‘It’s gonna be a great moment and a great challenge going back there’: Washington State coach Jake Dickert, a Wisconsin native, returns to the state that shaped him
Spokesman-Review of Spokane 9/8/2022:
Story by Colton Clark
Photo
by Colin Mulvany
MADISON,
Wisconsin – Usually, Jake Dickert’s friends and family members spend their
Saturdays dressed in Wisconsin Badgers gear.
But
they’re changing allegiances this weekend.
A
large party of Wisconsinites will gather in Madison on Saturday and sport
Washington State apparel in support of Dickert, the Cougars’ first-year coach.
“It’s
special for me,” Dickert said earlier this week. “There are going to be a lot
of people there that helped me get to this point.
“The
Dickert tailgate is going to be over 200 strong. I’m excited for our people to
represent there. They’ll all be in Cougs gear, I guarantee you that.”
WSU
and 19th-ranked Wisconsin are set to square off at 12:30 p.m. at Camp Randall
Stadium.
The
game will mark perhaps the most difficult test for Dickert in his young head
coaching career. It’ll also serve as a homecoming for the Wisconsin native, who
was a staunch Badgers supporter in his youth.
“A
fan is probably putting it lightly,” he said. “When you grow up there, there
are a few things that are in your blood – beer, cheese, Packers, Badgers, Bucks
and Brewers. I’m a product of Wisconsin.
“It’s
gonna be a great moment and a great challenge going back there.”
Dickert’s
father will host a massive tailgating event to begin the festivities Saturday
morning. Jeff Dickert, who has been planning the reunion for over three months
now, put out a memo recently: “No Wisconsin gear allowed.”
Most
of the relatives reside in Wisconsin, but many others are making cross-country
trips, returning to their home state to root for a Cougars upset.
“The
whole family, up and down – from his grandmother to third cousins – are coming
to the game,” said Jeff Dickert, who lives in Green Bay. “It’s a big family, a
tight family, and they are all proud. What are the odds that he gets the job
and the first year that he’s the full-time coach, he plays Wisconsin?
“For
the family, it’s a huge deal. Just about everybody has been to a Badgers game.
You see all these coaches come in here. There’s been big names and now Jake is
on the same field leading a team that, in my mind, will win. But we all know
the Badgers are a tough team. The family is going to be extremely happy.”
For
Jake Dickert, it’s impossible to downplay the significance of the moment.
He
isn’t a Wisconsin grad – he played his college ball at Division III Wisconsin-Stevens
Point – but as a kid, Dickert fashioned connections to the Badgers’ program.
He
attended the occasional Wisconsin game. Dickert watched Drew Brees set a
passing record at Camp Randall Stadium in 1998, completing 55 of 83 attempts
for Purdue in a 31-24 loss to the Badgers.
At
an early age, Dickert hoped to follow in the footsteps of his uncle and suit up
for Wisconsin one day. Gary Dickert, who is traveling from Arizona to attend
Saturday’s game, started on the Badgers’ defensive line in the 1970s.
“Every
kid who grows up in our state follows Wisconsin and thinks about playing for
Wisconsin,” Jeff said. “It’s a huge event here. Everyone in Wisconsin loves
Wisconsin football.”
Jeff
Dickert, a career high school administrator who earned his master’s degree from
Wisconsin, made annual trips to Madison to attend superintendent conferences.
Jake Dickert and his older brother, Jesse, would accompany their father. After
Jeff finished his work for the day, he’d sneak his sons into Camp Randall.
“They’d
run around and throw footballs and try to kick extra points,” Jeff said.
Jake
Dickert also participated in youth camps and coaching clinics at Wisconsin .
Certainly, the coach will be hit with a profound sense of excitement when he
takes the field on Saturday, but Dickert is reminding himself to treat the game
like any other, and to not get wrapped up in the whirlwind of emotions that is
sure to come with his return to Madison.
“I
know he’s going to enjoy a lot of things that follow it, but he’s all business,”
Jeff Dickert said. “He’s going to enjoy looking over there and seeing the
family, but that’s pretty much it. That’s how he is.
“I
know he’ll be a little nervous about running into Camp Randall, leading the
team out of the tunnel. It’ll be a fun moment for him, but once he gets to the
sidelines, I know he’ll be all business. … I know his focus has been on the
players.”
Of
course, Jake Dickert’s upbringing in “The Badger State” shaped his identity as
a person and a coach.
Born
in the suburbs of Milwaukee, Dickert was raised in several small communities in
Wisconsin. The family moved every few years as his father worked up the
administrative ladder. Dickert’s high school career began in Oconto – 30 miles
north of Green Bay. He spent his senior year in Kohler, just north of
Milwaukee.
