MADISON, WIS. -- Mickey Turner stepped up to the makeshift podium, a tall table inside the McClain Center for his first chance to speak with reporters after his announced transition to Wisconsin's recruiting endeavors.
Head coach Paul Chryst announced the role change for Turner, the former Badger turned assistant who had mentored the program's tight ends since the 2015 season, in a press release last month. The precise title was yet to be announced on Feb. 22, and on Friday, no indication of a proper designation was declared -- though Turner made light of the that.
"Mickey Turner, recruiting," Turner said with a large smile in his opening remarks. "That's where we'll leave it right now.
"Thrilled to be in this position. We have a ton of work to do, but so does everybody else in the country so we're not backing off from it, and here we go."
Turner spoke to the media for over 17 minutes on Friday. BadgerBlitz.com brings you the full discussion with reporters. Questions and answers may be edited lightly for clarity.
We talked to Paul the other day about putting the department together and putting you in charge. What do you see, as for the vision for other departments going to function and how you're going to sell the program to everybody which you had to do as a position coach?
Turner: So the biggest thing you mentioned there is understanding the program, right? So you have to know the identity, what this place is about. I feel like I have a good grasp on that. Secondly, how does the department run? I think we're a primary resource to the coaches, because they're the ones on the frontline when they go out and recruit. They're the ones that go into schools. They're the ones that when the kids come on campus have to be personable, because that's who they deal with on a day-to-day basis if they decide to sign with us. So we have to make sure that their vision is echoed through us.
Secondly, I think that there's a huge battle in recruiting right now of how that vision is portrayed. I know what Wisconsin offers. I think it's pretty darn good, but 'Joe Recruit' out there doesn't know that, and the further they get away from home base, they might have never even heard of that if they're from somewhere on the fringe of the country. I need to bridge that gap, and there's a lot of ways to do it. But as you know, growing up in America right now, there's so much information flooded at these kids, that they become numb to it.
They start not seeing the billboards, so what's the point of getting a billboard in the first place? So I got to find new ways to bridge that gap for them and get them to understand that Wisconsin's an excellent place to look at, an excellent place to get a degree, an awesome college experience, all those things. But that takes time, that takes resources, so that's the battle.
