Bay’s Brunner anchors UW’s 2022 class
MADISON – So what type of player is Wisconsin getting in offensive lineman Joe Brunner?
“He is the complete package of size, strength, smarts and athleticism,” Whitefish Bay High School coach Jake Wolter said. “You name it, he’s got it all.”
Brunner, 6-foot-6 and 300 pounds, was among 14 scholarship players who signed Wednesday with UW.
The Badgers also added seven preferred walk-ons, including Seattle-area linebacker Austin Harnetiaux.
Five of the players – Franklin quarterback Myles Burkett, Stoughton offensive lineman Barrett Nelson, North Carolina nose tackle Curt Neal, Texas cornerback Avyonne Jones and New Jersey cornerback A’Khoury Lyde – are expected to enroll at UW next semester.
Neal and Lyde are coming off injuries, however, and likely won’t be ready for spring ball.
“He is kind of a (expletive) on the field,” Wolter said of Brunner, “in the best way possible for a lineman.
“You unstrap the helmet and he is the nicest guy in the world. But when he is on the field he doesn’t want to just get the job done. He wants to beat you and annihilate you and pummel you almost every single play.”
Brunner chose UW over Notre Dame, Ohio State, Michigan, LSU, Penn State, Miami and other schools. Brunner and Barrett Nelson of Stoughton are the only two scholarship offensive linemen in the class.
UW made an offer to Billy Schrauth of Fond du Lac, but Schrauth is headed to Notre Dame.
Wolter knew when Brunner was a freshman that Whitefish Bay had one of the top linemen in the state. The team traveled to Carroll University in Waukesha for a three-day camp before the season.
“We don’t usually bring freshmen, but we brought him along,” Wolter said. “I’m working with the skill guys and my offensive line coach is doing some line drills on
the other end of the field.
“All of a sudden I hear a huge commotion. All I see is Joe Brunner, an incoming freshman, on top of a senior-to-be who ended up being an all-conference defensive end.
“He was just beating the crap out of him because the kid was kind of an (expletive) and he was trying to see what Joe was about. And Joe wasn't taking any of it.
“I looked at one of my assistants who was 20 to 25 yards away and I said, ‘Yeah, I think he is ready.'
“It was hilarious and obviously the rest was history with him starting at right tackle for four years.”
Brunner was a first-team, all-state pick as junior and senior. He won the Joe Thomas award, given annually to the best senior offensive lineman in the state.
“I have not seen anything like it in high school in 20 years of coaching at Wauwatosa East and at Whitefish Bay,” Wolter said. “I've seen a lot of really good players for us and who have played against us.
“But the overall dominance that he has possessed and the skill level he has displayed is unbelievable.”
UW has a handful of talented, younger lineman on the roster and Wolter noted Brunner won't turn 18 until next fall. As a result, Brunner likely will have to wait his turn to play.
“I think he wouldn't mind having a year to learn the system, get in the weight room, get the nutrition piece and get comfortable with the academics,” Wolter said. “And then hopefully the year after he would be a guy they could count on.
“Then again, I've never been surprised by anything he has done, so I would not be shocked if he is in the top two pretty early.”
Burkett led Franklin to a 14-0 record and the WIAA Division 1 state title last month. He completed 71.3% of his passes for 3,427 yards, with 36 touchdowns and only four interceptions.
“Pretty early you saw that he had enough talent,” UW head coach Paul Chryst said of Burkett. “The more you watched him the more you liked how he played, competed.
“Then the more that you talked to him and are around him .... he is one of those guys, no matter who you are talking to, he is a connector. I think he's got a lot of qualities that you know are important.”
Chryst acknowledged he and his assistants are still looking to add players, either high school recruits or more experienced players through the transfer portal. UW's best late addition for the 2021 season was tailback Chez Mellusi, who announced June 1 he was transferring to UW from Clemson.
“There is no question that it is still a work in progress,” Chryst said. “I think it is going to be more fluid than it certainly has been.”