Wisconsin quarterback Jack Coan thrived during his most recent game in Florida, throwing for 515 yards and five touchdowns in a 35-3 Pinstripe Bowl victory against Miami to close the 2018 season.
An injury replacement then and official starter now, the junior will look to shine again as the visiting No. 19 Badgers face South Florida on Friday night in Tampa to open the 2019 campaign.
Whatever the locale, commanding the huddle is nothing new for Coan, who played in five games and started four last season after three-year starter Alex Hornibrook sustained a concussion. Hornibrook transferred to Florida State in March, leaving Coan to seize the position.
Coan faced camp competition from true freshman Graham Mertz, Chase Wolf and Danny Vanden Boom but consistently took reps with the first team.
“There was never really the talk or anything, it’s just when the ones go out, I go out,” Coan said. “Ever since I got here, I view myself as the starter and put myself in the starter shoes, so I don’t think that anything is going to change.”
Badgers coach Paul Chryst and center Tyler Biadasz lauded Coan’s offseason work ethic.
“I really, truly believe that he wanted it more than those other three quarterbacks,” Biadasz said. “He truly put himself out there. He’s one of the leaders on our team.”
While South Florida realizes its schemes must be sound in order to defeat the Badgers, the Bulls still aspire to have at least one intangible on their side: the mugginess of late August in the Sunshine State.
“I just hope we have hot weather that night. Real steamy weather,” Bulls coach Charlie Strong said.
Friday marks Wisconsin’s first regular-season game in Florida since a 23-3 loss to Miami on Sept. 4, 1988. Additionally, the Badgers have played in only 14 games in which the game time temperature was 85 degrees or higher since 1950, going 9-5.
While the Badgers have called Florida their bowl home 11 times since 1988, it doesn’t take a meteorologist to know the climate difference down south between late summer and early winter.
“It’s been super muggy and hot and humid, and I think that’s something that … we thrive in,” Bulls fifth-year senior left tackle Billy Atterbury said. “It’s an everyday thing for us, and if it’s something that they’re not used to, yeah, absolutely it can be used (as an advantage).”
Whatever Mother Nature’s mood, the Bulls will be keyed on stopping standout junior tailback Jonathan Taylor, who rushed for 2,194 yards in 13 games last season, including 205 on 27 carries in the Pinstripe Bowl rout.
The 5-foot-11, 219-pound Taylor, a Heisman Trophy candidate and the reigning Doak Walker Award recipient, will be seeking his 13th career game of 150 yards or more.
“I mean, he’s so fast,” Bulls outside linebackers coach Sean Cronin said. “You don’t see a guy who’s that big and that fast.”
The Bulls boast depth at linebacker, with Nico Sawtelle eager for a strong start after missing seven games with a neck/shoulder injury last season. Oklahoma State transfer Patrick Macon also offers experience at the position.
South Florida counters with an experienced offense that returns senior quarterback Blake Barnett and running back Jordan Cronkrite, who rushed for 1,121 yards last season.
