MADISON, Wis. – Mike Tressel has been on campus for several weeks, even though he was only officially announced as Wisconsin’s defensive coordinator Tuesday. That time behind the scenes allowed him time to identify gaps in the roster, recruit, and build a staff.
But as he stayed stowed away in the Wisconsin offices, he couldn’t help but notice a steady stream of players making their way past his door to go watch film
“The coaches aren’t even out of the shower yet, and there’s kids going up there to watch film,” Tressel said. “You can just observe the intelligent questions they ask … It’s a group of guys that love football, they are smart football players, and they play hard.”
Perhaps that’s part of the reason why Tressel didn’t flinch when asked what he believed Wisconsin’s ceiling is as a program, one that has been defined in past years as a good Big Ten team unable to break through on college football’s biggest stage.
“National Championship is the ceiling, and this program can do it,” Tressel said. “We’re going to get it done.”
Tressel’s sound bite comes from the fact that he helped Cincinnati do what many believed was unthinkable: qualify a Group of Five school into the College Football Playoffs in 2021. The Bearcats went 13-0 through the regular season and won the American Athletic Conference championship to earn the No.4 seed. Wisconsin fell short of the four-team playoff in 2017, seeing its undefeated season end in the Big Ten title game, and hasn’t come close since.
Tressel has seen the talent level from both sides of college football’s divide. During his time at Michigan State, he helped coach the Spartans to final FBS Top 10 rankings in total and rushing defense on six occasions, ranked among college football’s top 10 in scoring defense four times, and was the FBS leader in rushing defense in 2014 and 2018. He also coached 20 players who earned 35 All-Big Ten honors along with eight All-Americans and two major award winners.
Directing Cincinnati’s defense the last two seasons, the Bearcats were ranked fifth in scoring defense and 10th in total defense in 2021, led largely by No.4 overall pick Sauce Gardner, and were 20th in scoring defense last season.
Tressel declined to get into the nitty-gritty of how he plans to mesh Wisconsin’s productive 3-4 scheme with his traditional 3-3-5. In 2021, the Badgers were first nationally against the run, and Tressel’s defense at Cincinnati was second against the pass.
“The one thing the AAC prepares you for is there is a whole bunch of different styles of offense and different styles of tempos and different things you have to prepare for,” Tressel said. “I think that’s put us in a good place.”
“The defense here (has) been able to recruit great players, has proven phenomenal in the Big Ten conference. We’re going to hold on to a lot of that, but we’re also going to bring some of that 3-3-5. I think it’s a unique 3-3-5 that might give some different looks to people who haven’t prepared for it.”
The uniqueness, according to Tressel, comes from the base alignment pre-snap that makes it closer to a 3-4 base set. That way, he’s able to put people in spaces and windows that quarterbacks aren’t used to and mix blitzes from those positions. He believes the players he needs to have success in implementing his scheme are already on the roster.
“We are absolutely going to use (the current outside linebackers) and will continue to recruit those guys,” Tressel said. “There’s a long history of great players and a great scheme to utilize those players. They are on the roster right now and they are difference-makers. We will continue to use those guys in a similar fashion, but it will have to evolve.”
Tressel’s family tree is littered with coaches. His grandfather, the late Lee Tressel, was one of the winningest coaches in Division III history (155-52-6), won a national championship at Baldwin-Wallace College, and was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.
His dad, Dick Tressel, spent 23 seasons as the head coach at Hamline University and 11 seasons on the Ohio State staff. Likely the most well-known is his uncle, Jim Tressel, who won four Division I-AA national championships at Youngstown State and the 2002 BCS national championship with the Buckeyes. He's also cut his teeth under former Michigan State coach Mark Dantonio and Pittsburgh coach Pat Narduzzi.
It’s a history that has him confident in what his inherited roster has and what he needs to recruit to help Luke Fickell push Wisconsin toward higher ground.
“I think there’s big-time excitement and you can feel it,” Tressel said. “People recognize what a hire Coach Fickell is and what a great coach he is. (They) recognize the history and proud tradition that Wisconsin already has. It’s a like-minded pairing … He is Wisconsin football.”
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