BY MIKE LUCAS
UWBadgers.com Senior Writer
MADISON, Wis. — Chimere Dike and Kai Lermer. Classmates and teammates. Competitive athletes. Varsity letterwinners in football, basketball and track. Self-starters. Best friends. Weekend sleepovers.
Life was good for these two juniors from Waukesha North High School.
Until that fateful March day in 2019. It was spring break and Lermer was engaged in pickup hoops at a local park when he went into cardiac arrest, the result of an undiagnosed heart condition, Wolff-Parkinson-White Syndrome. Lermer was hospitalized. Days later, he passed away. He was 16.
"It was pretty hard on me," said Dike, a junior wide receiver on the Wisconsin football team. "I just try to carry him with me every single day. He still means a lot to me and our friend group, which is really close. We always talk about him. He's definitely with me."
In late March, Gov. Tony Evers signed the Kai Lermer Bill during a special ceremony at the Waukesha North auditorium. Also known as the Kai 11 Law — Lermer wore No. 11 — it's designed to educate and raise awareness of sudden cardiac arrest, a leading cause of death in young athletes. (Dike's handle or Twitter username is @chimdk11)
The bill touts the benefits of electrocardiogram (EKG) testing. Especially since annual physicals can fall short of detection. As they did with Lermer. Evers told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Kai will leave a legacy that will undoubtedly have a positive impact on student athletes and young people."
Dike wanted to do his part to honor his late friend. On Saturday, June 25, he will host an instructional football camp at Waukesha North, an hour drive from the UW campus. All proceeds will go to the Kai Lermer Memorial Fund. The one-day camp is open to third through 10th graders.
"Being able to do something for his family and carry on his legacy was really important to me," Dike said. "Pushing EKGs for children to detect some of these heart conditions is something I'm really passionate about so this doesn't happen again. I wanted to give back to him when I had a platform.
"I'm not a big name or anything. But back in Waukesha, maybe I have a little bit of a platform … Growing up, I remember going to camps at North. Not a lot of people have played D-I at my school. We'll be able to show them this is possible, and a lot of aspirations can come true with hard work."
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Dike is on the trajectory of a breakout season in 2022 after 12 catches for 189 yards (15.8) as a frosh and 19 for 272 (14.3) as a soph. Looming as one of UW's most impactful players, he's in select company with tailback Braelon Allen, nose tackle Keeanu Benton and outside linebacker Nick Herbig.
"The game is just slower for me," said the 20-year-old Dike. "I have played a lot of football at this point, and I know how to win on different routes. The speed of the game has slowed down, so I can process things easier. The game feels more in my control. I feel like I can dictate what happens more.
"From the beginning (of freshman year), it's gotten slower and slower. I feel like going into this spring, it took a big jump for me just in the speed. I was pretty comfortable last year in playing. But I feel like I'm really comfortable now with the speed — diagnosing what's happening and knowing how to win.
"The faster you can process, the faster you can play and the faster you can execute."
Twice in the same breath, he mentioned knowing how to win routes.
"I really don't know how to explain it," he admitted. "But with different looks and different routes, you can do different things to get open. Knowing what to do with that particular look, at a particular time, when the quarterbacks need to be at that spot, has been easier for me to process."
In each of the past two seasons, Dike has been the fourth most productive Badger receiver statistically. One of only four with double-digit receptions. In 2020, he was No. 4 behind Jake Ferguson, Jack Dunn and Garrett Groshek. In 2021, he was No. 4 behind Ferguson, Kendric Pryor and Danny Davis.
All of the above are gone. Can Dike be a No. 1? He responded affirmatively during spring ball.
"Obviously, those were guys you could look up to," he said of the departed leaders in the receiving corps. "But it's what I've been preparing for — I'm excited for this — I've been preparing to be that guy in the room. We've got a lot of great guys around me. We've got a really deep room.
"This was an opportunity I've been waiting for and I'm really going to take advantage of it."
Dike's actions spoke loudly. There were myriad catches — attention-grabbers — not the least of which was a spectacular one-hand stab of a Graham Mertz pass on the boundary. Dike snatched it out of the air with his right hand. Just like he had as a freshman on a Mertz throw on the grass practice field.
"I came off (his route) and saw the ball and it was just natural — it felt good," he said of his March 29 show-stopper in the McClain Center. "Those are the ones you want. Those are the catches that separate you as a receiver. But it's the work you have to put in before making one of those."
