Lucas: Cundiff, Eschenbach travel similar paths to season opener

BY MIKE LUCAS

UWBadgers.com Senior Writer

MADISON, Wis. – Clay Cundiff and Jack Eschenbach have much in common. A meeting room (both are tight ends). A physical characteristic (both have soft hands). A challenging goal (both seek to fill the void left by Jake Ferguson). An ambulance ride (both had a painful ending to their 2021 season).

The latter is what often comes up first in conversation. At least for Cundiff, who was injured in front of a Homecoming crowd of 74,000-plus at Camp Randall Stadium last October. Many had to turn away or shield their eyes. That included some of his teammates. Ferguson. John Chenal. Logan Bruss.

“A bunch of people have asked me about it,” Cundiff said. “I can talk about it.”

On the final play of the third quarter against No. 9 Iowa, the Badgers had a 20-7 lead and a first-and-goal on the Hawkeyes 13. On an inside zone run, tailback Braelon Allen picked up four yards before being tripped up by defensive tackle Noah Shannon. Both landed on the back of Cundiff’s right leg.

“I looked down at it,” Cundiff said of his foot, “and it’s backward.”

The ankle was dislocated. The fibula bone was broken. The deltoid ligament was torn.

An ambulance transported Cundiff to the hospital. “I just wanted the pain to stop,” he remembered of the ride. “They got that under control pretty fast and they were really good to me. It was an experience riding in an ambulance – I hope it never happens again.”

Cundiff was rehabbing back home in Kansas when Eschenbach got his ER ride. During a December practice at the McClain Indoor Facility – the Badgers were preparing for Arizona State in the Las Vegas Bowl – Eschenbach ripped the quad muscle in his leg.

“At that moment, I thought I was dying to be honest,” he said of his trip in the ambulance. “I just remember them saying ‘Stay with me’ because my body was kind of going into shock. I was probably over-reacting a little. Maybe. I thought they would have to slash the leg for compartment syndrome.

“Luckily, they didn’t have to cut it open. But with the way the leg was expanding, I really thought I was bleeding out internally. (Eschenbach was hospitalized overnight.) I couldn’t bend the leg and it was super fat for a month. I was off my feet, on crutches … little by little, it got better and better.”

Asked about the odds of two teammates at the same position having their season end in the scary fashion that it did – with trips to the emergency room – Eschenbach said, “We’ll joke about that – they can’t get us off the field unless they take us out with an ambulance.”

Both have never been more determined to put the injuries in the past. Physically. Emotionally.

“I’ve done a lot in my progression to come back,” Cundiff said. “I attacked the summer like I have never attacked any other summer. My first workout was in June, and I knew what was in front of me. I knew the position that the tight end group was in (sans Ferguson) and I wanted that spot.”

Last week, he happily reported, “Right now, I feel faster than I have been while I’ve been in college … and more agile. Missing spring ball with the new offense, I knew it was going to take a lot from me mentally to prepare just to be out on the field. Things are changing, and you have to know a bunch.

“I did a lot of studying. A couple of weeks leading up to camp we had some walk-throughs and that really ironed some things out for me. Every day I get up and come out here, I keep telling myself, ‘You’re blessed to be here. You should be thankful for this opportunity.’ I work from that perspective.”

Cundiff was ready to work once he got the full-go clearance in June. He didn’t feel like he had to clear an emotional hurdle to get back on the field. Though people still ask about the injury, he said, “I’m pretty comfortable with it now. It’s in the past. The ankle feels good. Talking about it is all right.”

Eschenbach has taken a similar approach to the string of injuries that he endured last season. During training camp, he broke his hand. But he still played in the opener and had a catch against Penn State. He then suffered an ankle sprain against Eastern Michigan and missed the Notre Dame game.

Eschenbach started against Michigan and had a reception for 18 yards before dislocating his shoulder, an injury that sidelined him for the next three games. Before the end of the season, he wound up starting again (in tandem with Ferguson) against Rutgers before injuring his quad in bowl prep.

“What it really teaches you is to not take any practice for granted – any day of football for granted because when you’re out, you really learn how much it sucks to sit there and watch,” he said. “No matter how tired you are, not matter how hot it is, enjoy every day.”

In respect to his off-season game plan, Eschenbach said, “For me, the whole goal was to be as fast and as strong as I could be coming back. What that meant was a lot of strength training and speed training. Me and Clay kind of had a similar schedule because we were always in rehab together.

