Chryst praises leadership of Edwards, Connelly
MADISON – T.J. Edwards and Ryan Connelly could have skipped the 2018 college football season and the impression the duo already had left on Wisconsin coach Paul Chryst would have remained powerful for years to come.
“Going into this season,” Chryst said when asked about the fifth-year senior linebackers, “I had a ton of respect for T.J. and Ryan."
And now?
“The way that they have handled this year individually," Chryst added, "and the way that they have prepared and worked and played, dealing with all those things, my amount of respect for them has multiplied.”
Few people expected the Badgers to be sitting at 3-2 in the Big Ten and 5-3 overall heading into their game Saturday against visiting Rutgers (1-7, 0-5).
Yet the numbers and Chryst's eyes tell him that Edwards and Connelly have led on Saturdays, on the practice field, in the meeting rooms and in the locker room.
Connelly, who this week was named a semifinalist for the Butkus Award (nation's top linebacker), leads UW in solo tackles (33) and total tackles (57). Edwards is No. 2 in both categories at
30 and 54.
No other UW defender has more than 36 tackles.
Perhaps more important, Edwards and Connelly have tried to lead a unit that has undergone constant shuffling on the line and in the secondary because of injuries.
In short, pretty much everywhere Edwards and Connelly look they see inexperienced players.
“To see the fun that they are having in the game and the way that they are approaching it,” Chryst continued. “You talk about a gift for our players to see that day in and day out.
“Not just game day. It is how they practice and how they approach meetings.
“I don’t even know if they know it, but they are there giving great examples, which is an unbelievable gift to those around them.”
Both Edwards and Connelly downplayed any suggestion their jobs were made more difficult this season by the loss of seven starters from last season and injuries to ends Isaiahh Loudermilk and Garrett Rand, nose tackle Olive Sagapolu, outside linebacker Andrew Van Ginkel and constant shuffling in the secondary.
“I think it is just one of those things where you have to get comfortable playing around certain guys,” Edwards said. “I think early on and in camp it was different, but at the end of the day it really hasn’t affected anything too much.
“I think you can tell the young guys that are playing now are definitely learning from the older guys that got hurt.”
Remember that because of the departure of linemen Conor Sheehy, Alec James and Chikwe Obasih and the injuries to Rand and Loudermilk, UW’s inside linebackers have had to work behind an inexperienced front the entireseason.
“You could always trust them to be not only where they were supposed to be but to make plays,” Connelly said of Sheehy, James and Obasih. “We have different guys in there now. It's just trying to get the chemistry going. …
“It’s just adjusting to how everyone plays.”
Loudermilk, who has been out since suffering an ankle injury against Nebraska on Oct. 6, could return to play Saturday, but Sagapolu (right arm) is out.
Senior safety D’Cota Dixon (ankle), who has missed the last three games, is set to return, but cornerback Deron Harrell (leg) is questionable and safety Scott Nelson (leg) is out.
The losses to BYU, Michigan and Northwestern have left Edwards and Connelly frustrated. The injuries haven’t helped their moods.
“I think it’s definitely trying times,” Edwards said. “But you can’t let that get you into a slump or anything like that. I’ve never had those thoughts of being down, nothing too crazy.
“It’s more disappointing. I feel like I could do more so it’s tough.”
Connelly added: “It is tough because we’ve experienced the highs and you want to be there again.
“I feel like this team needs to take on the mindset we had my redshirt freshman year (2015).
“We had to fight and claw for every game. We need to adopt that mindset.”