Wisconsin head coach Luke Fickell created a special moment yesterday for his players when he had legendary football coach Jon Gruden come in and give a rousing speech to the team. It was fiery and exciting, and many joked about how brick walls didn't stand a chance after that speech.
He watched the spring practices and came away with four takeaways for the team and got the whole squad fired up about it. It was such a well-delivered and timed speech that it went viral on X, and current players and former players both weighed in. One of those was former Wisconsin QB star, Russell Wilson. Who's certainly heard a handful of locker room speeches before.
Love the Passion. On Wisconsin! 🏈@BadgerFootball https://t.co/gAs9yD2rpg
— Russell Wilson (@DangeRussWilson) April 12, 2025
Russell Wilson chimes in after Jon Gruden speech to Wisconsin football, "On Wisconsin!"
What were those four things that Gruden felt Wisconsin football needed to hear?
1. Dreams and Nightmares
Coach Gruden said that everyone has dreams, but Wisconsin's job is to end other teams' dreams. To be a nightmare.
2. Team
Individuals can't win games in football; it takes a team. He illustrated this by using a big rock. If one person pounded on that rock, it wouldn't break. Even if two people pounded on that rock, it wouldn't break. It would take the whole team. He said that rock is Michigan and Alabama.
3. Communication
The breakdown for teams is always communication. Defenses fall apart when they lack the ability to communicate. Wisconsin has to make that essential if they want to win.
4. Good and Great Effort
Finally, he gave an end push for the Badgers. He even called them out a bit when he said that he saw a lot of good effort from them in practice, but there's a huge difference between good effort and great effort. Wisconsin needs to have great effort if they want to get anywhere this season.