Lucas: Eyes on the pros, Hicks and Williams take coaching with ‘all ears open’
March 04, 2021 | Football, Mike Lucas
Badgers’ defensive backs invested in continued education under NFL veterans Leonhard and Poteat
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BY MIKE LUCAS
UWBadgers.com Senior Writer
MADISON, Wis. — Wisconsin cornerbacks Faion Hicks and Caesar Williams thought about using Google to get more information on their new position coach, Hank Poteat. All they knew for sure was that Poteat was a former defensive back in the National Football League. A good icebreaker.
"First impression? Wow, this guy is coaching us?" Williams exclaimed. "With the type of resume and knowledge that he brings, it's an honor I should think. When we met, he wanted to know who I am as a person, he wanted to know my goals and ambitions. That tells me a lot about the type of guy he is."
Hicks was aware that Poteat had previously served as a graduate assistant on Paul Chryst's staff at the University of Pittsburgh. "I got a chance to talk to Coach Chryst about him and he was very excited," Hicks said. "He thought that he was someone that could give us his knowledge of the game."
Williams was naturally drawn to Poteat's NFL pedigree as a 10-year veteran with multiple teams. And said as much, "Of course, it makes a difference to get coached by someone who has been there for anybody with the goals and aspirations of where I want to be. Same as Coach Leonhard."
UW defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard also spent a decade in pro secondaries as a player.
"Whenever those guys give us any type of coaching pointers or advice, especially the young dudes in the room, it's all ears open," Hicks pointed out. "They take it and run with it because they've been to where we're trying to go. Having those two guys in the room is pretty big for us."
Having Poteat in the meeting room is pretty big for Leonhard, too.
"For myself, it's huge — another resource to bounce ideas off," said Leonhard, who will continue to coach the safeties while turning over the corners to Poteat, who has been honing his craft the past six seasons in the Mid-American Conference at Toledo and Kent State.
"The corner and safety positions are really so different. At safety, there are adjustments and vision and communication and a lot of scheme that goes into that understanding of the big picture. The corner world is so much more technical. And it's hard to (coach) both."
On working without another full-time defensive backs assistant since taking over the UW secondary in 2016, Leonhard conceded, "It's really hard to have 22 guys in the room and really hit on everything you need to and dedicate the amount of time that it takes to get really, really good and master something.
"Once you get into the season, especially early in the week, for me to have another mind that's thinking defensive back and really studying the pass game is going to take a lot of stress and time off my plate and allow me to help in a number of different areas."
Leonhard, 38, and Poteat, 43, never crossed paths in the NFL.
"Hank is a guy I've known about for a long time," said Leonhard, who signed with the Jets in 2009 — lured there by Rex Ryan, previously his defensive coordinator in Baltimore. Poteat left New York that season for Cleveland where he was reunited with one of his NFL mentors, Eric Mangini.
"He was with the Jets right before I got there and I heard stories about him.
"Watching tape of him, playing against him, I've kind of known who he is."
Chryst filled in some of the blanks on Poteat prior to Leonhard interviewing him.
"I was just trying to figure out, 'What makes you tick? What are your core values?'" Leonhard said of the questions posed. "Whether it's how you teach, or your philosophy on how you handle your players, what's important to you? What are the non-negotiable things at your position with players?"
Leonhard heard what he wanted to hear from Poteat.
"Having conversations with him, you realize that he's all about the kids," Leonhard said. "He's about development and really getting these guys to grow up — on and off the field. He's a technician. That's what matters to him about football.
"It's development and creating a mindset of competitiveness and a mentality that it takes to play the position in becoming a technician and mastering your craft. That's what this program needs and the type of guy that we love to have coaching our players."
What will the infusion of ideas from the Leonhard-Poteat collaboration look like?
"The number one thing I'm challenging Coach Poteat and challenging that group is, 'How consistent can we be?'" Leonhard said. "We do a lot of good things — we play tight coverage — when you look at some of the things on pass-downs and what we've been able to accomplish.
"To me, it's all about consistency and that's where having another coach in the room — hammering the details — that's what really creates that high-level consistency.
"That is where I hope we take the next step. I love this group. We have a lot of experience. We have a lot of competitive players who have played a ton of snaps. To me, it's all about playmaking and consistency. If we can get up to that level, our defense is going to be significantly better for it."
That Hicks and Williams are returning in 2021 is not insignificant, Leonhard confirmed.
