A ferocious defender with the physique of an Adonis: How LB Tyler Jansey became Wisconsins

Tyler Jansey arrived at Camp Randall Stadium for an important football camp pitting him against some of the top high school linebackers in the Midwest on a sweltering June day last summer. One hour into the workouts, as Wisconsin coaches evaluated the prospects before them,a lightning strike in the distance forced everybody inside to finish

Tyler Jansey arrived at Camp Randall Stadium for an important football camp pitting him against some of the top high school linebackers in the Midwest on a sweltering June day last summer. One hour into the workouts, as Wisconsin coaches evaluated the prospects before them, a lightning strike in the distance forced everybody inside to finish the camp in the McClain Center.

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Jansey’s dad, Mick, recalls conditions being so humid and suffocating that it became difficult to even breathe — and that was for the spectators. But Tyler, who realized what this opportunity could mean for his future, was just getting cranked up. So as many of the roughly 15 linebackers participating began to drop out because of sheer exhaustion from three hours of physical football indoors, Jansey not only willed himself to the finish line. He thrived.

“It was like 100 degrees in their fieldhouse, and we just battled,” Jansey said. “Just like straight up Oklahoma drills, tackling each other, smashing each other. I think I definitely earned my respect from them there just battling. A lot of other linebackers quit. It was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done but also one of the most fun things. Looking back on it, I’m so glad I did it.”

Jansey’s performance that day highlighted the traits that make him such a good fit for Wisconsin’s defense: toughness, physicality and a relentless desire to succeed. He impressed then-inside linebackers coach Bob Bostad so much that day that he earned the scholarship offer from Wisconsin he coveted. Jansey then dominated during his junior season at Batavia (Ill.) High School and became the first committed prospect in Wisconsin’s 2023 recruiting class when he publicly pledged to the Badgers on Friday.

“I think it means a lot,” Jansey said. “Now I’m trying to help build that class with the coaches. The ultimate goal is winning a Big Ten championship or even maybe a national championship. It’s awesome being the start of the wave and helping to recruit other guys.”

Jansey’s other scholarship offers came from Eastern Illinois, Eastern Michigan, Miami (Ohio), New Mexico State, Toledo and Western Michigan. Even though no other Power 5 schools followed Wisconsin’s lead, Jansey said he heard from coaches at Purdue, Iowa, Minnesota and Stanford during the recent evaluation period. Jansey could have waited longer to earn more Power 5 opportunities, but he and his dad said there was no reason to prolong the recruitment when he already knew where he wanted to go.

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The Badgers believe they have landed a player who can fit right into the mold of impactful inside linebackers in their 3-4 defense. Jansey finished his junior season with 88 tackles, 16 tackles for loss, six sacks and a forced fumble for a Batavia team that finished 10-1. If you’re looking for a linebacker Jansey can compare to, Batavia defensive coordinator Matt Holm says to look no further than former Wisconsin standout Jack Sanborn, another Illinois product.

“We played Sanborn in the state title a few years ago when he was a senior at Lake Zurich,” Holm said. “Tyler is very much like that. The same kind of speed, the same kind of physical nature to the point where the teams that play us completely gameplan around trying to avoid the middle of the field. But when they try to get to the edge, they can’t get that, either.”

Batavia football coach Dennis Piron said he knew Jansey could be a special player when he was in middle school based on how well he controlled games. Piron also coaches track and noticed that during Jansey’s freshman season on the track team, he constantly wanted to practice with the top group to test himself.

“He’s always been that kid,” Piron said. “He always pushed himself to that level. We knew that he could play, but he’s a physical specimen. He’s strong as can be, can run like the wind and has great anaerobic strength, which I see in track all the time. He’s got tons of energy. The kid has always stuck out with the measurables. Plus, he can play and he loves to hit.”

Jansey’s family is deeply invested in both football and weight training. Mick said the whole family lifts together at a nearby gym. Mick and his wife, Betsy, have six boys and each of them is a linebacker. All the boys began playing flag football in Batavia’s youth program at 9 years old. The oldest, Michael, is a linebacker at Northwestern who will be a redshirt sophomore next season. Mick said Michael was recruited by Wisconsin, though he did not receive a Badgers scholarship offer, and that Tyler saw campus during Michael’s recruitment.

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“His drive to make sure that he was at that level and wasn’t overlooked has been incredible,” Holm said of Tyler. “To watch the kid work out and to watch his intensity on the field, we have to put the brakes on him at times so he doesn’t kill anybody. You get a chance to meet him at some point, he’s a very intense young man.”

