Dwyer assistant takes job at Wisconsin

Dwyer assistant football coach Paul Meunier announced Tuesday he has accepted a recruiting assistant job with the University of Wisconsin.

Meunier will start in July, working under first-year Badgers coach Paul Chryst.

“I’ve known coach Chryst for a little while now,” Meunier said. “We kept in touch while they were recruiting Nick O’Leary and Jacoby Brissett. He came down a few times. Then this last year when he got the job at Wisconsin, we talked because they were recruiting Jarius Adams.”

Meunier, 36, of Stuart, spent six seasons with the Panthers and was part of their state title-winning teams in 2009 and 2013.

He coached the safeties and also handled football operations. At Wisconsin, he’ll watch film of high school players and help the coaching staff evaluate potential prospects. He’ll also coordinate on-campus visits and official mailings to prospects.

A Wisconsin native, Meunier said he grew up in Mukwonago, a village about an hour or so east of Madison.

“My parents and sisters are up there. I still have a bunch of friends and all my cousins, aunts and uncles are up there,” he said. “It is a homecoming in a way.”

Meunier, who served as head coach at Santaluces for a season, will also play a role in keeping Wisconsin entrenched in South Florida.

Six of the 11 Floridians on the Badgers’ spring 2015 roster were from Broward and Palm Beach counties.

“I think I have a good grasp on the type of kid Wisconsin can get and they should go after,” Meunier said. “We want the absolute best players.”