“That entailed doing a lot of rehab and speed work on top of the regular workouts. But I think it turned out well. Me and Clay both ended up with PRs in a bunch of lifts and both of us are the fastest we’ve ever been in terms of (40) times.”

Citing the naming of offensive coordinator Bobby Engramwho coached tight ends for three years with the Baltimore Ravens, he said, “The playbook is a little bit different obviously for me as well as Clay because we missed spring ball. In the past, with the old playbook, I had reps with each play.”

To commit the new plays to memory, and better grasp the rhythm of the offense, Eschenbach developed his own system. “I listed every play, wrote down my assignment and watched a bunch of clips on each play,” he said. “I just wanted to make sure I could visualize myself in there.”

The Badgers have a new tight ends coach (Chris Haering). But the standard hasn’t changed.

“You have to be able to be physical,” Cundiff said. “You have to be able to move people off the ball. There are people depending on you in the run game to make plays and cutoff people. And in the pass game, you’ve got to ready defenses, find the open voids and be an option for the quarterback.”

Whether on the ground, or through the air, he stressed, “You’ve got to be a playmaker.”

Seconding that description, Eschenbach pointed out, “I would say we’re kind of a Swiss Army knife … we have a lot of different things we do. We block, we run routes, we pass pro, we really do it all. You have to be a smart guy and you have to be dependable.

“Consistency is one of the most important things because of all the different roles we have.

“You have to be on top of your stuff. We have to be people that the offense can rely on.”

In catching passes, Cundiff and Eschenbach can fall back on the same thing. Soft hands.

“My whole life everybody says I have really good hands, soft hands,” said Cundiff, a 6-3, 232-pound redshirt junior from Wichita, Kansas (his mom recently moved to Phoenix, Arizona). “I just have a good feel for it when the ball is in the air. My one objective when it’s coming to me is, ‘Reel it in.’

“That’s what I’m thinking. I’m not thinking about trying to turn upfield. One thing at a time.”

Cundiff doesn’t necessarily have large hands. Neither, for that matter, does Eschenbach.

“They’re pretty average size for a college athlete,” said Eschenbach, a 6-6, 241-pound fifth-year senior from Downers Grove, Ill. “I was a wide receiver in high school. That was always my thing – route-running and catching. It’s something I’ve always held dearly. I can always make a play on the ball.”

Ferguson left a huge receiving void. Besides snaring at least one catch in every career game (47) – underlining his consistency – he forced defenses to account for him at all times. Ferguson, a fourth-round draft choice of the Dallas Cowboys, ended up with 145 receptions for 1,618 yards and 13 touchdowns.

“I’ve never been here without him, he was one of my best friends for sure,” Eschenbach said, “As one of the older guys, it is a big void to fill, not only on the field, but more so off the field. You have to step up and be a leader and bring some fun to the group when maybe the mood is down.”

Consider this playing disparity among the tight ends: Ferguson had 678 snaps on offense. The next in line were Eschenbach with 238 and Cundiff with 103. Jaylan Franklin had 91 snaps, 41 in the bowl win. Ferguson also brought some personality to the room. “Jake left some big shoes to fill,” Cundiff said.

Beyond Cundiff and Eschenbach – who have the only catches (8) in the position group – Franklin (6-4, 240) and Hayden Rucci (6-4, 260) will have key roles in the offense, especially as in-line blockers. Cole Dakovich (6-5, 250) and Jack Pugh (6-5, 236) round out Haering’s current options for the rotation.

“There have been different guys making plays in different practices,” Cundiff noted.

“All of us bring something that can help the offense in a different way,” Eschenbach chimed in.

“The competition has been good. We’re all doing it together,” Cundiff added.

Eschenbach, who was originally a walk-on, had a scholarship offer from Western Illinois but not from Illinois State, the opponent in the 2022 opener at Camp Randall. “Anytime I’m alone, I’m thinking about playing on that field,” he said. “I’m thinking about making plays and getting a win obviously.”

Cundiff, who was initially a University of Kansas commit, has been visualizing the same things. “I’ve definitely thought about it, but I didn’t want to look too far ahead,” he said. “I’ll be sitting at home after a practice, or getting ready for bed and thinking, ‘It’s getting closer. I’m excited.”‘

It has been 308 days since Cundiff last played in a game. It has been 280 days for Eschenbach.

Both are aiming to finish what they started; the most consequential thing they have in common.