When Paul Chryst took over the Wisconsin Badgers football program in December of 2014, very few fans had worries about his style, identity and overall knowledge of the game meshing well in Madison. Not only did he play at Wisconsin, but he had multiple stints on the coaching staff in the past.

The area that a subsection of the fan base did have questions about was his recruiting acumen. Chryst was never known as a heralded recruiter while he was the quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator under Bret Bielema from 2006 to 2011. Nor did Chryst make monumental waves in recruiting during his brief time as the head coach at Pitt.

However, since his return to Wisconsin, the Badgers have seen a steady uptick in recruiting with top 30 classes in both 2019 and 2020, and a top-15 class in 2021 as things currently stand.

A big reason for the improved recruiting under Chryst has been the agency and ownership of the recruiting process that he has instilled in his assistant coaches and recruiting staff. Wisconsin has implemented a procedure for identifying and communicating with prospects that works.

That process generally starts with the full-time recruiting staff members led by Director of Player Personnel Saeed Khalif. Under his guidance, the recruiting staff made up of on-campus recruiting coordinator Mackenzie Zanow, and recruiting assistants Jensen Gebhardt, Warren Herring, and Mike Carens do a lot of the leg work that traditionally fell upon the shoulders of assistant coaches in years prior. These recruiting assistants find, vet, and sort potential recruits for the position coaches and Chryst to further evaluate and potentially pursue.

While these staff members are integral parts of the recruiting process, and have had a huge hand in Wisconsin’s improvement on the recruiting trail, the traditional assistant coaches are also a key piece in a prospect’s recruitment.

Assistant coaches are the closers.

Each staff member is generally involved in communicating with players on various levels depending on a recruit’s location and projected future position. Many assistant coaches have particular geographic areas of focus, relying on relationships with high school coaches, families and communities that they have established through years of legwork. Additionally, position coaches are also at times communicating with prospective players that they hope will play under their position specific tutelage.

Many assistant coaches across the country become heavily known, or are brought on by head coaches for their recruiting prowess as well as their ability to develop players. Wisconsin has a group of positional coaches that is unique in regards to the high number of former alumni. Entering the 2020 season the Badgers have four position coaches on the staff who attended UW, six if Paul Chryst and special teams analyst Taylor Mehlhaff are included, that can interact with recruits.

Wisconsin’s recent recruiting results made me wonder which staff members carry the most weight on the recruiting trail?

In this exercise I focused my attention on a few key indicators such as overall number of commits, whether they were the primary or secondary contact for the recruit, and the average 247Sports Composite ranking of the commits to quantify the impact each coach has had for comparison sake. A point total is comprised of the composite score of each recruit added together, with the caveat that if the assistant was the primary contact they earned the full allotment of points, compared to only half for secondary involvement. This was done to not only rewarded staff members for volume, but also for the quality of athlete, and their level of participation in the process.

In an effort to better gauge the success of each position coach on the current staff in terms of recruiting, let’s dive into how each coach has fared in helping to add talent to the roster since joining Paul Chryst at UW.

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Joe Rudolph

First on the list is Paul Chryst’s most consistent ace recruiter, offensive line coach Joe Rudolph. Not only has Rudolph done a phenomenal job of finding talented players for his specific position group, but he has been instrumental in recruiting the states of Arizona, Ohio, and his home state of Pennsylvania. His efforts are a big reason that all three of those states are among the top-15 most productive states for Wisconsin under Chryst, with Ohio standing second behind only Wisconsin.

Overall, Rudolph has had a hand in the highest number of commitments on staff with 32 players, and noticeably took the lead on 25 of the 32 prospects he helped recruit. Add in the fact that his commits have the second highest average composite ranking of the assistants, and those metrics make him by far the most reputable recruiter on the staff at Wisconsin, and further exemplifies his importance to the team.

In general, the Badgers have a recruiting system in place that swings between recruiting areas and positional relationships based on the recruit, but Joe Rudolph has proven that regardless of the circumstances he can get the job done.

