When Jim Tressel made the decision to hire Luke Fickell as an assistant coach at Ohio State in 2002, he did so with a couple of reasons in mind. At the time, Fickell was 28 years old and the youngest full-time assistant on Tressel’s staff. Tressel liked his youthful exuberance and acknowledged he needed a blend of experience levels and ages to keep things fresh.

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But what Tressel recognized early on is something that many others have witnessed over the ensuing years: Fickell was simply a darn good coach.

“You could just see him growing from day one,” Tressel said.

The Athletic published a story Wednesday detailing why Fickell has the potential help Wisconsin reach new heights, explored through people who have worked directly with him over the years. One coach who offered a unique window into Fickell was Tressel.

The two men worked together for nine seasons with the Buckeyes from 2002-10. Fickell spent his first two seasons as the special teams coordinator, moved to coach the linebackers in 2004 and served as linebackers coach and co-defensive coordinator for the next six seasons under Tressel.

Fickell replaced Tressel as interim head coach in 2011 and spent another five years in Columbus under Urban Meyer. He then guided Cincinnati to a 57-18 record with a College Football Playoff appearance in six seasons as the Bearcats’ head coach. Now, he is back in the Big Ten after being hired to lead Wisconsin on Sunday. Tressel, who remains close with Fickell, provided his insights on Fickell as a coach, what the move to Wisconsin means for him and why it will be a good fit. Here is the full interview:

What makes Luke Fickell a good fit at Wisconsin?

He’s an extremely intelligent young man. He was a great student and he’s a fierce competitor. When I think about the Badgers, I think of a great university, extraordinary academic acumen there and fierce competitors on the field. He’s a former Division I football player, but he was also one of the best high school wrestlers in the history of the state of Ohio. I know wrestling is a fond thing up in that neck of the woods because it’s so highly competitive.

I just think his intelligence along with his competitiveness are the first two fits. And I would say the thing that you’ll learn about him as he spends more time there and the kids will learn more about him is what’s most important to him is their future in terms of what they’re going to be as human beings. That, to me, is above all else. The players there and the fans and everyone else will grow to learn that. I think it’ll be a tremendous relationship.

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What did you see in Luke when you first hired him at Ohio State?

I knew of him as a player and I knew of him as a young coach. I just thought that he would be the right kind of fit and fire that our team needed. He was a younger guy. I think you always have to have a blend of experience levels and age differences and so forth. If everyone looks the same and acts the same, I’m not sure it’s as effective. I just thought he could bring something to us we didn’t have. He did that quickly. He’s such an intelligent person that he just was a sponge in terms of learning and he was around a lot of good coaches and you could just see him growing from day one.

Obviously, he went on and like most coaches, you need your first chance. And he got his chance at Cincinnati to build a program. For a guy that was only there six years, he’s the winningest coach in their history. That tells you something. But he just loves to compete. He’s very serious. His players will know where he stands. But they’ll also know that he stands right with them. And that I think they’ll enjoy.

How would you describe his coaching style or philosophy?

He loves to study the game. The mental chess game is a lot of fun for him. And then the physical preparation. He probably wasn’t the most talented person. But yet he was going to train, he was not going to get beat. I think you couple that with his thirst for knowledge of the game and the relationship he’ll have with his coaches and players and fans, administration and the campus as a whole, I think that’s why he’s a heck of a fit for you.

Do you have a favorite story that describes Luke?

I just think he was always one that was going to be willing to meet the player where they were. And sometimes those discussions aren’t fun. Sometimes some coaches try to avoid conflict and they tell the young man he’s doing OK and he’s probably not. I always enjoyed when I would have one of his position players with he and I and the position player. The fact that he had the willingness to outline right where that young man was and what he needed to do to get better. There was never any confusion as to what needed to be done.

That’s what I always liked working with him. For as competitive and successful as he has been, he’s always been very humble. Throughout the course of time when he would interview, I pushed him a lot when he was on my staff. I said, “OK, let’s throw your hat in the ring over here and over there. You need the world to know you’re interested in taking the next step.” He was always like, “Well, do you think I’m ready?” That type of thing. And I’m thinking, “Yeah, you’re more than ready.” But he’s just so humble. But that beats the heck out of the opposite.

