Paul Chryst first hired Hank Poteat as a graduate assistant at Pittsburgh beginning with the 2013 season. Eight years later, Poteat -- a former All-Big East selection and NFL veteran --rejoined some familiar faces, this time in Madison as Wisconsin's cornerbacks coach.

Wisconsin announced their newest assistant on Thursday afternoon.

“Well, I was interested just with the relationship with Coach Chryst," Poteat told a small group of reporters on Thursday afternoon. "Having an opportunity to GA for him back at Pitt, he gave me my first opportunity to coach Division I football at a time that I was trying to figure out what I wanted to do, and I had the opportunity to go back to my alma mater, and I really enjoyed my experience with him and his staff.

“So that's one, and then two, I've been coaching for a while now since then. I thought it was time for me to continue to move forward in my career, and this was a great opportunity to reconnect with a coach I was familiar with and coach at a Power 5 school."

After stops at Kent State and Toledo, Poteat will help mold Wisconsin's secondary with defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard, with the latter still working with the safeties, according to a Thursday article on UWBadgers.com. Poteat described the "conversation with Jim was really us just getting to know each other and having similar backgrounds and being on the same page when it comes to dealing with young people, mentoring, developing them as football players, and just having some of the same experiences back in the NFL."

"I was excited and wanted to get the opportunity to work with him," Poteat said.

The former Pitt Panther spoke to reporters for just over 15 minutes. BadgerBlitz.com provides some more takeaways from the chat with the newest UW coach.

Poteat told reporters that he will "probably be staying in the same areas that I've been recruiting in the past." That would be in Michigan, "mainly in the Detroit area," according to the cornerbacks coach, but he also mentioned he has recruited in the south New Jersey/eastern Pennsylvania region (Poteat is from Harrisburg, Pa.).

"I have a lot of good relationships out there," Poteat said. "But I've been recruiting Michigan for the past six years. So I got a lot of connections out there.”

As for what type of players he will work to recruit for the Wisconsin defensive backfield, Poteat first pointed to fitting the culture before moving on to discuss the mentality of cornerbacks.

“It’s a really good culture around here, the Badger way, and I want guys that are going to come in and understand what that looks like," Poteat said. "But then when you start looking at the actual position, especially for my position, it all starts with the mindset. Guys that have the mentality to be able to process and not allow circumstances or situations to dictate how they approach the game. Sometimes different things, setbacks can cause guys to not play with the same confidence or have that same approach. The mindset is always a big thing, so really, really getting to know the kid and how he's able to handle those types of situations."

Poteat, who suited up for five NFL teams in 10 seasons before embarking on a coaching career, also pointed to an athletic player "who can plant, drive and go and have good ball skills that can change the game."

"Physical players that can be able to get off blocks and fit the run," Poteat said. "But once again, an athletic guy who can really play man-to-man and be able to have that mindset to do it all game.

"From my background, from Pitt to Toledo, I really was blessed with guys that had that mindset to challenge receivers and help put the defense in a good position and really do a good job holding their own out there on an island. So those are the type of guys that I'm looking for.”

When discussing how he helps players grow to be on the aforementioned island at what will be the Big Ten level, Poteat believes it "all goes back to preparation" and to ensure he develops "them within a progression."

“And when I say a progression, you're breaking down every detail that they're going to see," Poteat said. "Situations throughout the course of the game.

“So I think if I'm gonna be on an island, I better know exactly what that receiver likes to do. Especially if I'm in press, I want to know his go-to release and his adjustment. So what's his next move? Because, I mean, you're not gonna go into a game with five different releases, so I want to have a plan when I go up against that guy and don't just show up and don't have a plan. So I'm gonna do a good job of recognizing that that's something that I learned as a player.

"It all starts in the beginning of the week with just understanding the personnel, and then within the personnel, understanding what the blueprint of that coordinator is and what he likes to do in situations, so situational football. So you go from understanding the opponent, as far as personnel, and what's going to happen in situations, and that will allow that player to play fast.”

Poteat referred to himself as a "role player" in his 10 seasons in the NFL with a handful of organizations. At the next level, he also picked up and learned the significance of preparing as if one was going to start.

“Some guys, they'll look at their situation and think that they'll never see the field, and I feel like if you prepare as if you're a starter, if your name is called, you're ready at all times," Poteat said. "And I've experienced that both ways where I was maybe not. I might have been the fourth or fifth corner and never thought I was gonna get in, and next thing you know, I'm starting. So just understanding that, and I think they'll do fine, but preparation is big.”

Poteat will walk into a Wisconsin defense that will have received significant game reps at the cornerback position. Both Caesar Williams and Faion Hicks -- who have played in 35 and 33 games, respectively -- announced their returns to the program for the 2021 season.

Rachad Wildgoose declared for the NFL Draft during the season, but others in the group with playing experience within the last few seasons will come back. Those include Donte Burton, Deron Harrell, Semar Melvin, Alexander Smith and Dean Engram.

Poteat mentioned that he has been spending time with Leonhard "watching one-on-ones, watching games."

"I think there's a lot of talent there, a lot of guys who played a lot of football, some experience," Poteat said of his position group. "I look forward to being able to just add some tools to their tool belt. I'm here to help them get better, here to help Coach Leonhard. Whatever he needs me to do, but I think I really have some guys who can play the game of football. I'm excited to have an opportunity to work with them."

Much has been made about the connections of Poteat's start in FBS coaching with Chryst's staff at Pitt. Wisconsin's press release of his hire noted how four current staff members -- special teams coordinator Chris Haering, defensive line coach Ross Kolodziej, offensive coordinator/line coach Joe Rudolph, director of football strength and conditioning Shaun Snee, and tight ends coach Mickey Turner -- all were at the ACC school during the former cornerbacks' time as a grad assistant.

"When you see familiar faces, it always helps with the transition," Poteat said. “I think that's with anybody seeing a familiar face, knowing that you have some support. My wife, she knows a lot of the coaches’ wives. So just having that support allows you to feel comfortable with that.

"But besides that, it's a whole new defensive staff. Most of the guys on the defensive staff I don't know so a lot of the guys that I do know are from the offensive side of the ball.”