Badgers' future at quarterback moves on without Austin Kafentzis

[Mark87]

http://www.buckys5thquarter.com/201...n-badgers-austin-kafentzis-transfers-analysis

The immense fan optimism surrounding Wisconsin's future at quarterback took a hit Friday when 2015 commit Austin Kafentzis left the program, according to a report by Evan Flood of 247Sports.

Long before he stepped foot on campus as an early enrollee this past January, Kafentzis was anointed by many as a future Badger star when he committed almost two years ago on June 8, 2013 under previous head coach Gary Andersen. A dual-threat quarterback from Sandy, Utah (Jordan), Kafentzis set or tied over a dozen state records while in high school. He is Utah's career prep leader in both passing and rushing yardage, the first person in any state to hold both those marks.

The announcement likely means nothing for this upcoming season. A probable redshirt player, Kafentzis was buried on the depth chart behind projected starter Joel Stave and reserves Bart Houston, D.J. Gillins and Alex Hornibrook.

Flood reported that Chryst was unsure whether Kafentzis would play quarterback down the road. If that's the case, a picture begins to emerge of how the Badgers will operate under center with Chryst. While Kafentzis was a prolific passer, his rushing ability was showcased just as frequently in his high school highlight tapes. His playing style aligned more with Andersen's philosophy, one that led to Gillins' recruitment and the Tanner McEvoy experiment.

Based on that, it's worth speculating how Gillins will fit into Chryst's system. The redshirt freshman's dual-threat playing style is similar to Kafentzis, but Gillins received regular reps in spring practice and there has been no talk of him switching positions. Still, he's beginning to look like an outlier, which could either a) cause him to also fall out of favor with Chryst; or b) separate him as the only quarterback with that particular skill set.

If Option A ends up playing out for Gillins, it would open up a wider window for either Houston or Hornibrook to claim the starting job the next couple of seasons. Houston was a four-star player out of high school, but has long been disregarded as a legitimate option at quarterback and had more punts last year (7) than pass attempts (3). While there have always been more questions than answers as to why he doesn't play, the general consensus is that Houston's skills are too similar to Stave's. However, that could bode well for him as the next Badger pro-style quarterback once Stave graduates.

As for Hornibrook, the former Pittsburgh pro-style recruit out of Malvern, Penn., followed Chryst to Madison and leapfrogged Kafentzis on the spring depth chart to earn more reps. He was a three-star player who received scholarship offers from several middling FBS programs. Besides Hornibrook, class of 2016 pro-style quarterback and three-star recruit Karé Lyles out of Scottsdale, Ariz. (Saguaro), could also contend for the starting spot in a few years.

The Badgers lost an incredibly talented high school quarterback Friday, but the sky isn't falling in Madison. Wisconsin will find another starting quarterback among these four to fill the void once Stave leaves after the 2015 season. If Chryst didn't view Kafentzis as someone capable of beating them out, the former Utah prep star is better off going elsewhere.

We could have used that scholarship on OL/DL or a WR.... as for QB Hornibrook is PC QB of choice in the future.

 

[Packersunion]

I've been down on Chryst early (only slightly) based on the pedigree of players he seemed to be looking at.

That said, he knows quarterbacks. If he didn't think Kafentzis was going to be a good college QB, I'll give him the benefit of the doubt. My only pause is that he looked pretty good in the spring game.

Also don't blame Kaf for leaving if that's the case.

 

[44blitz]

QB will be fine with Houston and Hornibrook both whom PC likes for his system, the big white elephant is the OL. GA and his staff took the premium off OL recruiting and BB last class was meh so we have a gap to fill there.

My neighbor has been going to Badger games etc since 1974, also a former OT and coached for a while. He said that group in spring was the least talented since Barry's first year. I personally think PC should take Strickland's $ and hire his GA as a part time OL coach. That group needs a ton of hands on work.

 

[Mark87]

bump

 

[FlaPack]

Not sure its the worst group,since Barry's first year. That's a major reach . Defense is solid sans some issues at ILB. WR and OL are issues on offense no doubt. Horinbrook should RS. I think Gillins passes Houston on the depth chart.

 

[Mark87]

Not sure its the worst group,since Barry's first year. That's a major reach . Defense is solid sans some issues at ILB. WR and OL are issues on offense no doubt. Horinbrook should RS. I think Gillins passes Houston on the depth chart.

