Notes: UW's Paul Chryst likes the progress freshman Jack Coan has made in limited work

MADISON – Wisconsin fans haven’t seen much of No. 2 quarterback Jack Coan this season.

The touted freshman from Sayville, N.Y., has played in only six of UW’s 13 games, and all of his reps have come after the outcome of the game has been decided.

His primary job has been to hand the ball off but he has completed all five of his passes for 36 yards. 

So what type of progress has the 6-foot-3, 202-pound Coan made since enrolling at UW last January?

“Jack is really just coming up on finishing that first full year,” UW coach Paul Chryst said after practice Thursday inside the McClain Center. “I think he has done a lot of (good) things. 

“Jack is purposeful. When he comes to meetings he truly works and wants to get better. And at practice he does.”

Coan, redshirt freshman Kare’ Lyles and freshman Danny Vanden Boom got extra work Thursday because the staff evaluated young players after the conclusion of the full-team workout.

“Even like today, these are good for him,” Chryst said of Coan. “Just to continue feeling more comfortable with the offense and getting through the progressions. You see him continuing to grow because he puts the time in. I’ve liked it.”

Coan set Long Island records for all-time passing yards (9,787) and touchdown passes (128) and rushed for 2,551 yards (6.5-yard average) and 33 touchdowns at Sayville High School.

Although his early enrollment at UW allowed him to participate in spring practice, he wasn’t in position to challenge Alex Hornibrook for the starting job in camp.

Hornibrook, who started nine games as a redshirt freshman, has completed 61.6% of his passes for an average of 183.5 yards per game this season. He has 21 touchdown passes but 15 interceptions. 

After UW closes out the 2017 season against Miami in the Orange Bowl on Dec. 30 and begins preparing for 2018, Coan will have a better chance to challenge for the starting job.

Hornibrook, who has 19 starts, will have a significant edge in experience. Coan is more mobile and has a stronger arm.

How much his limited game experience will help Coan next season remains to be seen. But defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard noted earlier this year that when he was a player at UW, the work he got on special teams as a freshman in 2001 laid the groundwork for his breakout season in 2002. 

Leonhard earned a starting spot at safety and recorded 11 interceptions and 25 passes broken up. He was named a first-team All-American. 

Chryst believes the work Coan has gotten – in games and on the practice field during the week – hasn’t been for naught.

“I think if you can get through those firsts – the first snap, first throw,” he said, “I think those have been beneficial.”

UW has held developmental practices specifically for younger players during bowl prep and is scheduled to hold at least one more on Sunday. 

“We believe they’re really important,” Chryst said. “You take a look at when can you do it and you try to fit as many in as you can. That was last weekend was really good for and this weekend will be good.

“At some point, we’ll start transitioning to where we truly are focusing in on Miami.”

Johnson on the move: Al Johnson, in his second season as a graduate assistant working with the offensive line, is set to leave after the Orange Bowl to become head coach at Division II East Central University in Ada, Okla. 

Chryst first met Johnson in 2002. Chryst was hired as UW’s tight ends coach and Johnson was a senior center. 

“I’ve always felt really fortunate to be around Al,” Chryst said. “Just to see how he approached the game, how he was with teammates, big fan of his. 

“You can’t have enough good guys and good coaches in this profession.”

Chryst gave East Central officials a glowing evaluation of Johnson, who was the offensive coordinator at Division III St. Norbert in 2015 before returning to UW.

“He is big-time,” Chryst said. “I had an opportunity to speak to some of the people down there. And when you can say and feel great about this guy because he will make your place better...I’m pumped for him.”