Wisconsin's 2020 football season is (hopefully) right around the corner, so BadgerBlitz.com ranked the Top 25 players who we think will be the keys to success for Paul Chryst's squad this year.
Playing time, past performance and positional depth all factored into our staff rankings.
STRENGTHS
A four-star pro-style quarterback from Long Island, N.Y., Jack Coan was a heavily recruited prospect coming out of high school (in football and lacrosse) with offers from Nebraska, Louisville, Indiana, Miami, Michigan and West Virginia, among others. Coan started four games in 2018 after Alex Hornibrook struggled with his performance and staying healthy. And when Hornibrook transferred to Florida State prior to the start of the 2019 season, Coan took command of the quarterback room. The senior racked up 2,727 passing yards, 18 touchdowns and threw only five interceptions over the course of the season. A completion perception of 69.6 was good for the third best single season mark in Wisconsin history.
With little uncertainty at the quarterback position last fall, Coan exceed expectations and turned in, arguably, the best season by a UW quarterback since Russell Wilson was under center. Coan, who graded out at 78.5, according to PFF, was fantastic in big games. His best performances came against Michigan, Minnesota and Ohio State in the Big Ten title game when the lights were the brightest.
WEAKNESSES
Coan, 6-foot-3 and 221 pounds, surprised many with his 2019 performance. He excelled when throwing passes from short range, however, he wasn’t stellar deep down the field. It will be interesting to see if Coan can take a step forward as a playmaker now that he will be without his two best offensive weapons from last fall.
WHY HE's No. 1
Now heading into his senior season, Coan and the offense will be without its two biggest contributors from 2019 in Quintez Cephus and Jonathan Taylor. Naturally, the most important position in all of sports is the signal caller, and UW will be counting on Coan to take another big step this year with a full season of starting experience under his belt.
OVERALL
Fans continue to clamor for a glimpse at redshirt freshman Graham Mertz, but it's almost impossible to see Coan losing this job, if healthy. Coan has garnered some recent national praise, making the watchlists for the Manning and Davey O’ Brien awards.