Were you surprised that he decided to take the Wisconsin job?

I think the fact that it’s Wisconsin. If a coach can go to Wisconsin, that’s pretty special. I had some conversations with him last week. It’s very difficult for him to be totally immersed in his own team there at Cincinnati and then having to entertain the thoughts. He’s been going through this for four or five years, people trying to convince him to go here and there and everything.

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But, boy, when it became Wisconsin, that’s a whole different deal. I think he has such respect for the Badgers and what they stand for and how they’ve been successful. It’s kind of a mirror image of him. There’s no question in his mind about this one.

What do you think the biggest challenge is to getting Wisconsin to compete with where Ohio State is now, as well as the other top Big Ten programs?

The beauty of Luke is that I don’t care if it’s a tiddlywinks game, he wants to win. I don’t care if it’s a card game. I don’t care if it’s a wrestling match, if it’s a football game. There will be nothing in his mind other than winning and winning the right way and winning with the players’ well-being in mind and the connectivity with the community.

His biggest challenge will be the time it takes to build those relationships so that they’re all in and when Wisconsin is all in, they can play with Southern Cal, Ohio State or anyone else. They’ve proven that. The one thing you have to remember if you’ve been anywhere else in the Big Ten, coming to Camp Randall is a thrill. It just is. The fact that it’s Wisconsin. Because I’m going to tell you what, he got offered many jobs in the last three or four years and none of them in his mind could drag him away from Cincinnati.

What did you notice about his ability to recruit at Ohio State?

Wherever he recruited for us, he was effective. For instance, he had Western Pennsylvania, and we got some of the best kids out of there. He had Georgia, and we got some great kids out of Georgia. He had parts of Florida. Of course, he had parts of Ohio. But I could send him into Maryland and he’d never been to Maryland. Boom, he’d have relationships. You could send him into Georgia or Chicago. It didn’t matter.

I don’t think it will matter where he is because I think the student-athletes and their parents, as important as anything, will feel the trust and the genuineness and they’ll have confidence in him once they get to know him. Something else that he has that is a plus in this day and age, he’s got a little bit of youth. He’s not walking in there with gray hair and whiskers. I think the kids will look at him and say, ‘You know, he probably played.’ But recruiting is clearly one of his strong suits.

How much do you think his history at Ohio State and understanding of the Big Ten will help him at Wisconsin?

He knows how tough you have to be to play in the Big Ten and he knows how tough Wisconsin has been when they’ve been at their best. I think absolutely he knows it’s a survival of the fittest. Obviously, you have to have skills. But it still is won in the trenches, and that’s where he grew up in the trenches. Wisconsin, when they were great, that’s where they were best. It’s a fit kind of thing for him. And I think the fact is that he’s so excited because of his respect for Wisconsin.

And you know what’s interesting, he doesn’t know much about Wisconsin other than Wisconsin football games. And when he learns about the excellence of the university, the worldwide acclaim they have as an academic institution, the great city of Madison, the opportunity to bring kids to a wonderful place, he’s going to be even more all in. I think that will really play well with him.

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Luke has talked about playing for championships at Cincinnati and now Wisconsin. What stands out to you about his messaging to players and how he helps them achieve their best?

He’ll make it clear to them that championship level is expected in everything you do, especially on the field. We used to always say that our guys’ favorite subject was football. Now, they still needed to be good at the other subjects in school. But their favorite subject was football. He’ll make it clear that he expects championship level in their favorite class, which is football. But he’ll expect it everywhere else.

Those habits will assist one another. And, yeah, he doesn’t just say that. It’s something that he did. It’s something that he taught. It’s something he did as an assistant coach and then as a head coach. He clearly understands what it takes to be successful and he knows he’s going to the next level. But he’s been there.

(Top photo: Terry Gilliam / AP)

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