“Growing
up, Jake was very loyal,” Jeff Dickert said. “When he gets to a new place, he
puts everything into it.
“Jake
learned from people that, even though your dad is the superintendent, there’s
no freebies. Everybody knows you. When you’re in a small town, you put out your
own reputation in how you work and how you conduct yourself.”
This
region of the country associates itself with hard-working, blue-collar
ideologies. Jake Dickert fits the bill.
“I
didn’t have to instill the work ethic,” Jeff said. “He always seemed to have
that. He’d always stick around to help. If you had to rake the lawn, he’d stay
there until it was done. He was always driven, always wanted to win.”
During
his high school years, Dickert was a three-sport standout (football,
basketball, baseball) and a 4.0 student. He probably could have played
collegiate basketball, but he stuck with football following an impressive prep
career playing quarterback. His natural leadership abilities caught the
attention of Stevens Point coach John Miech.
“We
always seemed to have the all-conference quarterback,” Miech said. “We looked
into the fact that his dad was a superintendent and you could see the leader on
film. … He had it in him.”
In
2002, Jake Dickert joined his brother, Jesse, at Stevens Point in central
Wisconsin, but he didn’t see the field for his first two collegiate seasons.
Miech decided to move him to wide receiver.
“I
told him, ‘You’re too good of an athlete to be a backup anywhere,’ ” Miech
said.
As
a senior, Dickert was an all-conference pick who led his conference in catches
(56) despite missing some time due to an appendectomy.
Miech
was impressed with Dickert’s intelligence and inner drive.
“He
was a math major, and I think that’s what started it all off,” Miech said.
“We’d be in meetings and he would always seem a little bored because he picked
everything up so quickly.
“He’s
a hard-working, small-town kid, but he’ll let you know that he’s the smartest
person in the room. I can’t say he was the easiest guy to coach, because he’d
challenge you. … He knew what was going on. He kept everybody on their toes.”
After
wrapping up his playing career, Dickert had a job lined up as a high school
teacher, but he was still interested in coaching at the college level. Jeff
Dickert offered guidance.
“The
reality is: Once you start getting that paycheck from teaching and buy a house
and start a family, there’s no way you can go back to being a grad assistant
and making $5,000 a year,” he said. “If that’s what you want to do, you gotta
do it now.”
Jake
Dickert stopped by Miech’s office and inquired about a GA gig. Jesse Dickert
was still a center on the team. Miech thought it best to split up the brothers.
He
offered Jake Dickert a job on the defensive side of the ball, setting the stage
for a successful career built on defense – Dickert remained a defensive-minded
coach for the next 14 years, building a reputation as an innovator and
motivator, before landing his first head coaching position last November at
WSU.
“When
I interview people, I ask them what their goals are in football,” Miech said.
“If they don’t say that they want to be a head coach, I don’t hire them. That
question tells me whether they will do anything for the program, with respect
to recruiting and being in the office late at night. That’s why I think we were
successful at UW-SP with these young coaches moving on.
“The
Stevens Point program at one time had 19 guys coaching in the upper levels of
football, and Dickert was a part of that group.”
Jake
Dickert worked at Stevens Point for one year, but he developed immensely as a
coach during that season. Division III programs aren’t blessed with resources,
yet there are advantages for coaches who begin their careers in the lower
levels of college football.
“They
have to recruit,” Miech said. “Jake got his own recruiting area. At a young age
and in his first year coaching, he had to go into schools and identity
(talent).
“It
sounds like Jake is still going out with assistant coaches and going into
(players’) homes. Those are things you bring with you from Division III or II.”
Dickert
proved himself as a thorough and reliable recruiter at Stevens Point. That
earned him a job in 2008 at North Dakota State under Craig Bohl. Former
Pointers assistant Tim Polasek – now the offensive coordinator for Bohl at
Wyoming – was an NDSU assistant at the time and helped Dickert break into the
higher ranks of collegiate football.
“Because
of his experience, that’s why North Dakota State was interested in him,” Miech
said. “Coach Bohl knew I gave recruiting responsibilities to my younger
assistants, because I had to. These young kids are thrown into the breach, but
there’s a positive thing about that: They find out if they want to coach.”
Miech,
now retired, is traveling from Orlando, Florida, to watch his student on
Saturday.
“Going
to this game, it’s a highlight for me,” he said, joking that Dickert owes him a
“3% finder’s fee.”
In
his home state, Jake Dickert discovered his passion for coaching and found an
avenue to advance in the profession. Earlier in his life, he established an
identity of diligence that led to his success.
