MIKE LUCAS Senior Writer

BY MIKE LUCAS
UWBadgers.com Senior Writer

MADISON, Wis. — Having turned 23 last week, wide receiver Kendric Pryor is now looking ahead to a Wisconsin offense "coming of age" during the 2021 season. His optimism is based on another year of maturity for all and the strength of the returning pieces, young and old alike, at the skill positions.

"We could be a top offense in the Big Ten; we've definitely got the weapons to do it," Pryor reiterated. "I think that the offense is capable of having a 1,000-yard rusher and a 1,000-yard receiver. We have the guys to make those plays."

Pryor is one of the oldest guys and most experienced pieces. After appearing in just three games this past season, he will be embarking on a sixth year of competition with the Badgers that includes redshirting as a wide-eyed freshman in 2016. Those eyes are wide open now.

"Only being able to play in two-and-a-half games last year — and just the way everything went with the season — I did not want to leave on a note like that knowing that we have a lot of unfinished business to take care of next season," said Pryor, a veteran of 40 games and 24 career starts.

"Once I got that concussion the second game of the season (Nov. 14 at Michigan), I started thinking about coming back; I kind of knew right then and there that was it was most likely."
 

Before electing to return to UW, though, Pryor considered his options and bounced his thoughts and plans off others in his inner circle. Or as he noted, "Honestly, more so it was just my family, in talking with them and telling them how I felt and getting their input on certain things.

"My parents were my biggest influence. My dad (Keith) has more of a sports input because he played ball. My mom (Cynthia) is more like a businesswoman in keeping it real with me and laying out everything — speaking to football and real-life aspects."

On January 3, he posted on his Twitter account (@KPryor3): "We back baby! Ready to get back on the field with my brothers." A day earlier, three teammates also announced their intentions to return: tight end Jake Ferguson, inside linebacker Jack Sanborn and cornerback Faion Hicks.

Ferguson and Hicks will be fifth-year seniors and Sanborn will be a fourth-year senior.

Pryor is taking advantage of an NCAA eligibility provision put in place because of the COVID pandemic, while another senior receiver Danny Davis is also contemplating returning. Davis, unlike Pryor, has never been redshirted. Davis, like Pryor, saw his playing time limited in 2020 due to injury.

Davis played in only two games during the truncated '20 season and impacted both. In the opener against Illinois, he had a 53-yard touchdown catch, the longest play from scrimmage in seven games. Against Michigan, he had a career-high seven rushes for 65 yards and a score.

The Badgers sorely missed Pryor and Davis and their ability to threaten and stretch defenses.

"It was very tough not being out there and just watching. It was kind of frustrating knowing I could have helped the team win some of those games," said Pryor, indirectly speaking for Davis. "You really can't contribute, you really can't do anything, especially with a concussion. You just have to watch.

"It was a little depressing not being able to go out there and help my brothers on the field.

"I tried staying positive because I know how being depressed can have an effect on you."

To this end, Pryor cited a personal example: a scooter accident on campus in August of 2017. Pryor, who was not wearing a helmet, suffered a broken nose and a fracture above his eye. After spending a few days in the hospital, he accepted a sobering reality. It could have been much worse.

"Going back to my moped accident, I possibly could have died," said Pryor, who missed the first three games of '17. "It put things in perspective just knowing that stuff can get taken away from you. At that point, it made me realize that you shouldn't take things for granted.

"Sometimes things don't go your way like the concussion and that's why you have to treat everything you do — every practice and every workout — like this could be your last time stepping on the field. You have to have that mindset."

Like everyone, Pryor's frame of mind was challenged monthly, weekly, daily, hourly in 2020.

"It was stressful going all the way back to when we had spring break and found out we couldn't come back because of COVID and there would be no spring ball," he recalled. "It was not knowing if we were going to be able to do (summer) workouts and then not having more than 12 in a group.

"It was finding out the season was canceled (Aug. 11), and then that changed (when the season reinstated Sept. 16). It was playing a game and then being off for two weeks. It was all very frustrating. But people go through adversity all the time and this was a big adversity for everyone.

"Even though you might not know what is going to happen, you don't want to lose sight of that hard work mentality — our program being known for working hard, and being smart, tough, dependable.

"We never had the mindset of easing up. We were going to put in the work and practice 110 percent and if a game gets canceled, it gets canceled. You can't worry about that or think about that. You have to control what you can control."

