Newly hired Wisconsin Badgers head coach Luke Fickell took a big risk by leaving Cincinnati, but it seems like he has big plans in place to restore the once prominent Badgers program with a huge signing on Wednesday.
College football insider Bruce Feldman of Fox Sports and The Athletic revealed on Wednesday that North Carolina Tar Heels offensive coordinator Phil Longo will be leaving UNC to join Wisconsin, where he will serve in the same position.
Longo has had a profound impact since becoming the Tar Heels offensive coordinator in 2018, especially this season with star quarterback Drake Maye under center in his sophomore year.
Under Longo, the Tar Heels had a top-15 offense in yards-per-game in the FBS. Maye excelled in Longo’s system, ranking third in passing yards on the year with 35 passing touchdowns on the year with only seven interceptions.
It is certainly a significant loss for the Tar Heels, but many are praising Luke Fickell and Wisconsin for this hire on Wednesday.
Well, this sure ain't three yards and a cloud of dust. https://t.co/5HabMUB4uS
— Andy Bitter (@AndyBitterVT) December 7, 2022
Big Ten just got a lot more interesting. What a night/day change of offenses for the Badgers. https://t.co/635wgJLupn
— Bryan Fischer (@BryanDFischer) December 7, 2022
Along with Longo, UNC offensive line coach Jack Bicknell Jr. is also expected to join Wisconsin’s staff as their new offensive-line coach.
Two key coaches at UNC leaving for Wisconsin has also led to some speculation around the CFB world about Drake Maye potentially entering the transfer portal and leaving for Wisconsin as well.
All bets are off on Drake Maye and rumored transfer away from Carolina in my opinion https://t.co/b3Qm8JMnf4
— Mike McDaniel (@MikeMcDanielSI) December 7, 2022
Bring Drake Maye along https://t.co/sS90MOw5tb
— Ryan Wing (@RyanWingFOX11) December 7, 2022
The Badgers have been known to typically have an offense that focuses heavily on running the football. It certainly appears like that’s set to change with this hiring of Longo on Wednesday.