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Chris Haering

One obvious trend across my research was the involvement of Chris Haering and in-state recruiting. Not only did he spearhead the contact with 22 primary in-state recruits from Wisconsin, but he also was responsible for landing Alex Hornibrook while at Pitt. Along both stops with Chryst, Haering has chiefly been responsible for securing the state border, and to this point he has succeeded.

The only in-state commits that Haering was not the lead on were all offensive lineman that Joe Rudolph focused his attention on as the main recruiter, and all of those prospects he was involved with in a secondary manner.

Many fans might believe that Haering has the easiest job of any in terms of recruiting, but that does not diminish the work that he has done to fortify the state walls as more teams have become keen to the talent within Wisconsin.

Haering will have his work cut out for him with the heralded 2022 class that is loaded with talent, but at this point he has done nothing to doubt his capabilities. Haering has followed Chryst everywhere he goes, and with 27 total commitments since 2015 they seem to have a good thing going.

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Mickey Turner

Next up on the most impactful staff members in recruiting is actually the youngest assistant on the trail, Mickey Turner.

Like Joe Rudolph, Turner played at Wisconsin, and followed Chryst to his alma mater. Originally from Missouri, the former Badger tight end has done a lot of his damage in the northeastern chunk of the United States from Maryland up to Maine. Take Jonathan Taylor for example. In addition to the northeast, Turner is very active with his position group, especially in the past few cycles.

While the northeast has been fertile for Turner, the job he has done in Michigan is extremely impressive. Prior to 2015, the Badgers had not signed a player out of the state since 2007, and since his arrival they have had nine. A big reason for those inroads are the work of Turner who was the primary recruiter for five-star offensive lineman Logan Brown and many others. The state of Michigan currently stands as the fourth most beneficial pipeline state for the Badgers under Paul Chryst, and a big reason for that is Turner.

While Turner has fewer overall commits that he has helped guide to Madison than some of the staff members still to come on this list, his point total is the third highest of anyone on staff, in large part because of the caliber of athlete he has recruited and the high number of prospects he was the primary contact for.

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Inoke Breckterfield

Next up in terms of production within recruiting on the current staff is defensive line coach Inoke Breckterfield.

The Honolulu, Hawaii native has done a tremendous job of reshaping the defensive line from a relative weakness when he first arrived to a position of strength in a short time. A key piece of that improvement of that has been his ability to recruit.

While Breckterfield has secondarily had a hand in defensive line recruiting, his greatest asset in recruiting has been in Hawaii and Florida. The recent addition of Nick Herbig out of the Aloha State was a monumental win for the Badgers, and Breckterfield is a huge reason for his decision. Potentially Hawaii can be a place for future additions as well with Inoke on staff. However, Breckterfield has also made a name for himself in Florida, as the primary recruiter for five commits from the state, all of which were not defensive lineman.

Since following Paul Chryst from Pittsburgh back in 2014, Breckterfield has been one of the best assistants in terms of development and recruiting for the Badgers. As the lead recruiter for four-star T.J. Bollers in 2021, things don’t appear to be slowing down either.

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Bob Bostad

One of the more recent hires on the staff, Bob Bostad finds himself next on the list with the fifth most points.

A former member of the coaching staff with Paul Chryst as the tight ends/offensive line coach, and run game coordinator from 2006 to 2011 before heading off to coach in the NFL, Bostad brings a wealth of experience to the staff.

Now the inside linebackers coach, his no nonsense attitude has done well on the recruiting front across the Midwest. The Pardeeville, Wisconsin product has utilized his ties across the region to pull multiple recruits out of Illinois, Minnesota, Indiana, and Michigan. In those areas he has particularly done a great job of recruiting his position group, but has also been active with players across the defense as a whole.