Factoring into his return was controlling his immediate future in football by committing to another stage in his development over what he hopes will be a full season in 2021. Explained Pryor, "I want to keep working on my route running and just keep showing that I can make plays with the ball."

In addition to posing a dual-threat as a receiver (67 career catches for 849 yards and four touchdowns) and rusher (32 carries for 368 yards and five scores), he pledged, "I want to be more of a leader. I'm not the most vocal guy. My M.O. would be more to lead by example.

"But me being an older guy now, I want to talk more and help out the younger guys."

Pryor was encouraged by the adaptability of the freshmen to circumstances out of their control.

"If you would have told me that the two senior receivers — me and Danny — would not be playing much this year I probably would have looked at you crazy," Pryor said. "But my thing in talking with the young players was about being ready for your opportunities because you just never know.

"Like my redshirt freshman year, Jazz (Peavy) and George (Rushing) stepped away from the program and then Q (Quintez Cephus) broke his ankle. That's when I really started getting more time. I'm sure Chim (Chimere Dike) didn't think me and Danny would be out. But he handled it really well."

Dike, a true freshman from Waukesha, Wis., had 12 catches for 189 yards (15.8) and a touchdown. Picking up the slack for Pryor on jet sweeps, he also had six carries for 48 yards, including a 30-yard scamper on an end-around/reverse in Wisconsin's victory at Michigan.

"He's such a resilient kid," UW wide receiver coach Alvis Whitted said of Dike. "I felt bad for him because you could tell that he was kind of hitting a slump at the end of the year because he was playing 60 to 65 snaps a game and that's a lot for a freshman. You could tell it was wearing on him a little.

"But he just went about his business, 'Hey, man, I'm here. Let's work. Let's go play.' That's the attitude you want. You tell him one thing and he applies it. He's smart and very coachable. He loves the game of football. And I love everything about him."

Another true frosh, Devin Chandler, began to emerge late in the season. Chandler, who hails from Huntersville, North Carolina, had a couple of catches at Iowa and a 59-yard kickoff return against Wake Forest in Duke's Mayo Bowl, one of the instrumental plays in Wisconsin's comeback win.

"I could tell with Devin over the summer that he could be special," Pryor said. "For every freshman, the playbook is the biggest thing. Once you get the understanding of the plays, you're able to play more freely and you can open up your game and that helps you become a better player."

Whitted saw the same promise in Chandler's brief exposure.

"He's very eager, very explosive, too and he's still growing and maturing in a lot of ways," Whitted said. "But when he's out there, he can be a difference-maker. He can create separation. He has a different gear to get in and out of breaks. He brings a different dimension to our vertical game."

Although wide receiver Isaac Smith, a freshman out of Memphis, Tennessee, toiled on the scout team, he made a positive impression. As far as working with the scouts against the No. 1 defense in practice, Pryor said, "I try to tell the guys, 'Don't think of it as a bad thing.'

"Instead, you need to think, 'I'm going to use this year to get a better understanding of the playbook and get bigger, stronger and all that stuff. So, when next year comes around, I'll be ready for that moment.' I could tell by his work ethic that he will be."

Pryor could also tell that freshman tailback Jalen Berger was a good fit. Despite playing in just four games — with exactly 15 carries in each — he was the team's leading rusher with 301 yards. Berger, who hails from Newark, New Jersey, had a personal-best 93 rushing yards at Northwestern.

"I did like what I saw," Pryor said. "He got his feet wet and he knows kind of what to expect now. Jalen is very capable of being a top running back in the Big Ten. He showed flashes of that. I know my freshman year I wasn't really playing full-speed, because I was thinking too much."

It comes with the territory as first-year contributor. Or starter. Like quarterback Graham Mertz.

"I anticipate that he's going to take that next step," Pryor said of Mertz, a redshirt freshman. "Playing as a freshman at quarterback is much different from playing as a receiver or running back. It's just a harder position to play. Defenses disguise things better on the college level versus high school.

"But getting that experience this year, and all the things that he went through, I know he's the type of guy that is going to take this offseason to watch film and get better. But it's not just him. We've all got to put the work in this offseason so when the 2021 season comes around, we're ready."

Pryor is ready to learn more from Whitted, a former NFL wide receiver and assistant coach.

"He has been," Pryor said, "where I want to be."

And, right now, he wants to be in Madison. He has some unfinished business. He's not alone.

"I really do think we're capable of having a very strong offense. We have the pieces."