BY MIKE LUCAS
UWBadgers.com Senior Writer
MADISON, Wis. – Mike Brown had not forgotten 'The Catch,' one that would have made any wide receiver proud, from Beckham to Jefferson. Only it wasn't a reception. It was an interception. That was 'The Catch,' a leaping, acrobatic stab by Michigan's Jourdan Lewis that sealed a 14-7 win over Wisconsin.
"That was a crazy one-handed interception," recalled Brown, a first-year offensive analyst on Jim Harbaugh's staff in 2016. Brown was only two seasons removed from his NFL playing career with the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Big Ten/Ann Arbor was his first rung on the coaching ladder.
"I grew up in Virginia and I was around the ACC," said Brown, a native of Charlottesville, Virginia. "I thought I knew what rivalries were and then I started really experiencing some – obviously the Michigan-Ohio State rivalry. But I'd ask the guys, 'Where is the hardest place to play?'
"The one place that everybody said was Wisconsin. That is something that has stuck with me my entire career because I didn't know anything about Wisconsin, I really didn't. When coach (Luke Fickell) took this job and called me and asked me to come with him that was the first thing I thought about.
"That's what got me excited. I can't wait to see the gameday atmosphere and Jump Around."
Brown's enthusiasm has manifested itself in the UW's upbeat recruiting approach under Fickell. It's not by accident. "It's energy, it's excitement, genuine excitement," Brown said of the red-carpet treatment afforded prospects. "Coach Fickell has done an outstanding job putting the staff together.
"He's got guys who are thrilled to be here and wanting to be a part of this new regime. Everybody gets around each other and the kids come on their recruiting visits and that energy is contagious. It's exciting and it's going to be like that around here a lot."
That the Badgers have been stockpiling wide receivers during this off-season is also no accident. Especially in light of offensive coordinator Phil Longo's extensive history with the Air Raid attack. At Cincinnati, Brown coached the receivers (since 2019) and was the passing game coordinator last year.
"You saw that we took some guys out of the transfer portal and the feedback was, 'These guys are trying to replace everybody,'" said Brown, who flatly denied any such charge. "No. It's for sheer numbers.
"The way the previous staff kept the scholarship numbers is different from how we'll keep it. From a volume standpoint, you have to get more guys or you're going to run guys into the ground. That was the approach we took in trying to get the numbers to where we wanted them."
Wisconsin's top three receivers from 2022 are returning: Chimere Dike (47 catches, 6 TDs), Skyler Bell (30 catches, 5 TDs) and Keontez Lewis (20 catches, 3 TDs). Also back are Markus Allen (7 catches, 1 TD) and first-year receivers Vinny Anthony, Chris Brooks and Tommy McIntosh. That is the core group headed by Dike, the vet.
"He stands out for sure," Brown said. "Just going around, asking different guys, who would you say was the leader? And it was kind of hands-down – Chim was the guy. The way he carries himself and the way guys look up to him, you can tell he has a good presence about him.
"He's a big, big asset to the room."
The wide receiver room has expanded to include four transfers: Bryson Green (Oklahoma State), C.J. Williams (USC), and Quincy Burroughs and Will Pauling from Cincinnati. In the 2023 recruiting class, the Badgers have picked up another talented prospect in Trech Kekahuna (Bishop Gorman, Las Vegas).
"We're excited that room is in a really good space," Brown said. "There are guys who are hungry to learn, that are eager and excited about the new offense and excited about the staff. Hopefully that all pays off this spring."
What about Brown's own learning curve with Longo's offense? "It has been really good," he said. "There are some similarities (to UC) and then there are some things that are different. Coach Longo's offense has been successful everywhere he has been. He's extremely smart.
"I'm thankful to be a part of it and learn his system. I'm excited for the change."
Speaking directly to the changes, Brown detailed more of the offense, "It's very multiple. There will be an aspect of up-tempo. But the thing that I love about it – Wisconsin has been good at some things for a very long time and we'll continue to build on that without doing wholesale changes.
"Yes, it will look different. Yes, it will operate different from what it has in the past. But you don't want to change something that has been successful, the parts that have been good. You've got big physical offensive linemen, some really good running backs and you still have to be able to run the ball.
"I think that's the common misconception when everybody hears the words, 'Air Raid.' Now, all of a sudden, they're thinking, 'They're not going to run the ball.' And that's not the case. I'm excited about the multiplicity of the offense, the flexibility of the offense to fit where our best personnel is.
"That's the thing that has been the most intriguing and the most exciting.
