MIKE LUCAS Senior Writer

BY MIKE LUCAS
UWBadgers.com Senior Writer

MADISON, Wis. — When the neighborhood kids gathered in the backyard for a robust game of pickup football, it was inevitable that they would each play out their gridiron fantasies by choosing to emulate their favorite players, a time-honored tradition of youth.

"We were all huge Badger fans," recalled Chimere Dike, who hails from Waukesha, an hour drive from Camp Randall Stadium. "That was around the time that Nick Toon and Lance Kendricks were starring at Wisconsin."

Toon, a split end, and Kendricks, a tight end, were teammates for four years (2007-10).

Dike usually pretended to be Toon, the fourth-leading receiver in school history.

"He was someone I always looked up to," he said, "and inspired me to go to Wisconsin."

Fittingly, Dike was the 2019 recipient of the Al Toon Award honoring the most outstanding prep wide receiver in the state. Toon, the sixth-leading all-time UW receiver, was a first-round draft choice and three-time All-Pro with the New York Jets. In 1988, he led the NFL in receptions.

Nick is Al Toon's son. Or Al is Nick Toon's dad. However you choose to view them.

Meanwhile, Dike, now a freshman wide receiver, saw himself playing for only one school. The Toons' alma mater.

"Me becoming a Badger has been (in the works) since I was a little kid," acknowledged Dike, whose mom Mary, dad Uche and grandfather all attended the UW. "I grew up a Badger fan and slowly as I started to get recruited more it just all culminated.

"Madison is a beautiful city. The school is a great place. And the culture we have (in the football program) is something special. For a kid from Wisconsin, if he has the opportunity to come and play here, I don't know how you can turn that down honestly."
 

Dike didn't need a lot of selling during the recruiting process — Iowa State offered and other Power Five programs had expressed interest — when he became the first in-state receiver to commit to the Badgers since Kenosha's Jazz Peavy in 2013.

As a junior at Waukesha North High School, Dike had 79 catches for 1,091 yards and 12 touchdowns. By the time that he verbally committed in January of '19, he already had a comfort level with the campus. In his early teens, he attended track meets at The Shell (Camp Randall Memorial Sports Complex).

"My sister was touring the school," Dike remembered, "and I was probably in late elementary school-middle school, age 12, and I came here, and I just fell in love with the city. It's important to be at a place that you not only enjoying playing football at, but you also enjoy outside of football as well."

Wisconsin wide receivers coach Alvis Whitted can relate to Dike's playacting as a youngster. At about the same impressionable age, he had his favorites, too, including Drew Pearson and the incomparable Jerry Rice. More often than not, Whitted mimicked Rice, the G.O.A.T.

Many years later, as fate would have it, Whitted was Rice's teammate with the Oakland Raiders.

"For me that was a dream come true to actually play with that man," said Whitted, who played nine seasons as a wide receiver in the NFL, the first four with Jacksonville, which drafted him in the seventh round out of N.C. State in 1998, and the last five with the Raiders.

Rice was 39 when he arrived in Oakland and played three-plus years. Whitted still remembers what Rice told him after a practice, recounting, "He gave me the best compliment ever. He said, 'Whitt, you've improved so much. Your routes are getting sharp and crisp. You can just see the development.'

"Man, that just made my world to hear that coming from him."

The 46-year-old Whitted is in his first season on Paul Chryst's coaching staff after spending 2019 coaching the wide receivers for the Green Bay Packers. That has created more common ground between Whitted, who coached Davante Adams, and Dike, a big fan of the Packers, and Adams.

Whitted hasn't hesitated to dip into his film library.

"Those guys have seen plenty of video," Whitted said. "Hopefully, they can add a little bit of stuff that guys like him (Adams) have put on tape and put it in their toolbox and use it and apply it. Chim has been doing some of the things as far as releases and just working on those little technique things.

"I'm excited for that kid (Dike) because he's what you want. He loves ball."

• • • •

The first time that Dike got the ball in his hands as a collegian was noteworthy. After a Scott Nelson interception set up the offense with great field position, Dike rambled 30 yards on a reverse to give the Badgers a first-and-goal at the Michigan 3-yard line last Saturday night in Ann Arbor.

"I saw a lot of green grass and my eyes got big — for a split second there, I thought I could get to the end zone," said Dike, who had 43 carries for 318 yards and six touchdowns during his senior season at Waukesha North. "Honestly, I didn't have that many reverses (as a prep).

"Whenever I was running the ball, it was usually out of the running back position. But I'm comfortable with the ball in my hands. I'd say that's the biggest thing. I'm comfortable with it and when I get the rock in my hands, I naturally know what to do. I'll have even more confidence the next game."

On the reverse, quarterback Graham Mertz threw a block to get Dike on the perimeter.

