Lucas at Large: Connelly worthy of teammates’ confidence
September 07, 2016 | Football, Mike Lucas
Linebacker steps in and steps up when called upon against LSU
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BY MIKE LUCAS
UWBadgers.com Senior Writer
MADISON, Wis. — After starting linebacker Chris Orr was injured on Wisconsin's first defensive snap of the game Saturday against LSU — a serious knee injury that has since been diagnosed as a torn ACL — Ryan Connelly didn't have time to contemplate his fate or Orr's miserable luck.
"I didn't really have time to get nervous, which was probably a good thing, a blessing in disguise," said Connelly, a 20-year-old redshirt sophomore. "You just had to go out there and do the job like we've been preparing for. So it was easier in a way than starting (the game)."
Connelly didn't waste any time getting involved. On his first play, he forced tailback Leonard Fournette out of bounds. "I realized, 'OK, I can do this. It's no different than anything we've done before,'" he said. "I gained a whole lot of confidence after the first series. It kind of settled me down."
Inside linebacker Jack Cichy was also good for his nerves. "I was constantly talking with Jack," he said. "He's pretty steady on the sidelines and that definitely helped to keep me calm throughout the whole game. All of the inside linebackers are pretty close, we're always helping each other out."
Cichy didn't mince words, either. "When Chris was down on the field and Ryan came into the huddle, I looked at him and said, 'We got this,'" Cichy recalled. "I was confident in him. I knew that he knew what he was supposed to do and I just told him, 'Be calm and execute.'"
Respectful encouragement. "As the game progressed," Cichy continued, "when we got back to the sidelines, we'd recap what went on, what went good and what went bad. After we started getting some series together, it was pretty normal. I talked to him like I would talk to T.J. (Edwards) or Chris."
After Orr returned from the locker room, he addressed Cichy and Connelly on the sideline. "He put it on us to pretty much go out there and finish what we started. He said, 'You guys can do it,'" Connelly recounted. "I talked to him after the game and your heart just breaks for him."
An energetic and enterprising sophomore, Orr will be relegated to a season of rehab. "It was pretty crazy that it can happen that quick," said Connelly. "You hate to see one of your friends go down like that. If anyone is going to be back, it's going to be Chris."
In his absence, Connelly acquitted himself well. Of his seven tackles, second only to Cichy's eight, none was bigger than his fourth-quarter stop on Fournette on third-and-8 from the LSU 33. Connelly limited Fournette to a 3-yard gain on a screen that had big gain written all over it
"I started on my pass drop and I saw the center (Ethan Pocic) and the running back (Fournette) running the same way," Connelly said. "When that happens, it's a big indicator for screens, so I just said, 'I'm going to run full speed at this and see what happens.'
"Coach (Justin) Wilcox always stresses a 'bait and slip' move that we've actually practiced. It was risky because if I don't get it, then it was going to be a pretty large gain. But I took my chance. If you take it, you've got to make it."
Connelly took an angle to the ball that decoyed Pocic into thinking that Fournette was not where he anticipated that he would be on the screen. He then corrected his course. "And once you get to him (Fournette)," he said, "you've got to hold on for dear life and hope he goes to the ground."
Down goes Fournette. That forced a punt and set up the UW's game-winning drive. In retrospect, Cichy was not surprised by anything that he saw from Connelly. "Ryan brings a tenacity," he said. "When Ryan pulls his trigger, Ryan is as fast and as violent as just about anyone on the team."
Former Wisconsin defensive coordinator Dave Aranda, now calling signals for LSU, recognized Connelly's potential last season. In a telling statement, Aranda advised the local media corps, "Connelly is a guy that I trust. He has a great football savviness to him. I'm a big fan of his."
Aranda also raved about his toughness. That was evident throughout his prep career at Eden Prairie (Minnesota) High School, one of the most successful programs in the Midwest. Connelly was a member of three straight Class 6A state championship teams coached by Mike Grant.
As a sophomore, he was a backup quarterback, mostly a spectator on the varsity. As a junior, he wound up playing defensive end in the state playoffs. And that was a story in itself that would warm the heart of any Minnesotan, including Grant's father, the iconic ex-Vikings head coach Bud Grant.
"They moved me to the D-line by accident," Connelly said.
The original intention was to move a Connor, a Connor Johnson, to the defense line but the assistant coach thought he heard Connelly instead of Connor in a staff meeting. "So the next practice, they moved me," Connelly said, "and I ended up playing there and starting for the playoff run."
Connelly took it all in stride knowing that he would be returning to his preferred position, quarterback. As a senior, he didn't disappoint, either. He threw for 14 touchdowns and had zero interceptions. Not that he threw it much. He attempted only seven passes in the title game.
"We always joke at Eden Prairie that the most passes that you're going to throw are during warmups," said Connelly, whose first cousin Anders Lee is a center iceman with the New York Islanders of the NHL. "We're a Wing-T offense and we like to run the ball. I was a run-first quarterback."
He was also a midfielder in lacrosse on a state title team. "Defensively, it's pretty similar to basketball in a way; it relates to linebackers," he said of a sport that he had played since the third grade. "You have quick guys who can make a move at any moment. It's definitely a hard-hitting sport."
Connelly had the black and blue arms, the bruises to prove it. What he didn't have was any scholarship offers to play football. There was some interest from small programs, but nothing that could dissuade him from walking on at Wisconsin. "I was going to come here for school regardless," he said.
His patience and persistence earned him a scholarship. "The best part about that," Connelly said of UW coach Paul Chryst's announcement to the full team, "was how everyone stood up and started yelling. That probably meant the most to me, how everyone was genuinely happy that I got it."
It was a pretty unforgettable moment. Sort of like Saturday's win over LSU at Lambeau Field. "I grew up as a Packer fan," confessed Connelly, whose parents are Cheeseheads; his dad (Steve) is from La Crosse and his mom (Christi) is from Madison. "I stayed true."
He also stayed true to himself by making sure that he was prepared for the game, knowing the adage about being one snap away from playing; the first snap as it turned out. He was ready when called, a good starting point.
"It was probably one of the best experiences of my life," Connelly said.