Despite a late start — when compared to some of his peers — on the staff, he has made an immediate impact with thirteen total commits he was involved with, and a whopping nine of them that he was the main contact. Originally brought onto the staff for his physical attitude, and wealth of experience, Bostad has proven to be highly valuable as a recruiter. He may have fewer total commits than the two staff members that will follow him on this list, but his impact has been more notable in terms of quality and his level of interaction.

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Jim Leonhard

A fan favorite, and former Wisconsin standout, Jim Leonhard is one of the best defensive minds in college football. His ability to scheme and coach the defense has been called out on multiple occasions, but his recruiting is largely positional.

A former NFL safety, Leonhard has a great mind that defensive backs often gravitate to in the recruiting process, whether in a primary role or as a secondary recruiter.

In the rare occasion that Leonhard is not recruiting his position group, it usually takes place in the state of Florida, like with the recruitment of Jake Chaney. Leonhard has a lot of connections from his playing days in the NFL, which can be useful on the trail.

In total, he is lower on this list in terms of total points largely because of his lack of commits that he was the primary recruiter for, but that does not change the fact that the defense he runs is a major reason for many prospects opting to become Badgers.

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John Settle

One of the longest standing members of the coaching staff for Chryst, John Settle has been a fixture as the running backs coach for some time. Now in his second stint at Wisconsin, Settle has helped carry on the strong tradition at the position since coming back in 2015.

An excellent developer of talent, Settle has used his established networks in North Carolina — his home state and collegiate stomping grounds — and Georgia (from his playing days with the Atlanta Falcons) to help bring some talent to Wisconsin.

While the results in general have been mixed in recruiting for Settle, he has done a great job of luring talented running backs in the past couple cycles, regardless of only being the primary contact for seven recruits since 2015.

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Bobby April

While Bobby April has only been on the staff for the 2019 through 2021 classes, he has already gotten in on the recruiting action.

Most of April’s efforts have been focused on his outside linebacker group, but the Badgers have been recruiting extremely well at the position since his arrival. With most of his experience prior to Wisconsin in the NFL, he was not expected to be a recruiting juggernaut, but if he continues to build out the outside linebacker room at this rate it will be hard to overlook.

Bobby April has not been overly active as a primary recruiter thus far, but his abilities as a coach and increased comfortability of the recruiting cycle could bolster his numbers moving forward. Especially when you consider that he has the highest average composite rating of any current assistant.

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Jon Budmayr

The one position coach that seems to have complete authority over their position group is Jon Budmayr.

The quarterbacks coach has been the primary recruiter for all five of the Badgers scholarship quarterbacks since 2017. His point total is relatively low because he has only been tasked with recruiting quarterbacks, but the caliber of signal caller he has signed has been good with an average of over .87 per commit.

The signature of four-star quarterback Graham Mertz is by far the biggest get thus far, but the rising ranking of Mertz in 2019, and 2021 commit Deacon Hill has shown that Budmayr can really evaluate the position. Both players were offered before becoming full-time starters during their junior seasons, a rarity in college recruiting.

Given how important the quarterback position is I don’t anticipate Budmayr’s role to shift in the near future. Especially if he continues to do so well in finding talented athletes for his room early and develop them once they are on campus.

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Alvis Whitted

After being hired mere months ago there is no data for wide receivers coach Alvis Whitted. The 2021 and 2022 classes should give a better sense of his recruiting abilities as well as the geographic footprint he will cover.

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Former assistants

Under Paul Chryst the Badgers have been fairly lucky in regards to staff turnover, with only five assistants who have left for other jobs. Here is a quick breakdown of each former assistant’s contributions in recruiting while at UW.

• Ted Gilmore (now at Michigan State)

• Tim Tibesar (Now at Oregon State)

• Dave Aranda (Now at Baylor)

• Daronte Jones (now with the Minnesota Vikings)

• Justin Wilcox (now at Cal)

Justin Wilcox did not complete an entire recruiting cycle while at Wisconsin, and therefore was not the primary recruiter for anyone while at UW.