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Wisconsin Football News: Badgers Poach D2 HC, Isaiah Mullens Returning, More

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It’s been a busy couple of days for the Wisconsin football program, ladies and gents, but fear not because BadgerNotes can help get you back up to speed with a roundup of some important news you may have missed.

Wisconsin Football Poaches Top DII HC for Rebuilt Staff

Wisconsin football had only two vacant coaching spots on Luke Fickell’s staff. That was until Sunday when UW hired Division II Grand Valley State head coach Matt Mitchell as their new special teams coordinator and outside linebackers coach, according to Pete Thamel of ESPN.

In 12 seasons as the head coach of the Lakers, Mitchell compiled an impressive 117-12 record, most recently going undefeated in 2022.

While at Grand Valley State, Mitchell won three GLIAC Championships and will now finish second in school history in wins, trailing only LSU’s Brian Kelly.

His connection to Wisconsin football comes via new defensive coordinator Mike Tressell, who coached alongside Mitchell at Wartburg College earlier in their careers.

It would appear that running backs coach is the last remaining vacancy in case you need to throw in a last-minute application.

Isaiah Mullens Returning to Wisconsin Football in 2023

Isiah Mullens returning to Wisconsin football for a sixth season isn’t exactly breaking news, especially considering he broke the news himself while responding to a fan on Twitter.

That said, it’s worth discussing the importance of his return.

In seven games last season, the 6-foot-4, 303-pound DL registered 11 tackles, eight pressures, two QB hits, and 1.5 TFL.

Yes, those numbers don’t jump off the page, but stat stuffing isn’t his game. The Ohio native has played 651 snaps in his Badgers career and is strong as an ox, allowing him to eat up blocks in the trenches and free up linebackers to make plays.

His return helps provide Wisconsin football with an experienced player on the defensive line with plenty of starts under his belt. You can never have enough depth.

I wouldn’t rule out the possibility of Mullens playing some nose tackle if Luke Fickell and company don’t find another body in the transfer portal.

Badgers Hire Former Yew York Jets Assistant as DL Coach

Last Thursday, Wisconsin football added another critical piece of the puzzle to the coaching staff, a new defensive line coach.

Luke Fickell was lucky enough to hire his former DL coach and director of player development at Cincinnati, Greg Scruggs, away from the New York Jets after just one season as the assistant coach.

“I am extremely excited about the opportunity to re-join Coach Fickell at Wisconsin and the opportunity to coach a group of young men who want to win in football and in life,” Scruggs said.

Scruggs played in the NFL for five seasons and has quickly risen through the ranks since becoming a coach. Wisconsin football is adding someone whose been in an NFL locker room as a player and coach, which will certainly carry some weight.

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Dillon Graff is a Substack Newsletter Best Selling Author and the Owner of BadgerNotes.com, your go-to source for in-depth coverage of the Wisconsin Badgers. His work has been featured in top media publications like USA Today, Bleacher Report, Verbal Commits, B5Q, Saturday Blitz, and Fansided.

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