Indianapolis, Ind. -- A significant majority of players have received a COVID-19 vaccine, according to head coach Paul Chryst.

The discussion came when Chryst met with a small number of local writers who cover UW immediately after his main podium speech during Big Ten Media Days on Friday. Chryst was asked about how the program was going to handle the vaccines related to COVID-19 with players and staff, and he told reporters that Wisconsin was over 85% vaccinated.

"We have something now that we didn't have [in 2020], and let's take all other stuff around it," Chryst said. "Early, I think our team was probably like a lot of America -- I don't know what happens in other countries -- but whereas a lot of people were quick to get it, and then there was hesitations with different things. And then I think, 'But how are we handling it?' I think a big part of it is how I think how also we're responsible, or we're part of some bigger --- that's how's the university and their approach going to be, and then you'd be in line with it.

"But also in talking with our guys, I think that there certainly is -- the way things are set up, I think you're seeing it now in the NFL -- there's a benefit to having it from just the logistics of how the day-to-day and week-to-week will be, and so I think our guys get that, too. I knew our number before and if it's the NFL, we're over the 85 [percent], but we're not 100% yet."

Gold and Black's Tom Dienhart reported that Purdue "should be near a 90 percent vaccination rate for the football team by the end of July." Northwestern head coach Pat Fitzgerald noted that his program was in the range of "90-95%" being vaccinated, while Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz said his team was not at 70%, according to recent tweets by Chad Leistikow of the Des Moines Register.

Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh said that the Wolverines are in the "high 90s" in terms of player vaccination percentage, according to a report from Angelique S. Chengelis from The Detroit News.

When asked if the 85% was a goal, Chryst said that there was not a specific number out there like the NFL's

"I think that in so much of this, I believe in each person has a right, and the ability to make the best choice for them," Chryst said. "This is an interesting one that, there's personal choices that really probably don't affect another person. And then there's personal choice when you're part of a team, there's personal choice -- not even talking about how you approach your day-to-day. Maybe it doesn't impact someone immediately, but it does affect the team. Are you going through every work out? Are you attacking every work out? Are you doing everything you can there? Are you getting your sleep, right?

"I mean, those are personal choices, that believe do impact things, and this kind of falls in line. But also if I have something that could impact you, and the way it keeps kind of branching out, there's some, I think, many personal choices that are truly personal. Only you are affected by it, and that's where when you're part of a team, it starts to -- I don't want to say blur is the right word -- but the worlds kind of collide on it. And so you just try to talk to guys and you find out why, try to help them with gathering information."

The college football world returned to a hint of normalcy in June with the end of the extended recruiting dead period. Official and unofficial visits -- along with camps -- resumed, and Wisconsin saw the fruits of their labor rewarded.

Chryst and his staff cannot talk about players who have given their oral commits until they sign their respective national letters of intent (NLIs), which at the earliest could be the early signing period in December. That being said, 10 of the 12 known commits for Wisconsin's 2022 class came during the month of June.

Their most recent commit -- three-star projected safety Austin Brown -- announced his decision to play for the Badgers on July 4, a month after taking his official visit to Madison the month prior.

All 12 commits for the 2022 class took official visits to Wisconsin in June, with 11 announcing after their trips to the capitol of The Badger State.

"It was awesome getting guys back on campus," Chryst said. "Loved having the camps, and having kids around, and the official visits were fun, and you've been talking to them a lot. So much of it on Zoom, so just having the interaction with the prospects and their families.

"June, it was a busy month, but I loved it. Obviously, we're excited about what we were able to do in the month, but we got to continue to work and build off of kind of what was not started in June, but that was a significant part of it. You got to keep going on a few guys, but I loved it. It was exciting to get it back, and to be able to do that."

Chryst has seen some changes within his staff that has worked on recruiting heading into the 2021 season. Director of player personnel Saaed Khalif moved on to Michigan State, on-campus recruiting coordinator Mackenzie Zanow is now at Notre Dame, and recruiting analyst Jensen Gebhardt is no longer on UW's coaches page and took off mentions of Wisconsin from his Twitter profile.

A reporter asked about the significance of the departure of Khalif, along with what is next in terms of who is in charge and the approach of Wisconsin's recruiting.

"Got through, and June was a good June for us. Nowadays, you're still always trying to manage a couple classes," Chryst said. "Certainly had a positive impact on us, and yet, I'm also very confident, and I think one of the things that we do well is it takes everyone to do a good job in recruiting.

"You're gonna make some additions, right? I mean, people leave, it opens up. You got to add the right people. We've done a little bit of that, not complete yet. And then you just got to make sure that you're doing everything the right way as far as -- the end result is are you on the right people, and are you doing all you can for them to get to know who and what Wisconsin is?"