BY MIKE LUCAS
UWBadgers.com Senior Writer
MADISON, Wis. — Wisconsin's Paul Chryst has often talked about how Jim Leonhard is his "own man" as a defensive coordinator-slash-secondary coach. Chryst has loved the fact that Leonhard hasn't morphed into somebody different just because he has taken on extra duties and an additional title.
Instead, Chryst likes to say of Leonhard, "Jimmy is Jimmy."
But what does that mean?
"Coach Leonhard is like the Yoda of the defense," said safety Natrell Jamerson.
Descriptive and self-explanatory.
"He knows just about everything that there is for me to know," Jamerson added.
It's one thing to have the knowledge. It's another thing to be able to relate it to college-age players.
"Coach Leonhard is like a teammate," said safety D'Cota Dixon.
To make sure he wasn't misunderstood, he also stressed, "He's definitely our coach."
And treated with respect accordingly.
"But it's the way he approaches it," said Dixon, shining a light on Leonhard's influence. "It helps to digest him as a coach because he has been a player. Everything he's saying, you're very attentive to."
Photo: Wisconsin Badgers
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