Given that the family had already been through the recruiting process with a Big Ten linebacker, Mick said he knew what to look for as interest in Tyler increased. Batavia played a spring football season last year because of COVID-19 and was set for a full fall season, so Mick said the family decided Tyler needed to be selective about which summer football camps he attended in order to save his body. Mick suggested he pick three camps. Tyler went to Iowa, Wisconsin and a camp at Division III North Central College in Naperville, Ill.

Jansey visited Wisconsin’s campus twice during the season to watch Wisconsin play Penn State and Iowa. He and his family also made the short trip to Chicago to see Wisconsin take on Notre Dame at Soldier Field. He studied how Sanborn and Leo Chenal played off each other and formed arguably the best inside linebacker tandem in the country.

“Leo Chenal is one of the most naturally physical beasts I’ve ever seen,” Jansey said. “He’s so awesome to watch. And then Sanborn, I just love Sanborn’s technicality with his game. When I went on the game day visits, I’d just watch him the entire time. His sideline-to-sideline speed and his key reading ability are unmatched. I’d just watch him read the guards and then shoot a gap and get a TFL. I’m like, ‘Wow’ His game is so polished and he’s the epitome of a linebacker. It’s what you want to be.”

To talk to Jansey is to understand that he doesn’t lack for confidence. When asked whether he believed he could be the next great inside linebacker at Wisconsin, as Sanborn and Chenal were, he responded that his goal was to be better than them. Sanborn was a first-team all-Big Ten player as a senior, while Chenal earned first-team All-America honors and declared for the NFL draft after his junior season.

“I want to set the bar high,” Jansey said. “If you don’t dream about it happening, if you don’t envision it happening, it’s not going to happen.”

Jansey expressed similar self-belief when he detailed his best game of last season against Glenbard North. Jansey finished with 14 tackles and five tackles for loss to lead his team to a 21-20 victory.

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“We just knew from the get-go that they were going to try to power it down our throats,” Jansey said. “And, oh my gosh, I absolutely dominated their running back and their O-linemen. They thought they could power run it on us and I was not having it. It’s so awesome. It’s one of the first times ever that a team has actually just run strong side power football on me. And I’m like, ‘Really? Y’all are going to test me? All right.’ And I showed up. I stopped them. We ended up winning that game.”

Mick said Tyler’s confidence comes from the knowledge that he has worked as hard, if not harder, than anyone on the field to achieve success. Tyler began riding his bike to a nearby gym at 5 a.m. every morning when he was in the sixth grade. Mick described Tyler as one of the strongest kids at his school. He squatted 405 pounds 12 times as a freshman and has deadlifted 500 pounds. His bench press max out is roughly 375 pounds. Tyler’s Twitter profile is a picture of him wearing a Batavia football practice jersey half rolled up to reveal his abs.

“He’s got the physique of an Adonis,” Holm said. “So when you look at him, your attention is drawn there. But then his agility and speed are at a very high level. He’s really starting to become a student of the game, being able to diagnose things. He knows what he’s looking for on film and now how to see it translated onto the field. All of those things are coming together. He’s played at an incredibly high level and he’s not even a senior yet.”

Jansey carries that same mindset into the classroom. He has the highest grade-point average available at Batavia High — 4.375. He has earned one B in his high school academic career in advanced algebra honors. Jansey said he was upset with himself because he finished with an 89 percent, just shy of keeping his streak of all A’s going. Jansey said he was wowed at Wisconsin not only by the culture, the hard-working nature of the program and the football facilities but also by the business school (he enjoys studying finance and investing).

Bostad has since moved to coach Wisconsin’s offensive line. Jansey said that, when he committed, head coach Paul Chryst and defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard assured him that the next inside linebackers coach would provide the same mentality and ability to teach fundamentals. Jansey noted that, if anything, Bostad coaching the O-linemen will make him an even better linebacker.

Jansey plans on enrolling early at Wisconsin so he can participate in offseason workouts next winter and spring practice. Jansey, who is 6-foot-1 and weighed in recently at 225 pounds, has a goal of reaching 235-240 pounds by next year when he arrives on campus. The work never stops. Just the way he likes it.

“I think if you don’t love grinding, like the grind in the offseason as much as you love playing football, it’s not for you,” Jansey said. “There’s so many aspects to football other than just being on the field, whether that’s in school, whether that’s lifting, whether that’s speed training, diet, it is a lifestyle. I definitely take huge pride in my training and I love it. I absolutely love going into the weight room every single day. I love working. I can’t lie.”

(Top photo courtesy of Cedric Jones)

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