MADISON -- As senior safety John Torchio walked up to a group of local reporters Thursday morning following bowl practice, he jokingly said, "alright, what are you guys going to get out of me today?"

The last time he sat in front of the local media was following a 23-16 loss to Minnesota to cap what had been a crushing regular season. During his post-game meeting with reporters, Torchio went on say, "whoever hires coaches is going to be an idiot if they don't hire Coach (Jim) Leonhard. I don't know I should say that, but I'll say it."

Now more than two weeks removed since the hire of Luke Fickell was made official, a handful of players spoke for the first time. Disappointment and shock were part of the words used to describe the raw reaction to the news, but a clear excitement could be felt as well.

"I was disappointed because I wanted Coach Leonhard to get the job," Torchio said. "Coach Leonhard is my guy. Everything I said was out of respect for Coach Leonhard. I wouldn’t be the player I am without him.

"He puts me in the spots to make all these plays, so I would say I’m a little disappointed. But I would say getting to know Coach Fick, he’s a great coach. It was nothing against Coach Fick. It was out of respect for Coach Leonhard, I wanted him to get the job. But Coach Fick is a great coach and I think he will do great things here."

Leonhard took over as interim head coach on Oct. 2nd after the uncharacteristic move was made by athletic director Chris McIntosh to fire Paul Chryst in the middle of the season.

When the dust settled on his seven-game span as interim head coach, the team's body of work reflected a 4-3 record, including losses to Iowa and Minnesota. The Freedom Trophy, often an after thought, is currently the lone trophy in the case for the next year.

While a record barely above .500 isn't much to write home about, Leonhard's ability to navigate a locker room through the loss of a close friend, a coaching change and much more going on away from the field was unique.

Sophomore running back Braelon Allen was right in the thick of the off-field speculation with rumors swirling connecting his name to other programs, including one in the Big Ten.

When attempting to put an end to the speculation following a loss to Iowa, he confirmed he was sticking to Wisconsin as long as Leonhard was around. Dealing with change once again at head coach, he shared an Instagram post with a lock emoji as the caption to illustrate his commitment to UW.

"He talked about having a little bit of blind faith. Everybody has to buy into that obviously. New whole staff, new situation," Allen said Thursday morning of his conversations with Fickell. "A little bit of blind faith but a lot of that has to do with trusting him. Everything that he’s told me, I was excited about. He didn’t have to do much recruiting."

Allen's reaction to the news that came out after the regular season finale wasn't much different from Torchio's.

"It was a little shocking," Allen said. "I think we all expected Coach Leonhard to be the guy, but things didn’t work out that way, so you just got to have conversations with Coach Fick and learn about his vision, what he sees in us and just trust him."

December has turned into a month of fluidity and transition for the group of 18- to 22-year old student athletes. On the field, neither of the team's three captains are prepping for the bowl game, with each - Keeanu Benton, Graham Mertz and Nick Herbig - either entering the transfer portal or declaring for the NFL Draft. Just off to the side, the coaching staff and routine hasn't changed. At least for now.

Fickell is allowing the staff to carry out the bowl game and close out the season. He described himself as a "figurehead" for the postseason game. That leaves somewhat of a grey area for the players and staff during these weeks.

"It’s definitely a change and change is a little weird, but it’s kind of our world right now so we have to adapt to it," Torchio said. "I’m sure it’s different for the younger guys, too. I don’t really have to worry about the new coaches whereas these guys have to completely change. But I think these guys are doing a good job of it and Coach FIck does a good job of respecting who is still here and the coaches we have until the bowl game."

Rodas Johnson, an Ohio native, has some background with Fickell. In fact, the two went to the same high school and Fickell had recruited him while he was at Cincinnati.

"We’ve talked a lot. Liked him at Cincinnati," Johnson said. "Like the type of guy he is. Know he is high energy, so I can’t wait to see him take that cap off and get crazy eventually.

"Hearing a lot about him while I was in high school, I understood what type of person he was which brought me toward considering Cincinnati. He’s a great guy and definitely knows what he’s doing."

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