Much of what head coach Paul Chryst had to say on National Signing Day Feb. 3 was difficult to conceptualize. That’s not to say his recruiting techniques are shrouded in mystery—his style is as straightforward as it gets—but the for the most part, his message had to be trusted blindly.
Chryst vouched for the character and playing style of a number of the 31 recruits he and his staff coaxed to Madison this offseason, but his high praise won’t be confirmed until those players establish a persona at UW both on and off the field.
The two exceptions to that rule are Dallas Jeanty and Kare’ Lyles. The respective inside linebacker and quarterback are the only recruits who enrolled at Wisconsin for the spring semester, graduating early from high school and beginning their academic and athletic pursuits a few months prior to their peers. As early enrollees, the pair of recruits have effectively established themselves as the face of Chryst’s first full offseason as head coach at his alma mater. If first impressions hold any weight, which by all indications should prove true in this case, Chryst struck gold with his recruiting efforts.
Lyles, a 6-foot-2, 210-pound quarterback from Scottsdale, Ariz., is deeply rooted in Madison despite having a diploma from a high school that’s a three-and-a-half hour drive from the Grand Canyon National State Park. The Lyles family lived in Fitchburg, Wis., until just before Kare’ began high school, according to UWBadgers.com, so his familiarity with the area was already well established. Lyles’ familiarity with Wisconsin football can be owed to his father, Kevin. Kevin played tight end and quarterback for the Badgers from 1993-‘96 under then-head coach Barry Alvarez and, although he had a limited impact as a player, reeling in just 20 receptions for 169 yards and a touchdown over the course of his career, the Lyles’ tie to the Cardinal and White has always been strong.
“I think it helped him to feel confident that this was a great fit for him,” offensive coordinator Joe Rudolph said. “I think that was probably the big thing. He had a lot of places where he was kind of thinking about and not knowing and I think coming up [in Fitchburg] just sewed it for him. He kind of grew up with it so that’s pretty cool.”
Lyles’ family is planning on moving back to the Madison area soon, but in the meantime he’s been able to ease his transition into college by leaning on his relationships in Wisconsin.
“It me helped a lot,” Lyles said. “I have a lot of friends and family out here too. During the weekends, if I want to get away I’ll just ask them and they’ll come and pick me up. The transition for me, I feel like it was probably a lot easier than a lot of other guys coming from across the country where they’re away from their family permanently.”
One such player making that move is Jeanty, an inside linebacker from Florida whose skill set and raw talent is almost less striking than his background. Jeanty’s family issues and brush with homelessness in high school have been well-documented, as his nights spent in parks and on friends’ couches have been a national story for several months. What Wisconsin fans might not know about Jeanty is what allowed him to stay positive during those times of extreme darkness.
“I don’t really buy into all that stuff,” Jeanty said. “I just keep smiling. That’s all I really do. I smile and play football. Eat Oreos. I don’t worry about that stuff. Life is only as hard as you let it be, you know? There’s nothing—and I’m not trying to minimize anyone’s problems—but there’s nothing anyone’s going through that’s bigger than them. If you just have the right mindset you can do whatever you want to do.”
With a sleeve of Oreos in one hand, Jeanty carries around J.K. Rowling’s classics in the other to offer comfort and supply hope that everything will be OK.
“To be honest with you, I’m kind of a little bit of a nerd,” Jeanty said. “I’m a huge Harry Potter fan. Big time. That’s my password for Twitter, I love Harry Potter. So that’s kind of like—as corny as it is—I would always think to myself, like it’s fiction, but ‘hey, Harry did it,’ you know what I mean? He went through all this stuff, I can too. But I’m not magical. So it’s not the same thing."
“I wish I wasn’t a muggle. Nothing I can do about it [but] be the best muggle I can be. It’s alright, it’s cool.”
Jeanty’s positive attitude and maturity is uncommon among new recruits, especially ones that would ordinarily be planning for graduation parties and prom at this point (Jeanty said he’s relieved he doesn’t have to deal with either), and the rest of incoming class has benefitted from his unique disposition. Lyles and Jeanty have become close friends over the past few months and have leaned on one another to work out the complexities of balancing class and football, wrapping their heads around new playbooks and navigating campus life. The two future playmakers on their respective sides of the ball undoubtedly have a leg up on the rest of the class, but Chryst foresees them working hard to instill their knowledge in their peers when they arrive at Wisconsin this summer.
“So we’ve got two of the guys that are maybe really early leaders in the class and them being here and getting adjusted, I think, will help when the rest of the class comes in June,” Chryst said. “They will know the ropes a little bit, they will be able to help show them. It’s not that we planned it that way but I think that’s a residual benefit. You’re going to meet them and you are really going to like those two young men. They’re big-time people.”
Lyles feels his relationship with Jeanty has already begun to pay dividends.
“It’s great, Dallas is a great kid,” Lyles said. “We both have the same goals and aspirations with our future in football and everything like that. Having him here, we’re kind of just molding in. He’s defense, I’m offense, besides that we’re both great friends so whenever we need something, we ask questions.”
It’s unclear if either player will see the field in the fall. Lyles has a pair of scholarship quarterbacks in front of him in Bart Houston and Alex Hornibrook, and the inside linebacker position is log-jammed even with Leon Jacobs making the switch to running back. That doesn’t matter at this point, though, because both Jeanty’s and Lyles’ choice to come to Madison is more about planting seeds for the future rather than reaping benefits immediately.
Only time will tell how the pair of early enrollees will bring along the rest of their class, but if their demeanors and backgrounds are any indication, the Badgers are going to be just fine.
