The Air Raid: A New Identity

In 2013 Gary Andersen came to Madison and with him he brought a young up and coming Defensive Coordinator named Dave Aranda. Together they were going to bring an attacking 3-4 defense that would mark a huge shift in defensive style for the Badgers. Many fans and especially casual Badger fans questioned the move asking the usual questions. Can a new system fit the players we had? Can we recruit the right players? Does it fit with the “pro style” mentality that had sent players like JJ Watt to the NFL. Different can be scary and a many people don’t like change.

All of these questions were answered with a resounding YES. Gary Andersen does not get the credit he deserves for sticking to his guns and trusting his young DC with his vision of an aggressive mobile defense, and with Andersen’s guidance Aranda took a program that was known for good defenses into the national spotlight. He developed a system that has been seen as the antidote to the modern spread offense. And he did it with the typical Wisconsin recruits but with a new twist. He took a chance on more physically gifted but perhaps under recruited players. Intelligence and intangibles were key traits that he looked for especially in the linebacker corp. What he developed caught the attention of big time programs looking for the next big thing, and as much as he said he wanted to stay in Madison he couldn’t turn down a life changing contract offer from LSU to become the highest paid defensive coordinator in college football.

I will give Paul Chryst credit for going outside of his comfort zone his first DC hire in Madison. In a Badger football world of retreads and interconnected coaching trees where I expected an in house hire or someone with close ties to him or the program he hired Justin Wilcox. Wilcox was another young coach who at the time had just fallen off of the up and comers list he joined after success at Boise State and Washington with mediocre results at USC. But Wisconsin was a good rehab project for him because he would be joining an established defensive brand that ran a similar system. His system was built on versatility and the ability to give different looks with different defensive sets while Aranda’s was built on giving different looks by bringing pressure from angles and levels not commonly found in a traditional 3-4 defense. It was a match made in heaven and the results followed with yet another top 10 defense and a Cotton Bowl victory. He used this success to catapult his way to his first Head Coaching position.

And then came Jim Leonhard. Although he did not have the coaching experience that you would expect from a first time DC he made up for with his own playing experience. Being an on the field right hand man to defensive coaching legend Rex Ryan allowed him to bring NFL sophistication to a college defense, and his youth allowed him to connect with his players. As I write this it is being reported that he is interviewing with the Philadelphia Eagles and I look forward to him bringing a cutting edge college defense to the NFL where offenses are becoming more and more “college like”.

So why all the defensive talk, and what does this have to do with Wisconsin’s new offense? Dave Aranda’s legacy with Wisconsin football is not his coaching style, or his relationship with his players. He changed the identity of Wisconsin football. Justin Wilcox and Jim Leonhard built upon that new identity. They changed how we as Wisconsin fans view how defensive football should be played. So as much as we will be talking about how much Phil Longo is going to change the scheme of our offensive it will be his job to change the identity of our offense. If he is successful I can see a big time program come calling to be their HC. And then it will be the turn of the next up and coming coach to build on the system that’s in place with is own vision. It won’t matter who is holding the title of OC players will be drawn to the program because our offense will define our program as much as our defense has for the past decade. Success breeds success which causes turnover which necessitates innovation but as long as the core values remain the same the mission will stay the same.

The skeptics will be there. Can a new system fit the players we had? Can we recruit the right players? Does it fit with the “pro style” mentality that had sent players like Jonathan Taylor to the NFL? Different can be scary and a many people don’t like change, but whether we like it or not football has changed. Is it better to ride the wave of innovation or to sit behind it waiting to be towed back to shore?

.