Photo by: Tom Lynn
Lucas: Making the impossible become reality
April 28, 2022 | Football, Mike Lucas
Leo Chenal’s NFL dreams about to come true this week
BY MIKE LUCAS
UWBadgers.com Senior Writer
MADISON, Wis. – Leo Chenal never thought this was possible. None of this. Not at first at least. As a Wisconsin freshman, he never envisioned someday being named the top linebacker in the Big Ten. Nor hearing his name called in the NFL draft. He didn't think it was doable.
"I really didn't believe in myself and trust in myself completely – just coming from a small town and seeing all these huge linemen here," said Chenal, a native of Grantsburg, a family-oriented, hunting and fishing town of 1,275 wildlife enthusiasts on the St. Croix River in the far northwest part of the state.
"I really didn't trust my strength, my speed, my knowledge enough until my sophomore year when I really had to because I had to take over that starting role. I thought to myself, 'Ok, let's do this.' And I just went all in on studying, notes, basically just building that confidence.
"But I didn't really think it was all possible until that Minnesota game."
The stands were virtually empty (due to COVID protocols) that day: Dec. 19, 2020. The Badgers outlasted the Gophers, 20-17, in overtime at Camp Randall Stadium. Chenal had 13 tackles, including 5 TFLs and a pair of sacks. In 16 previous UW games, combined, he had 3 TFLs and a couple of sacks.
"It gave me a huge boost of confidence," said Chenal, a throwback in spirit and style.
Even though he outperformed that moment, outdid himself this past season with 5.5 TFLs and 3.5 sacks in a late October victory over Purdue, Chenal still believed that Minnesota game his sophomore year was more meaningful "just because I like beating Minnesota" he said with a laugh.
In retrospect, it has been an uphill climb for this fierce downhill linebacker. But through hard work, he has put himself in a position to leave school after his junior season and potentially be taken in the first round of Thursday's NFL draft. Most projections have Chenal going in the second or third round.
"I'm just hoping for the best fit, both sides, all in," he said. "Wherever I land, I'm ready for it."
Chenal will watch the draft from his parent's home in Grantsburg. He won't be alone. He estimated that there will be a gathering of 40 or more. There will be multiple TV's and catering from local restaurants. His older brother John, one of the top five fullbacks on many boards, will be there.
Leo wasn't about to venture a guess on when John might be taken. After all, he can't even be sure when he will be picked. But he's banking on the pro scouts doing their homework – "I just hope the teams are smart, I know they are" – and if they turn on the film, they know what they'll be getting.
"My first few steps are the most explosive, in my opinion, out of anybody," said Leo Chenal, who had 114 tackles, 17.5 TFLs and eight sacks during the 2021 season. "I'm going to be the most physical and violent on the field. I take pride in that – the physicality and violent aspect of the game."
To reinforce that mentality on game days, he marked his arm with "Death Row" – out of respect to former UW inside linebacker Chris Orr, now playing in the USFL for New Jersey. It was Orr who first branded the LBer room accordingly and it was Chenal and Jack Sanborn who carried on the tradition.
"It's somebody who embodies grit and toughness," Chenal explained.
It's somebody like Sanborn, who played through a dislocated finger that was so badly gashed that it required stitches. It's somebody like Chenal, who continued to play snap after snap late in the season despite an injured rib largely because "I didn't want to back down from any pain."
Asked if that might endear him to the pros, he said, "They love guys risking and pushing it."
There's also a lot to love about a 250-pound-plus linebacker who can run a 4.53 in the 40.
"I was hoping for a sub-4.5," grumbled Chenal, who, nonetheless, felt like he proved something at the Scouting Combine. "A lot of people looked at a white linebacker from Wisconsin and assumed he was slow. It's good to go out and show them that I can be athletic, too. Just to show that side of it.
"I'm capable of growing and getting better in all sorts of things. Including coverage."
Pass coverage. That definitely has been the red flag, in some cases, on Chenal, who admitted, "Coverage is always the number one thing brought up. They want to see more change of direction or me flipping my hips better. It's definitely things that I've been working on."
"I know how much better I can get in every aspect of my game … including coverage."
Chenal took measurable developmental strides under assistant coach Bob Bostad, now with the O-line. On Bostad's impact in grooming him as a linebacker, he said, "It's an everlasting impact. I tell people all the time, 'I came in here the most uncoordinated kid ever, not knowing anything.'
"But just by grinding over the summers and during the season on simple things like working your hands and your hips, block shedding, it was all the stuff that really paid off for our whole linebacker group. We had the best run defense in the country. Coach Bostad definitely had a huge hand in that."
So did UW defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard. Pointed out Chenal, "A lot of the stuff we're running is what the pros run. Jack and I had the honor to call the defense – making adjustments, setting the front, communicating with safeties. Coach Leonhard definitely played to our strengths …"
During the pre-draft process, Chenal got positive feedback from NFL coaches on how well-schooled he was on defensive concepts, a tribute to Leonhard's scheme. "We'd go over simple stuff we're taught at Wisconsin," he said. "They'd go 'Oh, wow, that's the stuff we teach here in the league."'Â
Sanborn will obviously be a beneficiary of that Badger training as well.
