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Paul Chryst confirms OC Joe Rudolph handling offensive play-calling this season
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Paul Chryst hasn’t been calling the plays for Wisconsin, something the head coach admitted during his press availability.
On Monday morning, Chryst said that Joe Rudolph, in his sixth season at Wisconsin as their offensive coordinator, has been calling the plays for the offense. Wisconsin is 2-2 this season and struggling, having lost their last two games (both to ranked opponents) while scoring a combined 13 points in those losses.
Not good. Not good at all.
"Joe has been calling the plays. I do what I can to try and help set it up." – Chryst, discussing who has been calling the offense this season
— Bucky’s 5th Quarter (@B5Q) December 7, 2020
It has been a down season for the Wisconsin offense, who are seventh in the Big Ten in scoring.
It is a curious call for Chryst to stop calling plays this season given his strong background on offense and the traditionally vibrant offense put on the field by the Badgers.
Begining in 2006, Chryst spent six seasons as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Wisconsin before spending three years as head coach at Pitt. He came back to the Badgers in 2015 as their head coach.
"It's a number of different factors. There was a lot of time spent in the off-season where you weren't able to do all the needed homework…. that combined with the trust I have in Joe and the offensive staff." – Chryst, sharing insight on why he gave up the play calling.
— Bucky’s 5th Quarter (@B5Q) December 7, 2020
Since then, the program has been one of the best offensive units not just in the Big Ten but the nation.
Of course, some of the struggles for Wisconsin in 2020 have to do with losing running back Jonathan Taylor to the NFL this offseason as well as the injury to starting quarterback Jack Coan, who was a Heisman candidate coming into the season.
Last season, Wisconsin was third in the Big Ten in scoring offense and second in total offense.