Wisconsin football 2020 returnee profile: Jack Coan

During the summer doldrums of sports news, many college football fans are starved for news and information regarding their favorite teams.

With that in mind, we at B5Q have decided to take a more detailed look at each walk-on contributor and scholarship player on the Wisconsin Badgers football roster for 2020 in a running feature, our 2020 returnee profiles.

Each weekday we will breakdown one player on the football roster to look back at their recruiting process, their career as a Badger to this juncture and lastly preview their potential contribution to the team in 2020 and beyond.

Up next in our player profile series is Jack Coan.

Photo by Justin Casterline/Getty Images

Name: Jack Coan

Position: quarterback

2020 eligibility: senior

Recruiting info out of HS: 247 Composite 3-star, No. 20 pro-style quarterback, West Sayville, N.Y.

2017 recruitment: A national recruit in both lacrosse and football, Jack Coan was originally committed to Notre Dame on a lacrosse scholarship. In 2015 though, he opted to decommit from the Fighting Irish and pursue football.

That decision turned out to be the right one, as he was a three-time first-team all-state pick after setting Long Island’s all-time passing yardage and touchdown records. His accomplishments in high school led him to receive an array of scholarship offers from across the country such as Boston College, Indiana, Louisville, Maryland, Miami, Michigan, Nebraska, Northwestern and West Virginia.

Shortly after Coan had helped lead his team to the Long Island Championship Game, Wisconsin came in and entered the picture with a scholarship offer in January. Flash forward to a visit in early March of that same year, and Coan decided to shut things down only two weeks later by committing to the Badgers.

Career statistics: 297-of-437 (68% passing), 3278 passing yards, 7.5 yards per passing attempt, 23 touchdowns throwing, five touchdowns rushing, eight interceptions.

2019 statistics: 236 of 339 (69.6% passing), 2727 passing yards, eight yards per passing attempt, 18 touchdowns throwing, four touchdowns rushing, five interceptions.

Player overview: After a spectacular prep career in New York, Jack Coan enrolled early at Wisconsin, and immediately vaulted up the depth chart after a strong initial spring and fall camp his freshman year. As a true freshman, he would backup Alex Hornibrook and see limited action in garbage time. His true sophomore season though, the Sayville native was thrust into action in relief of Hornibrook due to injuries and later sub-optimal play.

Relatively good showings at Purdue and in the bowl game against Miami his sophomore year gave Coan the leg up entering his junior season to be the starter, especially once Hornibrook chose to transfer to Florida State.

A strong fall camp paved the way for Jack Coan to start each game during his junior campaign, and have a good season highlighted by his nearly 70% completion percentage and over three to one touchdown to interception ratio.

Best case scenario for 2020: With a full-year of starting experience under his belt, Jack Coan enters the 2020 season as the presumptive starter, and thrives. While he is pushed by Graham Mertz, Coan refuses to relinquish control of the offense and has a stellar senior season with over 25 touchdowns and 3,000 yards passing, while still maintaining his high completion percentage.

Coan’s success at the position leads to a more balanced offensive attack under Paul Chryst and Joe Rudolph, and the senior leader proves once and for all that he is QB1. Coan also further demonstrates the ability and willingness to push the ball down the field frequently, improving his yards per completion from 11.56 yards per in 2019 (No. 83 in FBS) to over 13 yards.

After a great senior season Jack Coan goes on to be picked in the mid to late rounds of the NFL Draft.

Likely role on team in 2020: Given the overall production that he provided last season in his first year as full-time starter, and the lack of spring practice, Jack Coan is the likely starter come the opener against Indiana.

Cool and collected under center, his experience will be vital for a team losing both their star running back and wide receiver. Mertz and Chase Wolf will also be in the conversation in fall camp potentially, but I anticipate a nice senior season out of Coan.

Pair him with four senior wide receivers, an established tight end, both of his starting offensive tackles returning, and I think he could be in line for another nice jump in production.