Cincinnati high school apologizes, will allow Badgers football coach Paul Chryst on campus

Paul Chryst and Badgers coaches are welcome at St. Xavier High School in Cincinnati – a place where they recently secured the commitment of Class of 2018 quarterback Chase Wolf.

Until recently, there was no welcome mat for Wisconsin coaches.

In a fascinating story reported by LandOf10 writer Jesse Temple, Chryst was apparently barred from setting foot on campus by the St. Xavier football coach, Steve Specht, as part of a dispute dating back six years when Chryst was head coach at Pittsburgh.

The Badgers landed Wolf even though Specht told LandOf10 that he hadn’t spoken to Badgers coaches and wouldn’t until he received an apology for what transpired during Chryst’s tenure at Pitt, when a St. Xavier player recruited by the previous coaching staff fell out of the Panthers’ plans.

Temple identifies the player as offensive lineman Brandyn Cook, who committed to Pitt in 2011 under coach Todd Graham but then de-committed and wound up at Miami (Ohio) after Chryst was hired as Graham’s replacement.

Chryst told LandOf10 that his staff was implementing a different offensive style, and Cook no longer fit. Chryst also said he apologized to Specht immediately thereafter.

Becky Schulte, communications and marketing director for the school, relayed this statement:

“St. Xavier High School enthusiastically invites all colleges and universities to recruit our students for their academic, athletic and co-curricular programs. We apologize to any school that has ever felt anything less than welcome on our campus or by our staff.”

Temple was also first to report the apology and gathered comments from Wolf’s family for more detail.