As we count down the days before the start of fall camp, BadgerBlitz.com takes a look back at the four- and five-star signees during the Rivals.com era. How did they fare in Madison and how have the Badgers recruited each position when it comes to high-end talent?
Today, we examine how Wisconsin has done at quarterback over the last 20 years.
RELATED: Reviewing Wisconsin's four- and five-star OL since 2002 | Looking back at Wisconsin's best recruiting runs |
Recruitment: The Badgers offered early and secured a commitment in March of 2002 from Tyler Donovan. He was the first of just three in-state signal callers from Wisconsin to have earned an offer from the Badgers, along with Nathan Stanley (Iowa) and Myles Burkett (committed to UW). Donovan was named the 2002 Associated Press High School Player of the Year.
Career: Donovan, who redshirted in 2003, played in 15 games from 2004 to 2006. But as senior in 2007, he led the Badgers to nine wins and an appearance in the Outback Bowl. That fall, he passed for 2,607 yards (193 of 333 pass attempts) and 17 touchdowns.
Recruitment: During his prep career in Tennessee, Curt Phillips had 5,418 passing yards, 3,788 rushing yards and 115 career touchdowns (64 rushing, 51 passing). Expectations for Phillips, who chose the Badgers over Duke, East Carolina, Kentucky and Middle Tennessee State, were through the roof prior to his arrival in Madison.
"I was definitely interested in other schools," Phillips told BadgerBlitz.com. "We've been, in the past two weeks, visiting every school. I've went to Duke, East Carolina, Kentucky. I mean you can't go wrong with any of those programs. Duke, I mean you're going to get a great education but, at the same time, you're going to get one at Wisconsin, and I couldn't turn down a top 10 program."
Career: Phillips redshirted in 2008 and played in five games the following year. But knee injuries/surgeries kept him from competing in 2010 and 2011, and Phillips was never the same. He was granted a sixth season of eligibility and earned his third letter in 2013, playing in three games.
Recruitment: D.J. Gillins was the dual-threat talent then-head coach Gary Andersen coveted at the position. A four-star prospect from Florida, Gillins chose the Badgers over Boston College, Arizona and Georgia Tech, among others.
Career: When Paul Chryst took over the program in 2015, Gillins, who redshirted the previous season, made the switch to receiver and later transferred from the program. He went onto play at Pearl River Community College (2016), SMU (2017) and UTSA (2018).
Recruitment: Wisconsin landed a "Tier 1" recruit at quarterback in the 2017 class, as Chryst made four early offers at the position and connected on Jack Coan, a four-star prospect from New York. The No. 12 pro-style signal caller in the country had double-digit offers, but in the end picked UW over Nebraska and Northwestern.
"It was just the feeling when I got there," Coan told BadgerBlitz.com. "Right from the beginning I felt like it was the place. Everybody talks about how I would go to a college and I would get that feeling. Talking to the whole coaching staff, I really liked them and they’re a bunch of great people. I could see myself playing for them.
"Coach Chryst talked about how much I fit into their system, how he coaches the quarterbacks, and how many quarterbacks he’s put into the NFL. He’s a great person, a genuinely nice person."
Career: Coan, who started all 14 games for Wisconsin in 2019, completed 236 of 339 attempts for 2,727 yards with 18 touchdowns and just five interceptions. During fall camp in 2020, Coan suffered a foot injury that eventually paved the way for Graham Mertz to take over at the position. The fifth-year signal caller entered the transfer portal on Dec. 20, 2020, and committed to Notre Dame soon after.
“When Jack went into the portal, it attracted some attention,” said Rob Hoss, Coan’s former high school head coach at Sayville (N.Y.) High. “Notre Dame is a school that he was originally committed to play lacrosse for. There was a ton of interest in Notre Dame for Jack before football really popped for him, but things didn’t work out of high school for him to go to Notre Dame.
“During conversations with Jack and what we were looking at in a school, his goals and who could coach him up to possibility get to the next level, we felt that Notre Dame had so much to offer. In addition, it’s the school he was originally committed to as a 10th grader. It was just like it came full circle.”
Recruitment: At the time of his commitment to Wisconsin, Graham Mertz, from Blue Valley North High School in Kansas, only had two offers. This following winter and spring (2018), though, scholarships came in from Alabama, Georgia, Ohio State, Clemson, LSU, Miami, Oregon and Michigan, among many others. In the end, the Badgers were able to sign Mertz, who finished as the No. 2 pro-style quarterback in the country.
Career: The first freshman quarterback to start an opener at Wisconsin in 42 years, Mertz threw for 248 yards, five touchdowns, zero interceptions and set a school record for completion percentage (20-for-21, 95.2 percent) against Illinois in 2020. After seven starts, Mertz completed 118 of 194 passes for 1,220 yards and nine touchdowns. He is set to open fall camp atop the depth chart at the position.
“Having a spring ball to just grow and learn, and make some mistakes, learn from them and move on,” Mertz told reporters this spring. “For me, I think this spring is going to be big-time for me. Truly be able to focus on the things I messed up during the season and make sure it doesn’t happen again. It’s going to be great.
“It’s clear as day now on what I need to do, and that’s the fun thing. This is the chunk of time where you really get to put that to work.”
