More polished Paul Chryst in River Falls, looks to build on Badgers' success

RIVER FALLS, WIS. – Paul Chryst grabbed the microphone Thursday at the Northwest Badger Golf Classic and flashed back to a speech he made last decade as a Wisconsin assistant coach under Bret Bielema.

"For about five years, I never got another invite, so I thought I totally screwed that one up," Chryst told 100 red-clad boosters at the River Falls Golf Club. "But it's good to be back in this part of the state."

Chryst hopes to bring Wisconsin some stability after becoming its third head coach in four years. He left his job as Bielema's offensive coordinator in 2011 to become the head coach at Pittsburgh.

Gary Andersen replaced Bielema one year later and went 9-4 and 11-3 before abruptly leaving for Oregon State in December. At that point, Director of Athletics Barry Alvarez didn't hesitate, bringing Chryst back.

Chryst is a Madison, Wis., native who played quarterback for the Badgers in the late 1980s. He had two stints as an assistant coach under Alvarez, so the AD knew he could coach. But successful college football coaches usually have that "it" factor, and turning on the charm wasn't always one of Chryst's strengths.

"You put him in a film room, you have him breaking down film, you have him calling plays — he's a football guy," Alvarez said last month. "I think he had to improve on the other stuff and develop as a head coach, and those are things I saw him do at Pitt."

Chryst said he learned constantly while going 6-7, 7-6 and 6-7 in his three seasons at Pittsburgh's helm. The Panthers had a lot of turnover themselves, with Chryst becoming the third coach in three years after Dave Wannstedt and Todd Graham.

"That program was in disarray," Alvarez said. "[Chryst] had to clean a lot of things up, and right now they have probably one of the better young teams in the ACC."

Meanwhile, Chryst has returned to a team many analysts have pegged to win the Big Ten West. The Badgers are trying to reach their fourth conference title game in five years, but they'll need to replace Heisman Trophy runner-up Melvin Gordon, three starting offensive linemen and four starters on defense.

Wisconsin ranked second in the Big Ten in scoring defense last year, and Chryst successfully retained defensive coordinator Dave Aranda from Andersen's staff.

Chryst also has tabbed senior Joel Stave as the starting quarterback. Stave, who has won 21 of his 28 career starts, redshirted in 2011, Chryst's last season before leaving for Pitt.

"He was like, 'Oh crap, you're back,' " Chryst quipped.

Stave dealt with the yips last year after Andersen opened the season with Tanner McEvoy as the starter. McEvoy can run but struggled mightily as a passer, prompting the Badgers to turn back to Stave.

Stave completed only 53.4 percent of his passes, down from 61.9 percent the previous year.

"We talked about [last year]," Chryst said. "I told him, 'Let's talk about anything that can help us go forward.' I really wasn't writing a book. I wanted to know where he was at, what he learned and asked if there was something we could do."

Chryst said McEvoy ended the spring as a starting safety and could still be used on offense, though it didn't sound like that would be at quarterback.

Andersen added variety to Wisconsin's traditional pro-style offense last year, incorporating elements of the spread. The failed McEvoy quarterback experiment still frustrates Badgers fans, leaving one to ask Chryst, point-blank, about his offensive plans.

"I think the pro-style offense fits Wisconsin, and I like it," Chryst said. "So, no, we're not going to the spread."

That comment drew the loudest cheer of the day.

Another fan thanked Chryst for coming to speak in River Falls.

"I hope you're saying that in a couple years," Chryst said.