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BY MIKE LUCAS
UWBadgers.com Senior Writer
MADISON, Wis. — After receiving Notre Dame's scholarship offer, Jack Coan was intent on fulfilling his verbal commitment to play lacrosse for one of the top programs in the country. But he was also holding on to the hope that something else might still materialize.
"I've always loved football ever since I was a little kid," Coan confided. "It was always my favorite sport and my dream was to play college football. But I didn't think I was going to get recruited. I did think that I was good enough, but you don't really see anyone from Long Island going any place."
Not in football, at least not to the FBS level. Lacrosse is a different story and it was going to be Coan's ticket out of Sayville, New York, a small community of nearly 17,000 on the south shore of Long Island. The lacrosse recruiters had no trouble finding Coan or Sayville, a little over 50 miles from Manhattan.
Besides Notre Dame, he generated interest from Duke and Maryland, among others.
"On Long Island, lacrosse is a huge sport and I did all the travel teams," said Coan, who earned all-county and all-division honors as a freshman attackman/midfielder. "I was committed to Notre Dame for awhile, but once the football scholarship offers started to come, I knew I wanted to play football."
Coan turned down the lacrosse offer, not an easy call to make because of his respect for Irish coach Kevin Corrigan, and opted to follow his heart on a path that has brought the record-setting Long Island quarterback to Wisconsin where he's one of seven early enrollees in the 2017 freshman class.
After setting foot on the Madison campus, the 6-foot-3, 200-pound Coan said, "I knew within 15 minutes that I wanted to come here. I just loved the whole atmosphere and I looked at my dad and said, 'I think this is the place.' Once I met the coaches, it really sealed the deal."
Coan is still indebted to his high school football coach, Rob Hoss, for helping jump start the recruiting process by sending his video to college programs. There was no shortage of highlights. As a sophomore, Coan threw for 3,431 yards and 40 touchdowns; Long Island single-season records.
"It was kind of crazy getting recruited," Coan admitted. "Some schools were like, 'No, we don't really recruit Long Island.' It was kind of tough to get noticed at first. My coach sent my film out everywhere and he wasn't really getting any replies back."
Hoss told SI.com that he pleaded with recruiters to look at Coan. "I've got a kid right now, just watch his damn film," he'd exhort them. "I'm not asking you to believe me. Watch the freaking film. I get the level of talent's going to be a little different (on Long Island) but look at him, watch him."
Miami (Florida) was the first to heed Hoss and take notice of Coan.
"Once they came in," Coan said of the Canes, "a bunch of other schools came in, too."
A flurry of recruiting pitches followed, including one from Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh. Hoss took the call from Harbaugh and put him in touch with Coan, who was in study hall. Harbaugh offered him on the cell phone right then and there. Coan later visited Ann Arbor.
"Once they offered, everyone was like, 'Michigan, Michigan, you've got to go to Michigan,'" Coan said of the reaction to the Wolverines within his high school. "It was really nice (his visit). They have a great coaching staff. But I just didn't feel like Michigan compared to Wisconsin.
"I feel nothing can match this school with everything that it has — a great atmosphere, great academics and a great football team. I don't think that you can beat that combination."
Wisconsin head coach Paul Chryst was a persuasive closer, too.
"He's just a great guy — a real guy," Coan said. "He's not going to recruit you in one personality and then treat you differently when you get here. He's a great teacher of the game, a great quarterback developer. You see what he has done over the years and how he has taught his quarterbacks."
During his recruiting trip to the UW, Coan was impressed with how Chryst approached him. There was more substance and sincerity than smoke and mirrors. "He sat down and taught me a play," Coan said. "I just liked the way he taught me, too. I'm really excited to work with him."
On the field, Coan will have to make some adjustments since he ran a spread offense in Sayville. "I haven't taken a snap under center since I was in the youth leagues," he said. "So it's a little change for me. That will be different. But that's why it's good to come in early and get used to everything."
UW offensive coordinator Joe Rudolph is looking forward to seeing Coan take advantage of the opportunity that comes with enrolling early.
"Can we help him by keeping it simple enough so that he can digest it (the offense) and play fast?" Rudolph asked. "How fast and quickly can he absorb it and go out and execute it?"
"The reps will be significant, so the evaluation will be real."
Off the field, Coan has embraced the new environment.
"Obviously, it's a lot different from high school, but it's a good change," said Coan, who's taking 12 credits, including calculus. "Originally when I was getting recruited, I didn't even know you could do this. Once colleges started telling me about enrolling at mid-term, I wanted to graduate early.
"I took a lot of hard courses in high school. I had a lot of great teachers and I worked really hard. I feel like I'm prepared academically. I hope to major in business. But you never know. It could change. We'll see what happens.
"But I feel it's an advantage to be here for the second semester, so I can start learning and get used to college. I can start learning the playbook and start working out with the team and start developing as a player. I can just get around campus and start getting comfortable with everything here."
One of the UW players who has helped Coan through the early weeks of his transition has been one of the quarterbacks that he will be competing with during spring practice. Redshirt freshman Karé Lyles, who was an early enrollee last year, has been very accommodating to Coan.
"I've thrown with him a few times and he has been really nice to me — just helping me out with everything while trying to teach me," said Coan, who has also had some casual conversations with Alex Hornibrook. "I'm excited not only to learn from him, but to work with him, too."
Coan has already had some good mentors, starting with Hoss, who recently announced his retirement from coaching after posting a 130-29 record during his 15 seasons at Sayville, where he will continue to teach social studies. Hoss, 43, had three undefeated teams and won five Long Island Class III championships.
"I never had a true quarterback coach," Coan said. "But he really helped me with everything whether it was with recruiting or just making me a better football player."
Another mentor has been 62-year-old Phil Simms, the CBS color analyst and MVP of Super Bowl XXI. Simms, a first-round pick (No. 7 overall) out of Morehead State in the 1979 NFL Draft, played 14 seasons with the New York Giants and threw for over 33,000 yards during his career.
A mutual friend arranged for Coan to throw for Simms.
"He ended up liking me and we've thrown a bunch of times," Coan said. "He taught me a lot of different things that I had never heard of before. One thing was to be violent with your feet when throwing."
The 6-3 Simms, who's about the same size as Coan, also advised him on his throwing motion. "Not throwing so much over the top but kind of bringing it over to the side — keeping a more compact motion," Coan said. "It's like a full body motion. It was different. But it helps."
Ironically, Coan roots for the Jets, not the Giants. Incidentally, he was a three-time Boomer Esiason Award winner as the top quarterback in Suffolk County. Esiason, like Simms, is a color analyst and played 14 seasons in the NFL, including a three-year stint with the Jets. So, what kind of QB are the Badgers getting in Coan?
"I feel like I bring a lot of leadership and toughness and I feel like I can make plays in big moments," Coan said. "Right now, my expectation is just trying to get better every single day whether it's in the weight room, whether it's throwing, whether it's academics."
He believes that he's better off, too, for having played competitive lacrosse.
"Absolutely," he said. "I feel any sport, no matter what it is, can help with football. Lacrosse is about eye-hand coordination; it's about athleticism, agility, conditioning. It's a good, fast-paced sport. And you're taking a beating getting whacked by those sticks."
The perfect training for a Big Ten quarterback.
