Lucas at Large: Slinging or singing, Stave is confident
September 09, 2015 | Mike Lucas
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September 9, 2015
BY MIKE LUCAS
UWBadgers.com
MADISON, Wis. -- The presence of a Mid-American Conference opponent, Miami University, in Saturday's home opener may rekindle some memories of the recruiting process, however limited, for quarterback Joel Stave. He was recruited by a MAC program, Western Michigan, and only one other FBS school, Wisconsin.
Stave made three trips to the Western Michigan campus in Kalamazoo. He went there for a summer football camp prior to his senior year at Whitnall High School in Greenfield. He went back for a conference game between the Broncos and Toledo. And he later went for an official visit.
"They sold me on the fact that they thought I would have a chance to play," Stave remembered of the Broncos' recruiting pitch. "But, really, they weren't recruiting me super hard. I didn't get offered by them until December. I think they had a few other guys offered. I was late on their radar."
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The Badgers had been in touch with Stave for about six or seven months at that point. His recruiting contacts were offensive coordinator Paul Chryst and O-line coach Bob Bostad. It was no secret that another quarterback was on the UW radar, Jacoby Brissett, a highly-touted prospect out of Florida.
"He (Brissett) was still deciding on where he was going to go when I committed (to Wisconsin)," said Stave, a walk-on with the Badgers. "I had already been going to school for a month (in the spring of 2011 as an early enrollee) before he decided that he wasn't going to come here."
Brissett opted to stay close to home and signed with the University of Florida. He ended up staying in Gainesville for only two seasons before transferring to NC State. Stave also didn't stray far from home, even though it meant taking the walk-on route.
"A lot of walk-ons take a lot of pride in being under-recruited guys from in-state when they get a chance to play for their state school," said Stave, who fit in that category. "It's kind of different here than most states because it's the only Division I football program in the state."
And for that reason, among others, Stave suggested, it fuels the passion of Wisconsin-bred prospects "who aren't heavily recruited but who are excited to try and prove themselves at the highest level."
That's how he could be categorized. Five years later, he's 21-8 as the UW's starting quarterback.
The topper is that he's now playing for Chryst, the Badgers' first-year head coach. It was during his freshman season when he was being redshirted that Stave first got a feel for the Chryst offense, which was in the hands of a minor league infielder and transfer from NC State, Russell Wilson.
Stave took part in seven-on-seven throwing with the scout team but he wasn't its quarterback. That role belonged to receiver Lance Baretz, who could simulate the option. "I was primarily watching reps with the (No. 1) offense," Stave said. "I did a lot of standing, watching and just kind of learning."
By then, he had already bought into Chryst's offensive concepts.
"That was really my thought when I committed," said Stave, who operated out of a shotgun spread in high school. "Watching Scott Tolzien his junior and senior years, I was thinking that this is really a good offense and it kind of fits what I'm able to do as a pocket passer with the play-action pass."
Stave felt even better about the system after being exposed to it during practices his first spring and fall at Wisconsin. Wilson's mastery of it on game days made him appreciate it even more. Last Saturday night, after a three-year wait, Stave finally got his turn behind the wheel of Chryst's offense.
Stave didn't disappoint, either. Challenged by what looms as one of the premier defenses in college football, he completed 26 of 39 passes (67 percent) for 228 yards and two touchdowns. In the first half, he was 14-of-16 for 149 yards and one of his incompletions was intentional, a throw-away.
Stave looked like he had been running the offense his whole life, the ultimate compliment.
"I remembered a lot of the words themselves (from 2011), not as much as what they meant or the concepts that came along with them," said Stave, who was reintroduced to the terminology upon Chryst's return to Wisconsin after his three-year stint as the University of Pittsburgh head coach.
"It did come back a little easier because I had a pretty good feel for the offense as a freshman, so it came back pretty quick when we started rolling with it. He (Chryst) tweaks it week-to-week based on what he sees defensively (from an opponent). He's got a great feel for what defenses like to."
Plus, he's adept as a play-caller. "He's got enough plays in his head, enough experience that he knows what he wants to attack," said Stave. "We'll always have a good plan and through our preparation we're able to make game adjustments on what we see and what he thinks will work."
Against a formidable Alabama front seven, the Badgers utilized their short game with an emphasis on Stave throwing passes to the running backs. Dare Ogunbowale had six catches, Derek Watt had five, Corey Clement (who was less than 100 percent physically) had two and Taiwan Deal had one.
"They're very good players and they're all dangerous with the ball in their hands," said Stave, who spread the wealth with completions to eight different receivers. "And being able to get them the ball through more ways than just turning around and handing it to them can be really big for us."
It's hard to imagine the Badgers facing a better defense. "They've got some unique kind of athletes -- guys with size that are able to move the way they do," said Stave, who was sacked three times by the Tide. "They have a lot of confidence knowing they can line up and play you straight-up."
Alabama made the Badgers one-dimensional by completely shutting down the run. But Stave saw benefits in such a test, pass or fail. "We're able to take the positives that we had from the game and learn from them and we can also learn from the negatives," he said. "We can take confidence in knowing we were able to move the ball, convert some third downs (6-of-14) and make some plays."
During his Monday news conference, Chryst referenced Stave's experience (32 games, 29 starts) as a fifth-year senor. But he also noted that this was "the first time that we were really interacting and doing what we did" in the week of preparation leading up to the opener.
"Every coach has their own philosophy -- things that they like to do during game week -- and Coach Chryst is the same way," Stave said. "He likes to make sure that his quarterbacks are prepared; he likes to make sure we have a good feel for what we're going to do on third down and what we're doing in the red zone. I really like the way Coach Chryst prepares and the way he asks a lot out of the quarterbacks."
Would thorough be the word to describe Chryst's routine and/or habits? "That's a very good way to describe it," said Stave, "He's very thorough in his preparation. He's not going to cut any corners, he's not going to take any shortcuts, He's going to make sure we know the game plan just like he does."
To hear Stave talk in these terms would be music to Chryst's ears. At that, Stave's music is pleasing to most ears. Prior to training camp, he teamed up with his older brother, Bryan, a UW graduate, in a YouTube video duet of a Taylor Swift and Ed Sheeran song, "Everything Has Changed."
It's part of a 10-song album that was released by Bryan Stave. "I play some guitar and the bongos, do a little piano and sing a little bit of harmony," Joel Stave said of his musical contributions. "Whatever was needed, I was there to help. That's what brothers do for each other."
The Brothers Stave have performed together on campus at The Buckinghams, which annually shines a spotlight on the talents of UW student-athletes. Joel Stave's earliest go-to song was Train's "Drops of Jupiter." He has been playing the piano since he was a kid. "But I've played a lot more football in front of people," he said, "than I've sung in front of people. They're different, very different."
That's why he has so much respect for his brother's vocal skills.
"To get out in front of a group," Joel Stave said, "that takes a lot of confidence. You're not really worrying about what people are going to think about you because you put yourself out there. And when you start to sing, people are going to have their opinions and they're not going to be afraid to say them. So you just have to have trust in yourself and believe in yourself and have fun with it."
Sort of like playing quarterback?
He chuckled and said, "There's a lot of carryover. That's a good way of putting it."
