On the Inside: Chenal, Mertz and fellow early enrollees get a jump-start
April 12, 2019 | Football, Andy Baggot
First freshmen to arrive are spending spring at Wisconsin getting immersed in playbooks and textbooks
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BY ANDY BAGGOT
UWBadgers.com Insider
MADISON, Wis. — In the process of making a smart decision for his future, Leo Chenal made a difficult one that complicated his present.
Chenal is one of four freshmen football signees who elected to enroll at Wisconsin and begin second-semester classes in January. He was joined in the process by outside linebacker Spencer Lytle, quarterback Graham Mertz and wide receiver Cam Phillips.
All did so lured by the same opportunity. Not only are the four getting a head start on their educations and urban awareness, they are able to participate in 15 spring practices and all the learning that comes with those sessions.
Chenal, the state's Gatorade Player of the Year from Grantsburg, Wisconsin, said he made the move due in large part to advice he received from his older brother, John, who enrolled last fall as a walk-on at fullback and acquitted himself well enough to see action in eight games on special teams.
"He was the one who really influenced me to make the decision," Leo said. "I talked it over with my family and they decided it was a good move for me. It's a good way to get a jump-start on the competition."
The Badgers have a pool of eight prospects vying to replace two starters — Ryan Connelly and T.J. Edwards — at inside linebacker. Chris Orr, a fifth-year senior with 16 career starts, projects to fill one of those spots. Sophomore Jack Sanborn, who saw action in 11 games last season, has gotten a bulk of the work at the other spot during the first eight spring sessions.
The fact that Orr started six times as a true freshman in 2015 lends credence to the notion that Chenal, a two-way first-team all-state pick who was credited with 385 tackles (55 for loss) during his prep career, can be a factor thanks to his early exposure to the college football curriculum. That's the takeaway from seeing Chenal, listed at 6-foot-2 and 239 pounds, get second-team repetitions with junior Mike Maskalunas.
"There's so much stuff to learn mentally with the playbook," Chenal said. "All the formations. All the different schemes they have. It's a lot. It's a lot more difficult than Division 6 football. The playbook is probably 10, 20 times our size."
Football and Badger fans.... the best combo since brats and cheese. We're ready for it! See you there 👐 http://go.wisc.edu/ez95a6 #OnWisconsin // #Badgers
— Wisconsin Football (@BadgerFootball) April 11, 2019
But while Chenal has no regrets about his decision to come to Madison early, there was sacrifice.
He was a top scorer for the Grantsburg boys' basketball team he left for good at the holiday break in December.
He was one of the best high jumpers in the state as a junior whose trip to the WIAA boys' track and field meet last spring included a personal best in the shot put.
"I enjoyed playing other sports, so that's definitely a loss," Chenal said.
But after absorbing extra class work and taking his finals a week earlier than his Grantsburg classmates, Chenal is OK with the trade-off.
"Now that it's over with, it's definitely worth it," he said.
The four newcomers share similar stories of preparation and intent. They all came early to get acclimated to being a college student-athlete. They all came early to get ahead of the football curve as it pertains to conditioning and playbook awareness. They all came early without expressed direction from Wisconsin head coach Paul Chryst or members of his staff.
Chryst said each case, each set of priorities, is different.
"If you're one of those guys who's going to have senioritis, then come and join us," he said of that familiar high school malady.
The again, if you're someone like recently departed fullback Alec Ingold, sophomore tailback Jonathan Taylor or sophomore tight end Jake Ferguson — all of whom stayed the traditional course in order to play other sports in high school — there's no rush.
"That's pretty good stuff, too," Chryst said.
Asked if the four newcomers have maximized their opportunities this spring, Chryst demurred.
"I don't know that I can 100 percent answer that because we're still getting to know them," he said after the seventh practice session. "I do think that they've jumped all in. I think my answer would be that they've given themselves a chance to maximize it."
The four rookies room together — Chenal with Phillips; Mertz with Lytle — at a campus apartment not far from Camp Randall Stadium. They plan to move to the dorms for the fall semester.
"Obviously it's a dream come true," Mertz said. "It's amazing how crazy time went by. Everyone says college goes by fast. I'm just ready to live in the moment."
Mertz, from Overland Park, Kansas, said he's known since his sophomore year of high school that he would enroll in college early and began getting his academic ducks in a row.
"It wasn't anything too bad," he said.