I think that group is close... the starters were meh in spring and the 2nd team was plain awful. It's an issue like it or not

 

[57packer]

the big white elephant is the OL. GA and his staff took the premium off OL recruiting and BB last class was meh so we have a gap to fill there.

I'll disagree with this statement a bit. BB's last 2 OL groups were nothing to write home about. Those are the current RS Juniors and Seniors. Not a very deep group.

One of the first things GA said when he got here was that they needed to rebuild the OL depth and that he needed to bring in 4-5 OL every year. GA actually did a decent job of bringing in OL in 2014. He did not get as much done last year, but that is partly on him and partly on PC, just like the 2013 group is partly on BB and partly on GA. I'm not a GA fan, but the current problem is more on BB than GA. GA brought in 5 OL recruits last year and was set to bring in 4 more this year until an admissions issue derailed a kid - something I'm still not clear on since the kid was a good student and should have qualified.

To be fair, they have been hurt by guys leaving and by injuries and other issues. 2-3 OL have left due to recurring injury issues, one kid transferred, and Gault is struggling with depression and still has not rejoined the team on the field. If there are no further injuries and Gault is able to return, I actually think the OL will trend upwards, but right now, the young guys aren't ready and there just aren't enough upperclassmen - only 4 (RS) JR and SR scholarship OL on the roster.

 

[Mark87]

I'll disagree with this statement a bit. BB's last 2 OL groups were nothing to write home about. Those are the current RS Juniors and Seniors. Not a very deep group.

One of the first things GA said when he got here was that they needed to rebuild the OL depth and that he needed to bring in 4-5 OL every year. GA actually did a decent job of bringing in OL in 2014. He did not get as much done last year, but that is partly on him and partly on PC, just like the 2013 group is partly on BB and partly on GA. I'm not a GA fan, but the current problem is more on BB than GA. GA brought in 5 OL recruits last year and was set to bring in 4 more this year until an admissions issue derailed a kid - something I'm still not clear on since the kid was a good student and should have qualified.

To be fair, they have been hurt by guys leaving and by injuries and other issues. 2-3 OL have left due to recurring injury issues, one kid transferred, and Gault is struggling with depression and still has not rejoined the team on the field. If there are no further injuries and Gault is able to return, I actually think the OL will trend upwards, but right now, the young guys aren't ready and there just aren't enough upperclassmen - only 4 (RS) JR and SR scholarship OL on the roster.

From what I saw in Spring they are very poor fundamentally... one of the things that came out after GA left was that they placed less emphasis on the OL then years past. Disappointed in how TJ Woods left things.

 

[Crossbuck]

Back to Kafentzis, By most services, he was only a mid-3-star guy but he was being heralded as a sleeper star that didn't have his star-rating bumped up by going to camps or talking to other teams. They shut it down right away due to a friendship with his dad and Gary Andersen and a fit in the offense that would feature more spread-option.

Some called him Russell Wilson or Johnny Football-lite. However, he was still a 3-star guy and there were plenty of concerns like size, arm strength, etc. He was setting records in Utah football for TDs but the offense was completely centered around him.

Long story short, he was a complete enigma as to what to expect. When Andersen left, he was stuck in a tough position of having about 2 weeks to decide (he was enrolling early in January) and he made the decision to stay partially due to Chryst trying to keep him on.

Once camp got going, I'm going to make a strong guess that Chryst didn't like what he saw as much. He got bumped down the depth chart and made a snap decision to go somewhere that he was a better fit. This isn't a Diamond Stone type thing where it is going to kick them down the rankings severely. I would have really liked to see it work out because it means that all of the descriptions are true, but I'm guessing that he wasn't going to fit into the college game, especially at UW. There were rumors of Chryst asking him to move to safety right away but not sure if those are true. I think he was just firmly #5 on the depth chart.

Time will tell if Chryst just liked "his guy" in Hornibrook or if Kafentzis really was just not looking that good. He had a good Spring Game but only threw it 3 times. I'm going to give Chryst the benefit of the doubt early on this one that Kafentzis really didn't look good. I can't imagine a coach would sabotage his own chances on that one to fit "his style." Pitt had a very mobile QB running in their offense, so Chryst would take one if one was good.