For Budmayr, dream of coaching was born from adversity
January 07, 2018 | Football, Mike Lucas
After seeing own career cut short, former UW quarterback aims to help QBs maximize opportunities
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BY MIKE LUCAS
UWBadgers.com Senior Writer
MADISON, Wis. — The moment was both deflating and rejuvenating; the moment that Jon Budmayr realized that he wanted to coach and give back something to the sport that he loved.
In closing one door as an oft-injured Wisconsin quarterback who dealt with reoccurring nerve damage to his throwing elbow, he opened another to a profession and career pursuit.
But there was heartbreak in getting to that point where he finally walked away from football. By his own reckoning, it was "one of the toughest decisions that I ever had to make in my life."
Budmayr will never forget the phone call that he placed to his parents in Woodstock, Illinois. "I just said, 'It's over. I can't do this to my body anymore,'" he related. "It was very emotional."
It was also one of the moments shaping Budmayr, who has been named UW's quarterbacks coach after serving a four-year apprenticeship under Paul Chryst at Pittsburgh and Wisconsin.
"My experiences as a player," he said, "especially the downside at the end of my career, helped me have an appreciation for the game and opportunities … when you do have them to maximize them.
"So many of the experiences that we go through shape us. That was just another set that I got to go through. Not all experiences are good. Some are bad. But you learn from all of them."
Paul Chryst's first QB coach…?? A former Wisconsin QB…?? Happy to announce the hiring of an assistant coach to our staff. We think you'll recognize him. ?? http://go.wisc.edu/6a8009
— Wisconsin Football (@BadgerFootball) January 4, 2018
Budmayr broke his collarbone in the first game of his senior year of high school (Marian Central Catholic) foreshadowing an injury-riddled UW career during which he played in only three games.
"Going through that as a player gave me an understanding that I love the game," said Budmayr, the No. 1-rated quarterback in the state of Illinois as a prep. "I have a passion for football."
Chryst saw that in Budmayr, the QB. Staying on scholarship via a medical hardship waiver, he was a student assistant for the Badgers in 2012 and 2013. After getting his degree in sociology, he joined Chryst at Pitt.
"We stayed in touch quite a bit when he took that job just because he has been such an unbelievable mentor to me in every phase of my life, not just football," said Budmayr.
"I knew I wanted to get into coaching. As soon as I graduated, it was a no-brainer — I knew where I wanted to be, so I began the process of learning and growing under him (at Pittsburgh)."
When Chryst took over the Wisconsin program, Budmayr came back with him as a graduate assistant. Over the last two seasons, he has been an offensive quality control assistant.
"Opportunities have come up here and there over the last few years," Budmayr said of job offers. "And my wife Kaitlyn and I sat down and truly weighed them."
The couple was married in the summer of 2016.
"We grew up in the same hometown and have been together for 10 years," he said. "Once I got into coaching, neither one of us really knew anything different, so I think it was an advantage for us.
"She has been amazing — she was supportive throughout the whole process."
Both realized that he was right where he needed to be — under Chryst's wing.
"Year after year," Budmayr said, "that was the driving force to continue to stick it out and be patient knowing that the knowledge I was gaining under Coach Chryst was going to pay off."
Hit rewind to 2015 and his first season as a GA on the Badgers staff.
Here's how meticulous Budmayr was in learning the nuances of the game.
"My goal right now is to know this offense as well as Coach Chryst — to know it inside and out and be able to teach it the way he teaches it," Budmayr said then.
"I have a big stash of notebooks from when I was playing for him. I took a ton of notes (at Pitt) and I've done the same now here.
"Basically, what I do is compile all that knowledge. Everything that he says has so much value. So, I learned at a young age to take notes on everything. It has helped me become a better teacher."
Since then, he has expanded his frame of reference on coaching quarterbacks.
"From a mechanics standpoint, I love researching the details of how to play the position successfully," he said. "From the feet all the way up to the head, there's so much that goes into it."
Beyond the X's and O's, Budmayr is looking forward to recruiting as a full-time assistant.
"I think I can add value to the staff," he said. "I love connecting with people and that's all recruiting is — it's building a trust and building that relationship, and I enjoy doing that."
Budmayr already has that going for himself — trust — in his ongoing relationship with quarterback Alex Hornibrook, the MVP of the Orange Bowl.
"I was really proud of him," Budmayr said. "He really put himself in the moment."
Orange Bowl MVP @alex_hornibrook is 20-3 as a starter. His 25 TD passes this season were second-most in school history, behind only @DangeRussWilson's 33 TDs in 2011. #OnWisconsin
— Wisconsin Football (@BadgerFootball) January 4, 2018
In preparing for spring ball, Budmayr has a plan of attack for Hornibrook.
"Alex does a lot of things well, so you don't want to over-coach it," he said. "But there are a couple of things that we can clean up a little bit.
"Some of it involves his feet and balance within his throwing motion. We want to continue his understanding of the game and how it's played in different situations."
He will stress with Hornibrook and all the quarterbacks the importance of ball security, especially if a play breaks down. "A throwaway is a positive play, just burn it, that's okay," he said.
Hornibrook did that twice in the first quarter against Miami.
"It's something Coach Chryst stressed often," Budmayr said. "Within the game plan, within the flow of the game, whatever that situation may be, those throwaways are wins a lot of times."
By throwing the ball away, when warranted, it can avoid a negative-yardage play. By the same token, if a running lane opens, you can't turn down the invitation to tuck-and-run.
"It's huge for the offense and huge for the momentum of a drive," he said, "if you can stay normal within the chains. That's a big deal. That's an area we can focus on and Alex is conscious of it.
"With film study and drill work that will evolve naturally for him."
And he quickly added this caveat, "You never want to take away the throwing ability."
Although freshman quarterback Jack Coan saw little game action as Hornibrook's backup, Budmayr believes that he benefited more from those playing opportunities rather than redshirting.
"He got a lot of firsts out of the way," Budmayr said. "Like getting in a game and getting that first completion. He still doesn't have that first incompletion (Coan was 5-of-5 passing).
"He's got a lot of strengths and he will get a big bulk of the reps this spring, and he will continue to get better and grow and understand the game as it slows down for him a little bit."
Quarterbacks Karé Lyles and Danny Vanden Boom fall into the same category.
"They did a bunch of good things during bowl prep," said Budmayr. "And I'm excited to see with more reps this spring where they can get to. The speed of the game will also begin to slow down for them. Reps will provide growth."
As it has for Budmayr as a player and coach under Chryst.
"There's nobody better in the country," said Budmayr, who just turned 27 in mid-December, "for me personally to continue to grow under and learn from."
