Luke Fickell's first eight months as Wisconsin's football coach 'by far exceeds' his expectations

INDIANAPOLIS – Welcome back to the Big Ten, Luke Fickell.

Preparing for his first full season as Wisconsin’s head coach after leading the Cincinnati program for the last six seasons, Fickell addressed reporters Thursday morning at the Big Ten preseason meetings.

Fickell, 49, played at Ohio State from 1993 through 1996 and began his coaching career in 1999 as a graduate assistant with the Buckeyes. He served as a full-time coach from 2002 through 2016, including the 2011 season as interim head coach.

"It’s been eight months now since I moved to Madison," said Fickell, whose team is picked to edge Iowa for the Big Ten West Division title. "And I can tell you that everything involved in what I have done has exceeded my expectations. I know I went into it a little bit blind not knowing all things about Madison and all things about Wisconsin.

“But I’m talking about the community, the city, the campus, the university, all those things…But I think more than anything over the last eight months…recognizing the culture of young men that we have within our program by far exceeds anything else that I have learned.

"And for that, I must give a lot of recognition to those that have come before me -- coach Alvarez, coach Bielema, coach Leonhard and coach Chryst. The foundation that those guys have built over the last 20-some years is really evident and it is deep-rooted.

"To them I owe a lot for what it is that I am walking into."

Here are some highlights of Fickell's comments Thursday.

Linebacker Jordan Turner will not face additional penalties

Fickell said linebacker Jordan Turner, who was reinstated after a 10-day suspension for violating the UW athletic department’s Student-Athlete Discipline Policy, won’t face any additional penalties.

“All good to go,” Fickell said. “Obviously, he’s got to earn some respect and build some trust back and get back to where he was.”

Turner was arrested by Madison Police on June 26 for operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated. Turner told police he smoked marijuana earlier that day.

His suspension was announced on June 30 and lasted 10 days. Athletic director Chris McIntosh announced on July 10 Turner had been reinstated after an internal inquiry by a committee of university staff.

Online court records no longer list Turner's arrest.

Wisconsin stopping 'ugly haircuts' practice for freshmen after hazing allegations at Northwestern

One recent trend during preseason camp was the practice of giving freshmen ugly haircuts. The styles ranged from a checkerboard look, to mohawks to a Ben Franklin look.

According to one former offensive lineman who took part in the tradition, no players were forced to participate if they weren’t comfortable.

However, given the hazing allegations that led to the firing of Northwestern coach Pat Fitzgerald, Fickell has decided to eliminate the haircuts at UW.

“We learn and study from things that have happened,” Fickell explained. “There’s no place for these kinds of things. We challenge each other every single day. It is pretty easy to figure out what guys are all-in. We put the film on in the team room and we show (them).

“That is to make sure we set the standard for what we want. We don’t need to find out how tough guys are. It is a great reminder to us that things can get out of hand if you allow it and you don’t recognize it.”

BTN's Gerry DiNardo talks about Fickell's path from an assistant at Ohio State to a head coach at UW

Big Ten Network analyst Gerry DiNardo, the head coach at Indiana from 2002 through 2004, shared that the BTN crew knew long ago that Fickell would one day be running his own program.

“We (at) the Big Ten Network got to know Luke Fickell as an assistant coach at Ohio State," he said. "And one of the great privileges we had – we never take it for granted – is for the universities to let us watch practice. And when we watched Fick at Ohio State as an assistant, I don’t think there was any doubt that we knew he was going to be a head coach. And then we followed his success at Cincinnati and that wasn’t a surprise to us.

"It is so good to have him back where he belongs, and that is being a head coach in the Big Ten Conference. We can’t wait to get up to Madison and watch him...I think there's great things coming to Wisconsin because of Luke Fickell."

Indiana has embraced former UW assistant Bob Bostad

Indiana coach Tom Allen, looking to upgrade his offensive line play, hired former UW assistant Bob Bostad last year. Bostad also has the title of run-game coordinator.

Allen on Thursday raved about the resume of Bostad, who served two stints at UW. He coached UW's tight ends in 2006 and 2007 and then oversaw the offensive line from 2008 through 2011. Bostad returned to UW in 2017 and coached inside linebackers for five seasons before taking over the offensive line in 2022.

“Bob has a tremendous track record in our conference,” Allen said. “I already feel like we’ve gotten better with certain things that he has brought…Just the toughness that he brings, his attention to detail, the way he coaches him and just the relentlessness of how he approaches offensive line play.”

NBC set to feature UW three times in 2023

UW reportedly is set to appear on NBC three times this season, with all three games at Camp Randall Stadium.

The games are Oc. 14 against Iowa (2:30 kickoff), Oct. 28 vs. Ohio State (6:30 p.m.) and Nov. 18 vs. Nebraska (6:30 p.m.).

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Luke Fickell says being Wisconsin football coach exceeds expectations