The Wisconsin Badgers football seniors lead their teammates

MADISON – Luke Fickell has created a group chat for select players on the Wisconsin Badgers football team. It is intended for serious discussion. It's not full of memes and GIFs.

“We’re not big texters,” Badgers senior linebacker Jake Chaney said. “This group chat just sends out the bat signal: 'Hey, we need to meet up.'”

Chaney's in there. Darryl Peterson. Hunter Wohler.

“There’s probably about 10 or 12 of us,” Peterson said. “A bit like the leadership group.”

There are several reasons why the Badgers (4-2 overall, 2-1 Big Ten) feel like they are on the upswing here in mid-October as they prepare to play Northwestern (3-3, 1-2). prepare. Wisconsin has picked up two straight wins in dominant fashion against Purdue and Rutgers. The Badgers totaled 14 shots on goal and six big plays on plays over the last two weeks that ran for 45 yards or more. Defensively, Wisconsin's third-down conversion rate is down to 37.5%.

But does this level of play arise organically? Normally not. It requires goal-oriented work, meaningful communication of goals and concerns and leadership.

So the purpose of the group chat is for the most experienced Badgers to discuss everything that concerns the team – and how best to deal with it. Like the no-contest loss to Alabama. A targeted call against Chaney. Topics are presented and discussed.

“Obviously we took some losses,” Peterson said. “So we just talk about team morale and what we can do to get the team fit again. Controversial topics, whatever.

“If team morale is low, we talk about it. It was kind of beneficial to lose like we did, come together and see what we can do to win the team back and get back up. And I think it helped.

“I’m a little older now, so most people will listen to what I have to say.”

If Wisconsin has success here in the final six weeks of the regular season, it probably can't be overlooked that the Badgers' upperclassmen have unified. This is a patchwork roster — like so many others in college football after the transfer portal and NIL blew up the game as we knew it.

The Badgers have had to adapt, and part of that is relying more on the guys who have been here for so long. Chaney, Wohler and Peterson, for example, are part of the big 2021 recruiting class (with Ricardo Hallman) and are now leading the team. And it's okay that not everyone follows the same path.

“A big part of leadership, especially here, is not leading by your actions or not leading by what you do,” Chaney said. “It’s more about what you’ve been through and what you show. It's like a guided tour through suffering.

“The leaders here go where we fail, where we lose, where we suffer, where they see us down. That gets others to come along.”

Chaney learned this from former Badgers and current Kansas City Chiefs linebacker Leo Chenal as an example of how he played in his final season in 2021.

“He didn’t have to play his last few games; he was hurt,” Chaney said. “He broke his ribs and you could see him wincing in pain, walking around slowly and limping during training.

“It’s not the only indicator of leadership, but it plays a big role.”

Peterson said his leadership skills include leading by example, such as the way he handles his recovery routine. Peterson points out that it's 40 degrees outside. Students stroll between classes on campus, already wearing mittens and winter coats.

“I’m going to go into the cold tub,” Peterson said. “So it's just about doing things that you don't really want to do. In a group of over 120 people, everyone leads differently. It's not always about being loud and rowdy and just fussing and yelling at the boys.

“We will do the hard thing. We’re willing to do the hard things.”

And sometimes leadership just takes time. Last summer, Wohler and Peterson took a road trip to Fort Collins, Colorado, to attend Ultimate Training Camp, a Christian athlete camp in the state of Colorado. The time in the car listening to the “Bussin' With the Boys” podcast and the time together in the dorms were also an investment in team building.

“We were able to get to know each other on a deeper level,” Peterson said. “Jake and I have always been close, he is my neighbor in the dorm. Hunter and I became very close.”

Building team chemistry takes effort—whether it's in group chats or setting an example of how to behave. It cannot be left to chance. In this new professional era of college athletics, this seems to be one of the things that has been sacrificed. The upperclassmen who came into the recruiting class together will be divided into small groups in the fourth year.

If Wisconsin can improve this year compared to recent seasons, it will have benefited from these leadership moments.

More: Why Wisconsin safety Preston Zachman has become an indispensable part of the defense

More: Why did Wisconsin safety Hunter Wohler return punts? Will he continue in this role?

“Everything comes with humility,” Chaney said. “Young people hate a tyrant. Young people here, they don't like anyone who just shoves it in their faces, doesn't talk to them, doesn't show them love. Many people here come from far away. They are not close to home. We're starting to recruit kids further away from Wisconsin. They really don't have anyone except their teammates, they're looking for an older brother. They look for older figures to show them how it's done.

“I’m a Florida guy, you know, I didn’t become a Wisconsin fan. Growing up, I didn't know much about UW-Madison. But come here, there is just something very special about this place. That's not it, that's not an industry. … This is real college football. …this is a real family.

“They need people who can give them a vision for the future. I was there and the guys before me did the same for me. I do this for the younger people.”

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