Randy Gyllin will Greyshirt

IW's Ronny Whitworth had a chance to talk with Mauston Coach Mike Taake about lineman Randy Gyllin. Taake confirmed Gyllin will greyshirt, giving the Badgers two for next season (along with linebacker Joe Monty from Ft. Collins, Co.). Here's what Taake had to say:

IW: After Randy committed to Wisconsin back in October, he said Wisconsin’s offer came as a bit of a surprise to him. Do you feel like he was deserving of an offer?

Taake: Yes. Him saying that he was surprised about the offer…I’m not sure, he might have been a little surprised about what actually, really happened. But he’s very deserving. He’s a Big Ten player, and Randy might just be second-guessing himself because he doesn’t know the situation yet. He’ll be just fine. He’s going to be a very good lineman for the Badgers.

IW: What have the Wisconsin coaches said about him, that makes him a good fit for their program?

Taake: They are looking at putting him at right tackle on offense. They really like his size, his strength and his mobility. His attitude is tremendous. Everything. Randy has the whole package, the whole deal. I think Wisconsin is really fortunate to get him.

IW: When he committed, the only offer he had on the table was from North Dakota State, but Nebraska had contacted him. Did any other schools enter the picture later, trying to get him to de-commit?

Taake: He did commit early, and he took the bull by its horns and went and called back Nebraska, North Dakota State, and Brown University made him an offer. He called them and told them he was going to go to Wisconsin and thanked them for their interest.

IW: What makes Randy a good fit at the right tackle position?

Taake: Probably his leverage. He’s 6-4 ½. I don’t know. They said right tackle, and they know a lot more about where they want to put him than I do. But he could probably play a guard as well, because they don’t do a lot of pulling and trapping. I don’t know why. They must have a reason, and I’m not sure what it is. But he’ll be a fine tackle or guard, or whatever he ends up playing.

IW: How much did Randy’s wrestling background assist him on the football field?

Taake: It really improved his balance and just looking at him as he was growing up in high school, from his junior to his senior year, his balance really improved a ton.

IW: With a 3.9 grade point average, Randy seems to break some of the stereotypes of your typical offensive lineman. Was that part of the package Wisconsin was looking at?

Taake: Yeah, he’s definitely not a risk at all. He’s going to get the good grades, stay in school, and he’s going to be intelligent enough to pick up the offense, the schemes and all that kind of stuff. Being intelligent is a big plus.

IW: How did your team finish this season?

Taake: We lost in the quarterfinals and ended up 9-3.

IW: How would you evaluate Randy’s senior year?

Taake: We ran behind him a lot, and we had some very crucial games where we needed a touchdown. Against Altoona, we needed a touchdown and a two-point conversion with 40 seconds left in the game. We went behind Randy both times and he came through. He had a great senior year, a great football season and he’s having a great wrestling season as well.

IW: Is there anything he really needs to improve on to be successful at Wisconsin?

Taake: His speed. His speed, he’s got to improve on. That’s probably his biggest weakness, his flat-out speed. It’s not his forte. 5.5 in the 40…they would probably like to improve that. But his agility, his ability to go laterally is better than his flat-out speed, but that could also use some work as well.

IW: What’s his outlook for next year?

Taake: They’re going to (greyshirt him). They won’t count his scholarship this fall. I think it’s a great deal for Randy. He’s going to take one class, and he’s going to work and make some money. He gets to house with the football team and gets one-on-one contact with (John Dettmann) and he can kind of ease himself into, coming from little, podunk Mauston to the Big Ten. Then the scholarship kicks in, in January. Depending on how he does in spring football, next year they graduate three offensive linemen, so he might get redshirted the following fall or he might not. He gets to apply that extra year when he’s older. He’s going to be a better football player at the age of 23 than he is at the age of 18.

IW: Was the greyshirting option given to Randy, or was that a condition for his scholarship?

Taake: They explained the option to him, and it was totally up to Randy and his parents if they wanted to do it. If Randy said, `No, I don’t want to do that,’ Wisconsin said that was okay, and he would have been redshirted this year. They went on to explain that being a redshirt freshman, you get coached for three days and the rest of the time you’re meat. It’s those three days before the rest of the upperclassmen come in. When the upperclassmen come in, you’re the scout team. It’s not like he’s really missing out on a lot.