Leading off today: Record-setting Sayville junior quarterback Jack Coan has made a big career decision, announcing Thursday that he plans to enroll at the University of Wisconsin in the fall of 2017, giving the Badgers their highest-profile high school recruit at that position in years.
Coan, rated a three- or four-star prospect by various scouting services, was the New York State Sportswriters Association's Class A co-player of the year last season. He held 15 Division I offers.
"Everyone told me I should go to one place where I really feel it," Coan told Newsday. "I really loved the coaching staff, the campus and Madison, Wisconsin. I thought it was a great fit.
The paper reported Coan's summer 2015 visits included Michigan, Maryland and Stanford. Trips since the end of last season included Syracuse and Nebraska.
Coan holds Long Island single-season records for passing yardage and touchdown passes. He completed 168 of 260 passes for 2,499 yards and 36 touchdowns as a junior and also ran 164 times for 1,275 yards and 17 touchdowns.
Colleges liked Coan's throwing mechanics as well as his poise in the pocket. He's not considered a classic dual-threat QB, but his mobility sets him apart from many pocket passers.
Speaking of quarterbacks: I never figured Ashton Broyld for sure-fire stardom as a college quarterback, though I thought the former Rush-Henrietta star had a chance of doing OK at that position in college. Like a lot of other observers, though, I was sure he could have done better as either a safety or a tight end.
It never happened for the NYSSWA's 2010 Class AA player of the year. Perhaps 20 or 30 percent of the blame belongs to the former coaching staffs at Syracuse, which repeatedly moved him around on offense.
Broyld has to own the rest of the responsibility for stubbornly refusing to try defense and for immaturity that got him sent to the dog house more than once -- and ultimately
