Badger Bits: Tanner McEvoy is on campus, ready to compete

The Wisconsin State Journal had a piece on Tanner McEvoy this weekend that is well worth your time. The biggest takeaways were the heaps of praise from his senior-year head coach, Nunzio Campanile. Until Campanile took over at Bergen Catholic, McEvoy spent his time being a damn good wide receiver and safety. Having coached against McEvoy at Don Bosco, Campanile knew where McEvoy's true potential really lay.

"He kind of showed up the first day and he asked me what I wanted to do, if I wanted to move to quarterback or stay at receiver," McEvoy said. "I said ‘quarterback' right away. He said, ‘Good, because I was going to make you one anyway.' It just kind of took off from there pretty quickly."

McEvoy quickly shined, leading Bergen Catholic to a 10-2 season, with both losses coming against Don Bosco. He struggled as a passer when the two teams met in the state title game, throwing four interceptions. McEvoy's athleticism was undeniable, however.

"I was so amazed at his ability (to escape)," Campanile said. "You're looking at this big, tall guy and you're thinking, ‘How can he be so elusive?'

"We're trying to tackle him in practice and nobody is getting a hand on him. I thought, ‘Either we have the worst defense in the world or this guy is going to be unbelievable.' I was hoping it was the second one, and it really was."

Take that quote and consider it alongside McEvoy's JUCO coach calling him "a better thrower and a better athlete" than Collin Klein, and there's every reason to believe that McEvoy could be special. He has a hitch in his back leg that needs to be corrected before he can be considered a reliable passer, apparently, but hopefully a few weeks learning under Andy Ludwig can fix the issue.

McEvoy is on campus now, and will be handed the playbook when fall camp opens on June 10. He says he won't have any trouble learning the offense quickly, and given how much moving around he has done lately, he may be right. That's not to say McEvoy suddenly has a leg up to become Wisconsin's starting quarterback this season, but it's encouraging that no one has yet been able to say a bad word about him.

LINKS:

JOHNS HOPKINS JOINS THE BIG TEN*

Gordon Gee apologized to emailed Bret Bielema an apology and EDSBS did this, so I think the matter is closed. Ohio State trustees are not pleased.

Rutgers, on the other hand, is still piling crap on the crap pile. An associate professor on the AD selection committee apparently grilled Sean Frazier on the NCAA's LGBT policies to the point of having to issue an apology.

The source said Longhofer then subjected Frazier to a barrage of additional questions so hostile in nature, other committee members felt it was beyond the pale. The source said the line of questioning and Frazier's answers reached the point of being "argumentative."

If you've been following this saga you've probably guessed that Julie Hermann was treated much differently. She was asked if she was aware of the NCAA's new guidelines regarding LGBT athletes, she answered "yes," and that was that, because Rutgers really wanted a mean former volleyball coach to be their new athletic director for some reason.

Patrick Vint at BHGP lays out a lengthy case in favor of deregulating recruiting.

Adam Rittenberg calls Wisconsin-Ohio State the most important game of the 2013 Big Ten season.

Brian Bennett doesn't like Wisconsin's chances of having a 3,000-yard passer.

Purdue HATE.

*In lacrosse