"I knew that he was setting up to get a block, but I didn't see the whole thing," said Dike, who later thanked Mertz. "A guy like that is such a competitor. It's awesome to have him running the offense because all he wants to do is win and he'll do whatever it takes. That (block) was an example of that."

Dike's first reception as a collegian was no less noteworthy than his first rush. On UW's second offensive possession, Mertz connected with Dike for a 10-yard gain on a third-and-7 from the Michigan 11. That, too, led to a touchdown, which put the Wolverines in a quick 14-0 hole.

"Since I've come to school, our relationship has grown a lot," Dike said of his rapport with Mertz. "We can relate in the way we both approach things. He throws a pretty ball. It's right there almost every time. A tight spiral. All our quarterbacks are really talented in that aspect. We're almost spoiled to have such a great room."

Mertz is a redshirt freshman. Dike is a true freshman. What has allowed him to play early?

"The young man is highly intelligent, extremely coachable and plays with great effort," Whitted said of the 6-foot-1, 193-pound Dike. "We tell him one thing, and he fixes it. He writes things down. He's meticulous. He studies. He's intentional about everything that he does.

"And that's not very common. The kid is serious. He's detailed. And he cares. He practices well and he practices hard. And he just shows up on tape whenever he's out there."

Dike believes his transition to the playing field has been made much easier because of the mentoring that he has received from Wisconsin's four senior wide receivers: Danny Davis, Kendric Pryor, Jack Dunn and Adam Krumholz. All have schooled him from their own unique frame of references.

"They've been awesome," Dike said. "All those guys are so supportive. I've been able to ask them so many questions. The big thing is they all have their strengths. And I'm just trying to get as much information from them so I can be a better player and I can help this team the best I can.

"They're great leaders in that room and I'm grateful that I'm able to learn from them."

Davis, Pryor, Dunn and Krumholz have earned Whitted's respect, too.

"They've played a lot of football here together," Whitted observed. "We have a smart room; we have guys who are extremely intelligent. This has been a very difficult time for all of us. But they've all handled it well. They've taken on the adversity and continued to grow as a group.

"Their experiences have helped Chim a lot … I'm really excited the path that he's on right now."

Another young UW receiver, Stephan Bracey, a redshirt freshman, has also benefited from the upperclassmen. Dike and Bracey both come from track backgrounds. At East Kentwood (Michigan) High School, a track powerhouse, Bracey won state titles in the long jump and with the 4x200-meter relay team.

"We've talked about our state track meets and our experiences with track," Dike said. "That's something we really enjoyed in high school and it's just a way that we can relate to each other.

"We communicate well with each other because we both want to make plays and contribute. He brings a lot of things to our room that can help us. His speed is different. His quickness is also impressive."

Who's faster? Bracey? Or Dike?

Laughing, Dike said, "I didn't get to run my senior year, but I will say my junior track times are faster than his. I'm just putting that out there. But, no, his senior times were really impressive."

Who's faster? Bracey? Or Dike? Or Whitted?

Laughing even louder, Whitted said, "I would leave those guys in a cloud of dust. Both of them."

He wasn't kidding. Whitted ran the 200 meters in the 1996 U.S. Olympic Trials.

Bracey and Dike are formidable. But Whitted competed against Michael Johnson and Carl Lewis.

"I tell you what," Whitted said, "I've been really impressed with the culture of our players. All of them. Defensive players and offensive players. They have great personality, and they love football. It's fun being around them and seeing them work and seeing them grow and have success."

It's a mutual feeling, according to Dike, in the wide receivers room.

"Coach Whitted means so much to us — that guy really cares about his players," Dike said. "He knows a lot about the game, he has been through different experiences and he knows what we're going through because he has been a player himself. I know how much he cares.

"Whenever a guy has played and coached at the place (the NFL) where a lot of players in our room and a lot of players on our team want to get to, that's really awesome. A lot of guys not only respect that experience of being there and knowing what it takes but they can learn a lot from him."

The path to the NFL can take many twists and turns and geography can be a factor.

Dike recognizes the stereotypes associated with growing up as a Cheesehead receiver.

"A lot of times when people think about Wisconsin, they think about the big guys," he said. "I think we have a lot of playmakers in the state that have a lot to offer. I'm trying to pave the way maybe for some guys in the future who hopefully will get some opportunities.

"Obviously, we're a power run team. But receivers can add an aspect to our team that can help win games. It's a culmination of everybody doing their job. Everybody has a part in every play, whether you're a wide receiver, a tight end, a lineman. You just have to execute your job for your teammates."

There's so much more inside that jersey, so much more to Dike than the number on his back.

That number, by the way, is No. 13.

"My high school coach, Matt Harris, gave me it before my first varsity game my freshman year and I made my name in it," said Chimere Dike, whose name is pronounced CHIM-ray DEE-kay. "So, I am just continuing on with it and hopefully building an even better legacy with it at UW."

Michigan was his first start. And he's off to a fast one.