"I talked with my family and with Coach Chryst and Coach Leonhard after the bowl game on the vision that we have for this upcoming year," said Hicks, who has started 28 of 33 games over the last three seasons after redshirting in 2017. "We have a lot of goals and want to leave on the right note."
Williams is different in that he will be coming back for a sixth year.
"A lot of unfinished business," said Williams, who has started 19 of the last 33 since making only two appearances in 2017 and redshirting in 2016. "What went into my thinking — to get where I want to be and see my family in a better way — is a chance to help this team get a championship."
On so many players re-committing to another season at Wisconsin — a list that includes Noah Burks, Mike Maskalunas, Jack Sanborn and Collin Wilder on defense — Williams said, "It definitely raised the chemistry. I'm happy for those guys that went on to seek their dream (in the NFL). I hope to see them there soon."
Leonhard has mapped out a plan for Williams and Hicks.
"For Caesar, you're coming back to be a better player, you're coming back to improve your overall knowledge of football, of scheme and technique," Leonhard said. "It's all about taking that next step and the consistency that it's going to take to do that and what the NFL is looking for.
"I'm excited. He's flashed in a number of areas and I think he still has another level to hit. Significant improvement in those areas is still there. That's my challenge to him. To every day find little things to take that next step."
Leonhard admitted that the expectations are very similar for Williams and Hicks.
"It's truly about mastering our scheme and the adjustments and all the little details because you've been in these situations," he said. "Now it's understanding why we do everything and improving on every aspect of your game.
"There are no secrets on Saturdays of what you're going to get, how you're going to see it and the type of players you're going to play week-in and week-out. The game becomes much more of that internal battle of getting yourself better and understanding all the pieces around you.
"Faion had a very good year for us. Once Rashad (Wildgoose) got hurt and he ended up playing nickel, I thought that made our defense better. He was a lot of fun to coach because you saw the growth through the course of the year and the comfort that he played with.
"You turn on every snap, he was playing some really consistent football for us."
Meanwhile, by all accounts, winter conditioning has gotten off to a positive start.
"Guys now have a sense of what to expect," Hicks said of adapting to the circumstances in a COVID environment which is about to hit a one-year anniversary. "Things will be better, and we can be better prepared as a team. Last year was kind of up and down missing weeks during the season."
"We're all embracing the moment because at this time last year we were not doing what we're doing now," Williams said. "Everybody is doing it for the person next to them as well as doing it for themselves. Everybody doesn't want to see the disappointment we went through last year ever again."
In retrospect, Leonhard was just grateful for getting to play seven games last season.
"We thought we had lost that opportunity for a long time," he said. "It was a roller coaster ride throughout the season. There was just so much unknown from week to week, so much change. Everyone by the end of it was pretty burned out. Everyone in the country was that way.
"You can tell that they're excited to be back — doing and talking football and getting in the weight room. The rules and what we're trying to do while operating on a day-to-day basis is still pretty careful. COVID is still very real and we're trying to be smart with what we're doing."
The weight room does have a new person in charge, Shaun Snee.
"It hasn't been much change," Hicks said. "Everybody was happy that Coach Chryst decided to keep everything in-house. A lot of guys are close with Coach Snee and it's pretty much smooth sailing."
Snee was promoted to replace Ross Kolodziej, who's coaching the defensive line. Leonhard has been pleased by how all the coaching pieces have meshed.
"Obviously when there are changes, there's just different energy in the room," he said. "Coach K has new eyes on some of the same things we've done over time. It's a lot of fun to see how he interacts and how the guys respond to him and the different ideas that he has brought forth to the table. It's kind of the same with Hank. Just a fresh set of eyes on what you do."
Leonhard is hopeful that the Badgers will conduct a spring practice. To whatever degree.
"We're all planning on that being real and you're seeing other conferences that are already making that happen and the reality of it," said Leonhard, who's well-grounded in not taking anything for granted. "Going through the fall, you realize what you have to do on a daily basis to make it happen.
"Missing last spring and lot of the summer like we did, that's a lot of reps on the field the guys missed that pay off in the long run."
Leonhard also suggested something that most people have assumed when he said, "Everyone has a very different perspective from where we were a year ago when all of this went down initially."
As such, the competition has begun anew. Whether it's quarterback Graham Mertz ("Graham is doing everything within his power to be the best Graham he can be," Williams said). Or wide receivers Danny Davis and Kendric Pryor ("Those were big missing pieces from last year," he added.)
Regardless of the player, or position, Williams has gotten the same message this winter.
"You can feel the passion in the guys wanting to get better," he said.
And it's something Leonhard had been tapping into with his reshaped staff.