"Everybody knows that he's Mr. Consistent," said Chenal, offering a Sanborn testimonial for the team that drafts him. "He's someone who's very instinctive – coverage, run defense – he's so well-rounded and he's a leader. I can't name one weakness in his game. He's a model of consistency.
"I'm like the downhill, blowing stuff up guy. Bringing almost chaotic energy to it.
"And whatever happens in the chaos, he's going to find the ball. He's got a nose for the ball."
Chenal and Sanborn played off each other. Made each other better. And now that they're gone?
Here's how Chenal assessed some of the UW's inside linebackers going into 2022:
On Jordan Turner: "He's someone who's really mature. When he walks into the building, Jordan is serious about football. He really studied and asked questions of Jack and me last year. He's got really heavy strong hands. You saw in Las Vegas; he can chase guys down. I'm excited to watch him."
On Tatum Grass: "He's someone who has been a model of consistency as well. He just puts in the work. He's well-rounded. And he's continually gotten better over the years and now it's his time to step up. I've heard that he's leading the defense vocally. I'm excited for him as well."
Chenal used the word "twitchy" to describe Jake Chaney ("He can explode") and believes that Maema Njongmeta "was the best pass rusher out of all of us. He's got really good hips. I want to see him on the field." In general, he proclaimed of the linebacker room, "We've got a good group of guys."
Still, it's hard to imagine anyone matching Chenal's intensity. Or production.
"I'm just taking it day by day, moment by moment," he said of his anxiety leading up to the draft. He has been told, "If you start sliding, it's OK, to be angry and feel disrespected … at the end of the day, you're still going to have to prove yourself and show you're capable of playing at a high level."
Chenal will keep that in mind Thursday while watching the draft with family and friends. Mostly family since he's one of 16 children, eight boys and eight girls, seven half-brothers and half-sisters. "All three sides of my family will be there," he said. "My wife's side, me and John's side, John's wife side."
The irony is that the draft was never must-see TV for Leo Chenal.
"I'd watch the first round and get bored," he admitted. Unless UW players were involved.
Raised as a Packer fan, he's not holding his breath on getting picked by Green Bay, either.
"I'm a fan of whoever picks me," he said, laughing.
As for his Badger legacy, he suggested, "Hopefully it's as someone who laid it all out on the line, whether I was hurt or whatever. Hopefully it's as someone who brought up others around him, not just made himself better, but made others better as well. I set the example on the field of being tough."
No matter what. No matter that he never thought this was all possible. Not in the beginning.
But he made it doable. The old-fashioned way. He went out and did it.
UWBadgers.com Senior Writer
MADISON, Wis. – Leo Chenal never thought this was possible. None of this. Not at first at least. As a Wisconsin freshman, he never envisioned someday being named the top linebacker in the Big Ten. Nor hearing his name called in the NFL draft. He didn't think it was doable.
"I really didn't believe in myself and trust in myself completely – just coming from a small town and seeing all these huge linemen here," said Chenal, a native of Grantsburg, a family-oriented, hunting and fishing town of 1,275 wildlife enthusiasts on the St. Croix River in the far northwest part of the state.
"I really didn't trust my strength, my speed, my knowledge enough until my sophomore year when I really had to because I had to take over that starting role. I thought to myself, 'Ok, let's do this.' And I just went all in on studying, notes, basically just building that confidence.
"But I didn't really think it was all possible until that Minnesota game."
The stands were virtually empty (due to COVID protocols) that day: Dec. 19, 2020. The Badgers outlasted the Gophers, 20-17, in overtime at Camp Randall Stadium. Chenal had 13 tackles, including 5 TFLs and a pair of sacks. In 16 previous UW games, combined, he had 3 TFLs and a couple of sacks.
"It gave me a huge boost of confidence," said Chenal, a throwback in spirit and style.
Even though he outperformed that moment, outdid himself this past season with 5.5 TFLs and 3.5 sacks in a late October victory over Purdue, Chenal still believed that Minnesota game his sophomore year was more meaningful "just because I like beating Minnesota" he said with a laugh.
In retrospect, it has been an uphill climb for this fierce downhill linebacker. But through hard work, he has put himself in a position to leave school after his junior season and potentially be taken in the first round of Thursday's NFL draft. Most projections have Chenal going in the second or third round.
"I'm just hoping for the best fit, both sides, all in," he said. "Wherever I land, I'm ready for it."
Chenal will watch the draft from his parent's home in Grantsburg. He won't be alone. He estimated that there will be a gathering of 40 or more. There will be multiple TV's and catering from local restaurants. His older brother John, one of the top five fullbacks on many boards, will be there.
Leo wasn't about to venture a guess on when John might be taken. After all, he can't even be sure when he will be picked. But he's banking on the pro scouts doing their homework – "I just hope the teams are smart, I know they are" – and if they turn on the film, they know what they'll be getting.
