Cichy at peace with decision to leave UW
MADISON – Jack Cichy knew just days after undergoing surgery on his right knee Aug. 11 he had played his final game for Wisconsin.
“I cried about it,” the fifth-year senior linebacker said Monday during a lengthy interview in the lobby of the Student-Athlete Performance Center. “It was not easy. It was easy to know what I had to do but it wasn’t easy to accept it.”
Cichy, who announced on Dec. 12 in The Players’ Tribune he would enter the 2018 NFL draft, made that choice after thoroughly evaluating his options.
Cichy, who missed the final seven games of the 2016 season after suffering a torn left pectoral at Iowa and missed all 13 games this season after suffering a torn ACL in his right knee in camp, could have applied for a sixth year of eligibility.
His chances weren’t great, although Cichy said Monday he received a wide range of opinions on the topic.
Cichy ultimately chose to pursue the NFL because he needed certainty, clarity and direction.
In short, Cichy didn’t believe he could attack his rehabilitation until he was certain of his path.
“I needed all my eggs in one basket and I couldn’t do that if I was waiting for a decision on a sixth year,” he said. “It was nowhere near guaranteed.
“From the roller coaster I had been through the past year, I just wanted something concrete. And me waiting around for a sixth year, I don’t think it would have been very healthy.”
So why wait until last week to announce his decision? A member of the UW athletic communications department asked Cichy in August if he wanted to make a public announcement. Cichy declined.
“I said I think we should wait,” Cichy explained. “I don’t want to have the spotlight on me during the season. I got my statement out after I got hurt. I kind of got two days in the spotlight.
“I don’t want to take away from these guys and the season, so let’s just wait and I can be in the background all season. I’m fine with that. I want them to enjoy this and for the other guys have the spotlight.”
Cichy, who joined the UW program as a walk-on in 2013 under first-year coach Gary Andersen, has flourished both under and away from the spotlight in his four-plus years at UW.
He joined the program shortly after Andersen had replaced Bret Bielema, who left abruptly after the 2012 Big Ten title game to take over the Arkansas program.
Cichy played in four games as a freshman and then redshirted in 2014, the second of Andersen’s two seasons in Madison.
Andersen left abruptly after the 2014 Big Ten title game to take over the Oregon State program, and Cichy and his teammates were unsure about the future.
“Then coach Chryst came in and brought everything back to Wisconsin football," Cichy said.
Wisconsin replaced Andersen with Paul Chryst, an assistant at UW in 2002 and again from 2005 through ’11. UW is 33-7 in three seasons under him.
"That started in the weight room," Cichy continued. "I remember our first winter grinding in the weight room with coach (Ross) Kolodziej. Those were the toughest workouts we had had.
“We were all looking around and realized, this is why we came to Wisconsin. We’re trying to impose our will on teams. …With coach Chryst coming back, it was bringing back the basics of what this program is.”
That made watching UW take a 12-0 record into the Big Ten title game against Ohio State more difficult.
The three-week stretch of Senior Day against Michigan, the regular-season finale at rival Minnesota and the 27-21 loss to the Buckeyes tested Cichy’s patience. Standing on the sidelines was killing him.
“It was tough, not being able to be out there for any of those,” he said.
The highlight of that stretch was seeing his team defeat the Gophers for the 14th consecutive year and then grabbing Paul Bunyan’s Axe afterward.
“It was tough until the game started and then everything was rolling,” he said. “It was fun to watch.
“I had a smile on my face. It was actually kind of a relief. Now I don’t have to worry about playing Minnesota again.
“It is a stressful game. No one wants to be on the team that loses the ax now.
“Being able to go 5-0 against them was perfect.”
Cichy graduated Sunday with a degree in economics, although he has one exam left Wednesday.
His short-term plans include joining his teammates in Florida for the Orange Bowl battle Dec. 30 against Miami.
He plans to travel to Arizona after the bowl game to continue training. He has been running straight ahead for a little more than a month and hopes to be able to incorporate lateral movement and cutting next month.
Cichy hopes to receive an invitation to the NFL Scouting Combine, set for Feb. 27 through March 5 in Indianapolis.
“It would be nice to have those teams run me through a physical,” he said. “Doctors and trainers can look at my knee and evaluate that. I think that would be good."
The 2018 draft is set to be held April 26-28. The first round is on Day 1, the second and third on Day 2 and fourth through seventh on Day 3.
Does he fear going undrafted?
“I wouldn’t say it is a fear,” he said. “I think I’ve talked to enough people to know I’d get a shot somewhere and if I get a shot, let’s roll with it.”