Coach: Trudgeon has 'skill set to become a pretty high-level player' for UW
Madison (WI) Edgewood's Jesse Norris has coached new Wisconsin walk-on commit Jackson Trudgeon for the last three years. Norris called out the future Badger's dedication as the biggest thing that has stood out to him since the two-way player came into his program as a freshman
“He’s got a great work ethic," Norris told BadgerBlitz.com on Thursday. "He was very much a self-starter, so there was a lot of intrinsic motivation there for him, so I knew that that was going to take him a long way. That was something that we were really kind of pushing within our program is trying to create self-starters and self-motivated kids that can buy into our culture and what it is that we're doing as a program.
“I knew that he would fit in really, really well because of that. I mean, just everything he did, he just kind of showed that he had tremendous work ethic and he was willing to do whatever it needed to get done, and do it at a high level.”
Trudgeon, a 2022 recruit, announced he accepted a preferred walk-on opportunity from Wisconsin on June 16. For those unfamiliar with the proximity of Edgewood to Camp Randall Stadium, look no further than a mile down Monroe Street.
Edgewood went 5-3 last fall in an abbreviated 2020 campaign, and Trudgeon provided an impact on both sides of the ball. The rising senior accumulated 37 catches for 552 yards and eight touchdowns, according to his junior Hudl highlights, within the confines of the Crusaders' multiple-spread scheme. He also registered 77 tackles and two interceptions defensively.
As evident by his junior film, Norris stated with a laugh that Edgewood utilized Trudgeon "all over the place."
"Last year, he played quarterback for us after we had some quarterback injuries," Norris said. "We had three of our quarterbacks go down in Week 2, so he ended up stepping in and playing quarterback for us for two games, and we used him in some different packages there. He played some running back for us, played all over the field offensively from a receiver perspective.
"Defensively, we switched our defense up this year. He's kind of our head honcho at safety for us. He's kind of got the freedom to run both alleys and make plays and do what he needs to do and kind of utilize his best skill set, [which] in my personal opinion is his football IQ. So he knows the game really, really well. Knows where he needs to position his body to put himself in position to make a play, and he does a really, really good job of it."
Edgewood also boasts a former Badger walk-on in its coaching staff in Ben Strickland, . The former defensive back and college secondary coach now works as the high school's offensive coordinator.
Strickland noted how the Crusaders changed from a 3-4 to a 3-3 stack scheme with players in the program who could be thought of as hybrid safety-linebackers. He compared the defense to Muskego's and how current Wisconsin safety Hunter Wohler had free rein over the middle of the field.
"Most teams, obviously at the high school level are run-oriented, especially as they pack things in, and so it allows Jackson to be kind of a free hitter to the ball," Strickland told BadgerBlitz.com on Saturday morning. "If they did pass the ball, he was in the deep middle, being able to utilize his skill set to basically track down the ball, read the quarterback, understand if there's a play action pass.
"He got really, really good at identifying those things, and like I said, it's part of his feel for the game, but also his attention to details during the course of the week and knowing what to expect."
Strickland called out how Trudgeon is a three-sport athlete. At the moment, it appears when he gets to Wisconsin, his home will be on the defensive side of the ball as a safety, according to Norris.
"I know talking with [defensive coordinator Jim] Leonhard and those guys, and he's worked with him at the camps these last couple years, it's a similar style of play," Norris said. "You think of Jimmy playing around as a walk-on safety, corner at UW and obviously his NFL career that he had. I'm not comparing the two but that would be the comparison, I guess, if you would say so.
“I think he's got the skill set to become a pretty high-level player, in my personal opinion. A lot of it's going to be on his effort and work ethic -- which I know he's got and he'll put the time in and kind of see where that gets him -- but I think he projects pretty highly as a safety.”
Strickland, as a former collegiate defensive back, believes that Trudgeon showed during UW's camp that "he has the athletic ability to play," then described what the 6-foot-1, 175-pound athlete could bring to the secondary when comparing other current and former Badgers.
"I think that the thing is, they have to have the ability, first and foremost," Strickland said. "So he has the tools or skill set to build from. I think the things that stand out about Jackson that, in order for him to be at his best, he's not Eric Burrell. He's not Jay Valai. I mean, he's a different type of safety, but I think he's gonna learn from Scott Nelson. Scott's a longer guy, and Jackson is a guy that has tremendous ball skills at the safety spot. You have to be able to communicate and understand, basically be the quarterback of the defense back there, and he has got that ability, just not just from a mental standpoint, but from football IQ and awareness.
"He's got good hips, good change of direction. He's a sure tackler, and so I think a lot of those things come into play with just him being successful at the safety spot. I know in camp, they put him kind of in a press man, one-on-one situation, and that's not going to be his thing, right? He's not going to be on an island as a corner, but if he drops down in the slot and man-to-man, he's going to understand where his help is and where it isn't.
"He's a guy that can process information quickly where if that guy's releasing one way or he recognizes certain formations and a certain guy at a certain spot in the formation, he'll put himself two steps ahead to maybe make up for his -- he's not a 4.4 [second] guy, he's more of a high-4.5, low-4.6 guy -- but because he has that ability to process information quickly and be very high football IQ but still have the athletic skill set to get the job done. I think that's where he's going to be really good."