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NSD: Chaney-on-Chaney: Breaking down Wisconsin ILB commit Jake Chaney

Starting next month, James Chaney will see two of his sons play college football.

James "Bud" Chaney, a defensive back, is now part of the Valdosta State football program after initially starting out at the Citadel. In January, linebacker Jake Chaney is set to enroll early at Wisconsin.

According to the elder Chaney, himself a former Florida State defensive lineman, "it's something that I've always dreamed of."

One of the first things on Chaney's agenda was to make sure his sons were going to run track at an early age, noting that Jake -- who committed to Wisconsin in March -- has been doing since he was about five or six years old.

"I wanted to make sure that they weren't going to be undersized defensive linemen who couldn't run and who weren't athletic," Chaney told BadgerBlitz.com on the afternoon of Dec. 12, just after fishing with Jake in near-perfect conditions in Southwest Florida. [writer's note: As a former resident of Cape Coral, Fla., where the Chaneys live, can you tell I'm a hint jealous when he mentioned it was 80 degrees?]

"I had that plan in place, and I left it totally up to them. They asked me, 'Dad, I want to play football.' I said, 'Well, there's only one way to play it, and that's my way,' and they agreed to it.

"A bunch of torn up backyards and weights on the lanai and track meets and football camps and trainers later, both of them are playing college football."

RELATED: "Rucci-on-Rucci" Breaking down Wisconsin commit Nolan Rucci

In a new BadgerBlitz.com series during this 2021 early signing period, we introduce "Chaney-on-Chaney"-- a Q&A with James talking about Jake's development, his recruiting process that led him to Wisconsin and more.

The interview has been lightly edited.

Jake Chaney (left) during a visit to Wisconsin in the fall of 2019.
Jake Chaney (left) during a visit to Wisconsin in the fall of 2019.

As a former college football player and as a high school head coach now, when did you first realize that Jake could not only be a Division 1 athlete, but also garner Power Five offers from Wisconsin, from Michigan, Indiana, Iowa State, others?

"When he played youth football, I kind of saw his tenacity and attention to detail of the game. Every year in youth football, he got into debates with his coaches. Not anything disrespectful, but just, 'Hey, coach, you didn't call that right,' or, 'We practiced it this way, and you called it this way. That's not right.'

"Come to mind, we played a playoff game. I think we were playing against Sarasota, Miami, somebody, and he kept telling the coach, 'Hey, coach, you're calling the play wrong. That's not why it's not working.' They kind of argued a little bit back and forth, and then after the game, he came up to us and said, 'Hey, Jake, you're right. I was calling it wrong.'

"He's always been a student of the game, and always had a really high work ethic. Even started making people calling him 'D-I' as an eight-year-old. His nickname was 'D-I.' But the coach came up to me and say, 'Hey, 'D-I'.' I was like, 'Who was D-1?'

"'Jake's new name is 'D-I.''"

"I guess it was a self-fulfilling prophecy. He's just always been a kid who's had to really work hard to be good, and you know, he's done that."

I saw some of the accolades Jake had before his senior year, but during this senior year, what strides did Jake make in your eyes?

Take advantage of our National Signing Day offer at BadgerBlitz.com!
Take advantage of our National Signing Day offer at BadgerBlitz.com!
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