It's not by chance. "We come in every single day and catch a couple of hundred balls — one-hand catches," he said, singling out a workout partner, Haakon Anderson, a sophomore walk-on wide receiver from Verona. "That's another guy I really feed off of — how he approaches stuff.
"He's made a lot of strides. He's going to be a big help to us, Just on depth and special teams."
Dike has been the equivalent of pace car for some inexperienced but up-and-coming WR prospects: Markus Allen is a redshirt freshman from Dayton, Ohio; Skyler Bell is a redshirt freshman from the Bronx, N.Y.; Dean Engram is a junior from Columbia, Maryland; and Keontez Lewis is a sophomore from East. St. Louis.
Allen had three catches in three games last season. Bell had one catch in one game.
Engram is a converted UW defensive back. Lewis is a transfer from UCLA.
Addressing each, Dike said, "Markus is physical. His frame (6-foot-1, 211) is different. He's just a physical guy that's what comes to mind first. Skyler is a competitor. He has been coming out here every day playing with confidence. I love the strides that he has taken. I trust that guy a lot.
"Keontez is an athlete. That size and speed combination doesn't come around often. It's something teams have to account for. Dean is disciplined … I feed off his demeanor … He's meticulous in his work. He's detailed. I love guys like that because that's how you get better, that's how you improve."
Dike was convinced that the offense improved and got better throughout the spring.
"It has been a process of learning things," he said, explaining some, if not all, of the inconsistency that has cropped up from time to time during the 15 practices with new personnel and a retooled offensive staff. "But the offense has done a great job of competing and we're finding our identity.
"You can see it. We're picking up our stride. We're picking up our speed. I'm really excited to see where our offense goes. I think there are a lot of good things that we're doing, and there are a lot of things that we're going to build on too."
For one, the Badgers have attacked vertically — with deep throws — more than they have.
"Any time you can spread the defense — with people liking to pack the box — it's huge," Dike said. "If they want to come down (with a safety), we're going to make them pay. We're trying to be super consistent on those (routes) and win downfield. That can be a game-changer for our offense."
It's no secret that Dike has grown close to Mertz, who, per usual, holds the key to the offense. During the offseason, Mertz has cleaned up some of his mechanics, whether under center or in the shotgun. He has trimmed up. He has embraced checkdowns. He has built trust with his receivers.
"His decision-making is better, and his body looks way better — he's in great shape right now, and he's in a great place mentally," said Dike, who's aware that quarterbacks are more heavily scrutinized than any other spot on the team. At any level. "That's kind of what comes with the job title.
"But he does a great job of handling it. Not matter what is going on — on the outside — Graham is the same guy. He comes in and works hard every day. He's one of my best friends. So, I'm excited to see what jump he takes this year. I think it's going to be big for our team."
Dike's position coach, Alvis Whitted, is the lone holdover on offense. Joining Whitted have been offensive coordinator and QBs coach Bobby Engram, O-line coach Bob Bostad, running backs coach Al Johnson and tight ends coach Chris Haering.
"Losing G.B. was tough," Dike said of former running backs coach Gary Brown, who passed away on April 10. "The thing I took away from him was how charismatic he was. And how he approached every day. That's something that stuck with me. Like my experience with my friend, Kai Lermer."
Dike will return to Waukesha at the end of the semester and train in May at NX Level Sports under the guidance of owner Brad Arnett, who has worked with many UW athletes, including the Watt brothers. Arnett is the father of Owen Arnett, a redshirt freshman safety for the Badgers.
In June, Dike will return to Madison for the summer phase of conditioning.
"The only thing you can ask of your team is having a great approach every single day," said Dike, summarizing the goals and gains that have already been reached and made. "There have been days this spring when we didn't have our best practices. But we've come back and corrected it the next day.
"I love the direction our team is going. The direction our defense is going. The direction our offense is going. I love the level of competition at practice. If we just keep that up and if we keep raising our standard every single day, we're going to be just fine."
That will be part of his message, if anyone asks, at his June 25 football youth camp.
"You have to take advantage of every single day. Every single day is precious. Every single day is valuable. The people around you are valuable. That's why I don't take anything for granted … That's why I try to come out here (field) — and with whatever I do — fully enjoy and take advantage of it."
That will be the other part of his message to impressionable campers. The most important part.