"I can't wait to get to spring ball and see the guys run around and compete."
The quarterback room has undergone a major facelift, too. Tanner Mordecai, a 23-year-old transfer from SMU, is by far the most experienced. At his first stop, Oklahoma, he redshirted behind Kyler Murray (2018). A year later, he was the backup to Jalen Hurts. Pretty fast company.
The last two seasons, Mordecai has thrown for 7,791 yards and 76 touchdowns at SMU. Joining him in the room are holdovers Myles Burkett and Marshall Howe, transfers Nick Evers (Oklahoma) and Braedyn Locke (Mississippi State) and incoming freshman Cole LaCrue (from Broomfield, Colo.).
"Those guys are all settling in well," Brown said of the QB's. "You see them eating meals together. There are some leadership qualities you see as those guys are doing things, through workouts, and stuff like that.
"I'm looking forward to getting our hands on them in spring ball and watch them compete and interact with the guys and see all of their leadership skills come to fruition."
Brown can surely relate to wide receivers and quarterbacks. He was both at Liberty University. In 2009, he led the team with 698 receiving yards on 60 catches, including a breakout game against West Virginia, highlighted by 11 receptions for 157 yards and a score and three kickoff returns for 107 yards.
In his final two seasons, Brown was the starting quarterback, a dual threat. He was an FCS All-American in 2010 and set a school record for total offense (3,810 yards). He ended his career with 6,072 passing yards (45 TDs) and 1,875 rushing yards (29). His 7,947 total yards are second-best all-time.
"It just provided me with a lot of perspective," Brown said of his roles as a collegian. "I understood the game from a quarterback's standpoint and then I understood it from a receiver's standpoint. I remember we had a game where I threw the ball 30 times and I ran it 30 times.
"So, we did a little bit of everything."
Brown, who was twice named the Big South Player of the Year, signed with Jacksonville as an undrafted free agent in 2012. He played three seasons and had 39 catches for 534 yards and two scores. It was during this stage in his career that he began shifting gears from playing to coaching.
"The first time I ever saw press coverage was in the NFL," he said, "and I was very fortunate to have an outstanding wide receiver coach by the name of Jerry Sullivan, one of the best to ever do it. I was able to learn the position from ground zero which now allows me to teach it from ground zero."
Sullivan, 78, now retired, coached wide receivers for 24 of his 25 NFL seasons. He also coached the position for two decades as a college assistant. "I was very fortunate to have a guy who cared so much about wide receiver technique and was very hard on us," Brown said of his influence.
"I'm just trying to maintain that type of standard, that type of expectations and mesh that with my experiences."
The offensive staff has been a mesh of backgrounds. Longo and offensive line coach Jack Bicknell were at North Carolina. Passing game coordinator/tight ends coach Gino Guidugli and Brown partnered at Cincinnati. Running backs coach Devon Spalding was at Youngstown State but has a UC connection.
"We've worked together the last four years, so we have some great continuity," Brown said of Guidugli, a record-setting quarterback at UC and the Bearcats offensive coordinator last season. "There's a little crossover with Coach Gino and Coach Longo. They've known each other for awhile."
Guidugli and Fickell spoke so highly of Longo that Brown conceded, "I knew it was going to be a pretty natural fit. That's exactly what is has been. He's apt to listen and find ways to make his system better meshing with some of the things that we did at Cincinnati. The camaraderie has been great."
There was a high level of excitement and focus in Brown's words. A focus on the future of Badger football. Accountability and standards were echoed more often than not. It's why the hyped recruiting pitches on media platforms are merely one facet of the changes and unfolding commitment.
"I was in a very good program in college where we won a lot of games (33-12 overall) and some conference championships (three Big South titles)," Brown said. "And then I've been a part of struggling teams when I was in Jacksonville and we won a total of nine games in three years.
"So, I've seen it done in a lot of different ways." It's why he appreciates the Fickell method.
"I love working for Coach Fickell. I love the way he runs his program. I love the way he pushes all of us. He holds us to a standard and he challenges all of us to grow. To me that's the most important thing – when you're forcing people to grow, even if it makes them uncomfortable at times."
It's easy, he stressed, to believe in someone so genuine, so successful. Making it so contagious.
"You feel the momentum … You feel the energy from the guys," Brown said. "I've had a chance to obviously sit down with all of the receivers and introduce myself to them and grab them, here and there, and talk to them at meals, and things like that.
"The guys are eager to learn and hungry to get started with spring football."
Putting them on the same page with their coaches. A good starting point.
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