"My first few steps are the most explosive, in my opinion, out of anybody," said Leo Chenal, who had 114 tackles, 17.5 TFLs and eight sacks during the 2021 season. "I'm going to be the most physical and violent on the field. I take pride in that – the physicality and violent aspect of the game."
To reinforce that mentality on game days, he marked his arm with "Death Row" – out of respect to former UW inside linebacker Chris Orr, now playing in the USFL for New Jersey. It was Orr who first branded the LBer room accordingly and it was Chenal and Jack Sanborn who carried on the tradition.
"It's somebody who embodies grit and toughness," Chenal explained.
It's somebody like Sanborn, who played through a dislocated finger that was so badly gashed that it required stitches. It's somebody like Chenal, who continued to play snap after snap late in the season despite an injured rib largely because "I didn't want to back down from any pain."
Asked if that might endear him to the pros, he said, "They love guys risking and pushing it."
There's also a lot to love about a 250-pound-plus linebacker who can run a 4.53 in the 40.
"I was hoping for a sub-4.5," grumbled Chenal, who, nonetheless, felt like he proved something at the Scouting Combine. "A lot of people looked at a white linebacker from Wisconsin and assumed he was slow. It's good to go out and show them that I can be athletic, too. Just to show that side of it.
"I'm capable of growing and getting better in all sorts of things. Including coverage."
Pass coverage. That definitely has been the red flag, in some cases, on Chenal, who admitted, "Coverage is always the number one thing brought up. They want to see more change of direction or me flipping my hips better. It's definitely things that I've been working on."
"I know how much better I can get in every aspect of my game … including coverage."
Chenal took measurable developmental strides under assistant coach Bob Bostad, now with the O-line. On Bostad's impact in grooming him as a linebacker, he said, "It's an everlasting impact. I tell people all the time, 'I came in here the most uncoordinated kid ever, not knowing anything.'
"But just by grinding over the summers and during the season on simple things like working your hands and your hips, block shedding, it was all the stuff that really paid off for our whole linebacker group. We had the best run defense in the country. Coach Bostad definitely had a huge hand in that."
So did UW defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard. Pointed out Chenal, "A lot of the stuff we're running is what the pros run. Jack and I had the honor to call the defense – making adjustments, setting the front, communicating with safeties. Coach Leonhard definitely played to our strengths …"
During the pre-draft process, Chenal got positive feedback from NFL coaches on how well-schooled he was on defensive concepts, a tribute to Leonhard's scheme. "We'd go over simple stuff we're taught at Wisconsin," he said. "They'd go 'Oh, wow, that's the stuff we teach here in the league."'Â
Sanborn will obviously be a beneficiary of that Badger training as well.
"Everybody knows that he's Mr. Consistent," said Chenal, offering a Sanborn testimonial for the team that drafts him. "He's someone who's very instinctive – coverage, run defense – he's so well-rounded and he's a leader. I can't name one weakness in his game. He's a model of consistency.
"I'm like the downhill, blowing stuff up guy. Bringing almost chaotic energy to it.
"And whatever happens in the chaos, he's going to find the ball. He's got a nose for the ball."
Chenal and Sanborn played off each other. Made each other better. And now that they're gone?
Here's how Chenal assessed some of the UW's inside linebackers going into 2022:
On Jordan Turner: "He's someone who's really mature. When he walks into the building, Jordan is serious about football. He really studied and asked questions of Jack and me last year. He's got really heavy strong hands. You saw in Las Vegas; he can chase guys down. I'm excited to watch him."
On Tatum Grass: "He's someone who has been a model of consistency as well. He just puts in the work. He's well-rounded. And he's continually gotten better over the years and now it's his time to step up. I've heard that he's leading the defense vocally. I'm excited for him as well."
Chenal used the word "twitchy" to describe Jake Chaney ("He can explode") and believes that Maema Njongmeta "was the best pass rusher out of all of us. He's got really good hips. I want to see him on the field." In general, he proclaimed of the linebacker room, "We've got a good group of guys."
Still, it's hard to imagine anyone matching Chenal's intensity. Or production.
"I'm just taking it day by day, moment by moment," he said of his anxiety leading up to the draft. He has been told, "If you start sliding, it's OK, to be angry and feel disrespected … at the end of the day, you're still going to have to prove yourself and show you're capable of playing at a high level."
Chenal will keep that in mind Thursday while watching the draft with family and friends. Mostly family since he's one of 16 children, eight boys and eight girls, seven half-brothers and half-sisters. "All three sides of my family will be there," he said. "My wife's side, me and John's side, John's wife side."
The irony is that the draft was never must-see TV for Leo Chenal.
"I'd watch the first round and get bored," he admitted. Unless UW players were involved.
Raised as a Packer fan, he's not holding his breath on getting picked by Green Bay, either.
"I'm a fan of whoever picks me," he said, laughing.
As for his Badger legacy, he suggested, "Hopefully it's as someone who laid it all out on the line, whether I was hurt or whatever. Hopefully it's as someone who brought up others around him, not just made himself better, but made others better as well. I set the example on the field of being tough."
No matter what. No matter that he never thought this was all possible. Not in the beginning.
But he made it doable. The old-fashioned way. He went out and did it.
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