Since arriving on campus, his belongings packed into a late model Ford F-150 pickup, Mertz has seen the depth at quarterback change significantly. Incumbent Alex Hornibrook, a three-year starter who will graduate in May, opted to transfer to Florida State. That left sophomore Jack Coan, who was 2-2 as a starter in 2018, as the front-runner with Mertz and redshirt freshmen Danny Vanden Boom and Chase Wolf in hot pursuit.
Mertz, listed at 6-3, 216, said it was a "no-brainer" to come in as an early enrollee. Not only does it provide in-roads to the playbook with Chryst, offensive coordinator Joe Rudolph and quarterbacks coach Jon Budmayr, it starts the process of bonding with teammates.
"Being in there to break down film, watch film and learn as much as possible with the time that you have there," Mertz said. "Obviously spring ball is huge, to get up there and get the reps that you otherwise wouldn't get. It's the smartest thing you can do.
"The only disadvantage is you're leaving high school early, so you don't get to do prom and all that stuff. I'd rather be up here."
Mertz, who threw for 7,750 yards and 96 touchdowns over his junior and senior seasons, said he plans to return to Blue Valley North High School for graduation next month "so Mom can get the video."
Chenal isn't the only early enrollee who acted on a sibling's counsel. When Lytle made the decision last summer, he listened intently to his older brother Tyler, a quarterback at Colorado.
"I talked to him a lot about it because he went through the same thing," Spencer said. "He said it was one of the best decisions he's made, especially being able to start working out early and start developing at a college program.
"It was something that interested me as well. Why not get a head start on academics and athletics, which are important to me? When I brought it up (to the coaches), they said, 'Sure, if that's something you want to do that would be awesome, especially getting a head start with three 'backers leaving. It's pretty big."
Lytle, listed at 6-2, 204, is the only newcomer this spring at outside linebacker, where the Badgers are looking to replace starter Andrew Van Ginkel and find a running mate for senior Zack Baun.
Lytle is coming off a senior season where he amassed 108 tackles and seven quarterback sacks at St. John Bosco (California) High School. He's an accomplished student who said he received direct admission to the Wisconsin School of Business.
Lytle, whose father Mike played safety at Hawaii, said the extra mechanics of enrolling early were minimal.
"I was already pretty ahead just because I took a lot of extra classes that I didn't ordinarily need to take," he said. "I'm really happy I'm here."
Phillips is an outlier in the sense that he's a preferred walk-on and the other three January enrollees are on scholarship. He initially received a full-ride offer from Wisconsin, as well as other Power Five programs, but a knee injury sustained during his senior year at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida, changed the course of his recruitment.
Chryst and his staff liked Phillips so much they offered the PWO option. Phillips, from San Francisco, will still have the opportunity to go on scholarship later.
Phillips, listed at 6-foot and 177, said early college enrollments are recommended at IMG, where he took his talents after playing three years at Westerville (Ohio) Central High School.
Outside of experiencing a polar vortex and needing a week to figure out where all his classes are held, Phillips, who played defensive back, wide receiver and punt returner at Westerville, couldn't identify an issue with coming to Madison early.
"When I was at IMG, I was away from my family a lot and I got used to being away from home and independent," he said.
Phillips, one of 13 names on the spring roster at wide receiver, kept his first college to-do list simple.
"Getting comfortable, learning the playbook and getting ready to compete," he said.
🖐 catch these guys in the fall 🖐 #OnWisconsin // #Badgers
— Wisconsin Football (@BadgerFootball) April 10, 2019
Chryst, who's prepping for his fifth season as coach of the Badgers, said progress is the key to everything where the early enrollees are concerned.
"Every player comes in wanting to get going, get a jump on it, and give themselves a chance to play," he said. "Then I think a lot of them realize there's a lot to this."
In addition to practice and school work, there's strength and conditioning, film study, bonding with teammates and coaches, adapting to a new daily rhythm of human relations outside of football and doing so with newfound independence.
"They don't know this at the time," Chryst said, "but the pace over winter and spring is so much better for learning."
Chryst and his assistants can tell who's keeping up with that pace and who might be lagging a bit. It's all part of the learning and evaluation processes.
"I certainly don't panic with where they're at as long as they're progressing," Chryst said.
Knowing that most of the 26-member recruiting class will show up in Madison this summer, it stands to reason that Chenal, Lytle, Mertz and Phillips have a leg up on their peers.
"If they're doing it right," Chryst said, "they've got a substantial jump."
