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Wisconsin landed QB recruit even though Paul Chryst wasn't allowed in his high school
High school coaches play a huge role in the recruiting process. They almost always serve as an intermediary between a college coaching staff and a prospect to help set up visits between the two sides at the recruit’s school.
That’s what makes the recruitment of Chase Wolf unique.
Wolf, a three-star quarterback from St. Xavier High School in Cincinnati, signed with Wisconsin as a member of its 2018 class. Somewhat remarkably, Wolf ended up a Badger despite the fact that his high school coach, Steve Specht, has an ongoing spat with Wisconsin head coach Paul Chryst. Specht won’t even let Chryst or any of his assistants into the building.
The friction between Specht and Chryst dates back to Chryst’s time as the head coach at Pittsburgh.
“I haven’t spoken to any of those coaches,” Specht said recently. “That’s why Chase’s commitment is so strange. Coach and I had a little falling out when he was the head coach at Pitt. Let’s just say some things happened with an old player of mine. He and I still have not spoken. I have not spoken to anyone from Wisconsin. Currently, they are not allowed into St. Xavier High School until Coach Chryst calls me and helps make this right.
“I don’t have anything against the university. I’ve sent kids to play there. But Coach Chryst and I, he needs to make some things right with me. And he’s never done that because of something that happened at Pitt.”
Specht explained to Land of 10 that one of his players, offensive lineman Brandyn Cook, was committed to Pitt when Chryst took over the Panthers program in December 2011. Cook committed to the program when Todd Graham was head coach. Ultimately, Chryst decided not to accept Cook’s commitment and Cook ended up signing with Miami (Ohio).
Things like this happen all the time during coaching transitions. Coaches evaluate the prospects who have verbally committed to the program before they arrive on campus. Sometimes, those players — for whatever reason — do not align with the vision of the new staff.
That’s what happened in this situation, Chryst told Land of 10, and that he previously apologized to Specht about it:
Chryst said he and his coaching staff evaluated the incoming Pitt prospects in the 2012 class to determine whether they would be good fits. Chryst said the 6-foot-2, 300-pound Cook did not possess the size necessary to compete on Pitt’s offensive line and informed him that he would not have recruited him. Chryst also said he apologized to Specht for the situation involving Cook “right away” when he arrived at Pittsburgh and once more at a later date.
“We want to try to do it the right way,” Chryst said. “And we wanted to do it the right way for that kid when we first went to Pitt and knew it wasn’t a fit. And then you’re like, ‘OK, then it is what it is.’ ”
So how did Wolf end up becoming a Badger? Chryst explained his history with Specht to Wolf’s family and once Wolf made it clear he wanted to be recruited by Wisconsin, the staff continued to do so without stopping by his high school.
From there, Wolf’s relationship with the staff blossomed despite the discontent from Specht.
All I can say is my son thinks the world of Coach Specht, having an amazing 4 years at St X on and off the field. And although he respected his opinion, Chase did his due diligence and made his decision based on his own gut. There isn't a better fit for him than Wisconsin! https://t.co/6UFB90lPtj
— Jeanne Ann Wolf (@Jeanneannwolf) April 18, 2018
Wolf, who chose Wisconsin over 16 other offers and late interest from Ohio State, will arrive on campus in Madison this summer.
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Sam Cooper is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him or follow him on Twitter!
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