“You
get recognized if you work hard and get your nose to the grindstone,” Jeff
Dickert said. “That’s kinda been Jake his whole life.
“He’s
always been a hard worker. He doesn’t get distracted, and that’s probably a key
to him moving up through those small schools. … Believe in yourself, and it
takes you places.”
At
Stevens Point, Jake Dickert met his future wife, Candice. The two have three
children together and are glad to finally be settled down in Pullman – a
tight-knit community that reminds them of their humble roots.
Dickert
often praises Candice for her patience. The family moved eight times between
2008 and 2020 as Dickert ascended the coaching ladder, making stops in multiple
smaller markets before securing his first FBS job in 2017 at Wyoming, then his
first Power Five job in ’20 at WSU.
“That’s
what we went through, moving every few years,” Jeff said. “Moving his family,
he’s got a little more of an understanding on how it works.
“When
the opportunity hit, he was ready. He took the best from the coaches he worked
with, just like he took the best from the communities we moved him through.”
With
the influential figures from his life congregated in Madison to celebrate his
rise through the coaching ranks and his big-time return to Wisconsin,
Saturday’s kickoff will undoubtedly feel like a full-circle moment for Jake
Dickert.
“Those
people that I represent each and every day, they’re proud of me and (they are)
why I’m sitting in this seat,” he said.
“I’m
a product of who has been around me my whole life and the hard work that’s
gotten me here.”
#
:::::::::
Commentary: Jake Dickert challenges Cougar Corollary
and it’s just what Washington State needs
By Jacob Thorpe Spokesman-Review
9/8/2022
Spend
enough time around fans of Washington State University athletics and eventually
you will run into what I call the “Cougar Corollary”.
This
theory, shared by many WSU fans and independent observers alike, is that
because WSU’s rural setting and pastoral Pullman vibes are so unique among its
Pac-12 conference peers, its athletic programs need to be similarly distinctive
to compete.
If
WSU goes by the same style as everyone else, it will invariably lose, so the
thinking goes. The most sought-after recruits are likely to go to the
better-resourced, urban schools and if WSU tries to play the same game the same
way, talent will inevitably triumph.
Proponents
of this school of thought point to the football success of Mike Leach’s Air
Raid offense, as well as Dick and Tony Bennett’s slow, methodical,
defense-first brand of basketball as evidence that WSU’s best seasons came from
coaches who saw what everyone else was doing and did the opposite.
With
the hire of Jake Dickert as head football coach, WSU athletic director Pat Chun
has called the question on the Cougar Corollary. After a decade of Leach and
Nick Rolovich running the football program, the most striking thing about
Dickert is how, well, normal he is.
Dickert
has a fairly typical origin story – no law school degree here, just another
football player who played as long as he could, then started coaching. He works
long hours, gets to know his players, and handles public and private
interactions like a sane person.
There
is neither a cowboy hat nor pirate sword for the marketing department to use.
It
is too soon to say whether normal will play on the Palouse, although Dickert’s
steering of the ship after Rolovich’s midseason dismissal in 2021 was
commendable and rightfully led to his losing the “interim” from his title.
But
I do believe we can already say the WSU fanbase’s Awkward Family Thanksgiving
is finally over.
Dickert’s
normalcy allows the fanbase to evaluate him purely on his ability to lead the
team to winning seasons. Losses will not come with caveats, and fans will not
have to qualify wins with statements about how they may not support him
politically, but the bowl games are nice.
This
is not an attempt to kick the previous two coaches. Leach’s genuine curiosity
and candor made the team more interesting – his Monday news conferences were
appointment viewing across college football and brought immediate notoriety to
a program that had none.
Rolovich’s
stubborn refusal to get a drug store vaccine was ill-advised and cost him
millions of dollars. But when judging his character, also remember that when
COVID first struck Washington state and shut down local economies, it was
Rolovich out there spending thousands of his own dollars at local restaurants
so that Pullman residents who fell on hard times could have a nice meal.
Leach
emceeing a rally for presidential candidate Donald Trump in 2016 and Rolovich’s
anti-vax stance surely won them supporters as well as critics. But there is no
doubt both spurred controversy and division among the fans.
No
longer was it enough to simply sport crimson and gray clothing – one had to
have an opinion about the coach’s opinions.
And
that is exhausting.
At
a turbulent time in college football when WSU could easily end up losing status
as the rich schools consolidate into more lucrative conference alignments,
Dickert’s noncontroversial affability is a welcome respite from the turmoil. He
is unlikely to garner many headlines for things other than his team’s
performance on Saturdays.
Win
or lose, the entire WSU fanbase can celebrate or commiserate without internal
emotional conflict.
Supporting
WSU football is no longer a political act. Let’s see if normal can win in
Pullman.
