The Wisconsin Badgers have officially made Luke Fickell their next head coach. Any time there is a coaching change in a program, there are many moving pieces. Players change their commitments or enter the transfer portal. Another place there is a lot of movement is in the coaching staff. While getting a big-name head coach is great, a program has to have good staff around him. Luke Fickell has brought a key staff member over from Cincinnati, strength coach Brady Collins.
Sources: Luke Fickell will bring strength coach Brady Collins with him to Wisconsin. He’s been Fickell’s most trusted aide since he began at Cincinnati. He helped nine Bearcats develop into NFL Draft picks last season. A key hire, as Wisconsin will be a developmental program.
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) November 28, 2022
Luke Fickell Brings Over Strength Coach Brady Collins
This hire will not make huge headlines and you will probably not notice Collins on Saturdays. However, this hire is a huge one for Luke Fickell. Brady Collins has been Fickell’s most trusted aide since he started at Cincinnati. Collins has had many other more lucrative offers throughout this time but has chosen to stay with Fickell. Developing players is essential for any program. A program can get all the five-star recruits but if there is no development, the team isn’t going anywhere.
Why Does This Hire Matter?
Last year in the NFL draft, Cincinnati had nine players selected including one in the top five. For a non-power 5 conference to have this many players drafted says something about how well Collins was developing his players. Wisconsin already has a history of sending quality players to the NFL. Now with Luke Fickell and Brady Collins, the Badgers have the potential to cultivate a large amount of NFL talent in Madison. While having NFL talent does not automatically equal success on the field, it certainly doesn’t hurt.
The good news keeps coming out of the Wisconsin Badgers program. Luke Fickell bringing over Brady Collins from Cincinnati is a great complementary piece for the Badgers’ coaching staff.
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