready for this opportunity? He's a fifth-year guy, making the transition (from outside linebacker) a couple years in?

"I do. I think he's got a great approach as well. He's really kind of dialed in on the little things about playing tight end. He's an athletic, young man. He's kind of bounced around in this program, positionally, so now he's settled in and he's really understanding and wants to know more details about the position, and he's becoming more physical. He's starting to trust himself in the blocking, and when he does that, I think he's got a chance to really help us."

What have been the challenges of being so short-handed this spring?

"The challenge is this -- we told those guys even before spring started that we were going to be short-handed and they had to get themselves in great shape, and they had to be available, and they've done that to this point in time. So I give the players a lot of credit for getting themselves in shape, knowing that they were going to take extra reps than if we had a full room.

"And I think this, I think it's given some guys opportunity to really get a lot of work that may not have gotten as much work if the room was all available so they've really embraced that, and I've seen a lot of improvement from them."

I'm guessing a guy like (Riley) Nowakowski, who was drafted to kind of help you guys through the spring, will probably move back to fullback. But is it difficult for a kid to just say, 'Hey, we need you to help out this spring,' learn that position and at least give you guys a good look in the spring?

"I think it's a tremendous credit to Riley that he can do that. He's a very intelligent young man and intelligent football player. And certainly just jumping into the position myself, I know that the tight end position, you gotta know everything. You gotta master the whole offense. It's not just your little piece, and he's intelligent enough to do that, and he's proven to be very physical this spring.

"So what he's done is he's really given the coaching staff a lot of confidence in that he can do a lot of things for this program. So I think it's been really good for him, and obviously, as you said, it's really helped us out as well."

Chris, what were those conversations like with Paul about kind of dissolving the special teams coordinator spot and then moving over to tight ends for you?

"You know, always interesting. It was pretty short lived. We had a kind of just a sit down and talked about some different directions that the staff may go, and then he came down the hall and said, 'Why don't you go with tight ends today.' And that was a couple of weeks before the spring, and so that's kind of how it happened."

Is Cam Large another one of those guys you hope can be back in the summer? Where do things stand with him and what can he provide?

"I'm not sure medically exactly what they're talking about with Cam, but I know just talking with him, that's his plan. That's his plan to be able to get to work and be ready for fall camp. But again, that's more a medical question."

With Jack Pugh, I know it's a second spring, but what strides has he made so far? I think the first few open practices, we saw him makes a couple of catches, but where has his progress been?

"I like where he is, especially being a young tight end. Some of the stuff he's learned in the past has been kind of transformed a little bit, just with where we're going with the offense. He's been really quick to pick that up.

"I think his biggest change was probably in the offseason, building up his body, and that's allowed him to be more physical at the position."

Where do you think (Jack) Eschenbach goes from here when he's healthy? What can he do for you this season, especially knowing that Ferguson has moved on?

"I think he again, is an every down tight end. Really intelligent football player. He's done a great job coaching this spring, and that tells me that he really understands the position. He's always back there talking to the players. He's a guy that that I lean on with, 'How have you done this in the past? What are some of the things that you've done?' And he's been really good, so I feel good about him. His challenge is to make sure he's healthy and get a good summer in training."

I've got one specialist question for you. I know you're not working with them, but you were there last year. ... Nate Van Zelst, it seems like it's really taken a huge step this spring. Did you see that last year from him?

"Yeah. We were confident that he could be a good kicker for us. I think the thing he's done as well, he got himself into the strength program and really bought into that, and he's now trusting his leg. He's trusting his strength in his leg, and he's doing a good job this spring. Excited about his progress."

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