#
Who
Has The Edge: Wisconsin Badgers vs. Washington State Cougars
By Colten Bartholomew Wisconsin
State Journal, Madison, Wisc. Sept. 8, 2022
Let's take a
look at who has the edge in the University of Wisconsin football team's game
Saturday against Washington State.
When the
Badgers have the ball
The Badgers
got going after a strange first quarter in which UW ran three plays against
Illinois State. Quarterback Graham Mertz was nearly
perfect, tossing just two incompletions and making quick
decisions in offensive coordinator Bobby Engram’s new scheme. That’s an
encouraging sign for the Badgers moving forward because it’s clear there are
enough playmakers on the outside to complement the strong rushing attack.
UW’s rushing
statistics were bolstered by sophomore Braelon Allen’s 96-yard touchdown in the
second quarter. The Badgers averaged just less than 4 yards per carry outside
of that play. Washington State held Idaho to 1.8 yards per carry on 34 tries,
so the Badgers’ line needs to take a step forward. Right tackle Logan Brown
will replace Riley Mahlman after Mahlman hurt his left leg last week, but that
could help the rushing game because Brown is a monster when moving forward.
Wazzou
defensive ends Brennan Jackson and Ron Stone Jr. are a big step up from the
rushers the Badgers’ offensive line saw last week, so the front must be up to
task from the first snap.
Mertz
completed passes to seven receivers, but only two of them were running backs.
UW coach Paul Chryst indicated that’s something that will change this season,
and the backs have invested a lot of time into their route-running and
pass-catching in practice. Wazzou has some big inside linebackers, so trying to
get them in space defending Allen, Chez Mellusi and Isaac Guerendo could result
in big plays.
Edge: Wisconsin
When
Washington State has the ball
Washington
State brought in transfer quarterback Cameron Ward to be a difference maker,
and he showed some skills in his opener that UW has struggled with in the past.
Ward is mobile, likes to extend plays by looping outside of the pocket and is
looking for big plays when he buys time. Wazzou recovered after a slow start
and scored 24 unanswered points against an upset-minded Idaho squad.
UW has to be smart
in how it contains Ward in the pocket while creating pressure to help the
secondary. Tackles Jarrett Kingston and Ma’ake Fifita do well creating a pocket
for Ward, but Ward makes their job tough with his running around behind the
line.
Wisconsin supporters The Varsity Collective to hold news
conference Thursday
UW’s secondary
— which will be without safety Hunter
Wohler (left leg) but should have back cornerback Alexander
Smith (right hamstring) — will have to contend with Donovan Ollie, De’Zhaun Stribling
and a bevy of receiving threats. Washington State’s pass-heavy offense has
three or four receivers on the field for nearly 90% of its plays, and their
up-tempo style makes substituting on defense difficult.
The Cougars
aren’t trying to run the ball often — just one-third of their snaps in the
opener — but they are expecting big plays when they do. That’s where Nakia
Watson comes in. Watson spent the first three seasons of his college career at
UW, redshirting as a freshman then serving as a backup to Jonathan Taylor in
2019. Watson was the lead back to start the 2020 season, but he missed two
games and lost his starting spot. He’s clearly improved his vision as a rusher,
which was one aspect that held him back in the Badgers backfield, and he has good
downhill power, accounting for 117 yards on 18 carries in Week 1. Expect some
big collisions between Watson and inside linebacker Maema Njongmeta.
Edge: Slightly Wisconsin
Special teams
Vito Calvaruso
was perfect in his UW debut, making a short field goal attempt and five extra
points. Just as important was Jack Van Dyke regaining the power in his kicking
leg after dealing with injuries last season and this offseason. Van Dyke
tallied touchbacks on five of his seven kickoff attempts, however one was an intentional
squib kick.
UW must clean
up its punt return unit’s execution after recording two holding calls on those
plays and returner Dean Engram taking some risks that might result in big
mistakes against a better opponent.
Kick returner
Isaac Guerendo should have some chances to make an impact — Wazzou kicker Logan
Prescott failed to record a touchback on four attempts last week.
Edge: Slightly Wisconsin
Trends
UW hasn’t
played a Pac-12 team in the regular season since 2013, the infamous Arizona
State loss in which a referee’s error didn’t allow the Badgers to spike the
ball in the final seconds to set up a winning field goal.
Paul Chryst is
7-0 as the Badgers’ coach in the second game of the season.
Washington
State coach and Wisconsin native Jake Dickert will be coaching his first game
in the state since 2011, when he was special teams coordinator and defensive
backs coach for South Dakota. The Badgers defeated South Dakota 59-10 that
season.
#
