MADISON – If former Wisconsin wide receiver Quintez Cephus is readmitted to UW, if he then chooses to continue his education in Madison and if there are no issues involving academic eligibility, he will be welcome to return to the football program.

“If it is best for Q, then I know how his teammates and I know how we feel,” head coach Paul Chryst said after practice Wednesday. “We would love to get him back.

“Yet it’s not about us. It’s what’s best for him.”

Cephus last week was found not guilty of one count of second-degree sexual assault of an intoxicated victim and one count of third-degree sexual assault. Attorney Stephen Meyer announced Monday that Cephus is seeking to be readmitted to school.

Cephus was suspended from the team last August, per UW's Student-Athlete Discipline Policy, after the Dane County district attorney's office filed the sexual assault charges. He was expelled after the first semester, according to UW officials, for a non-academic misconduct violation.

Cephus’ attorneys have informed UW officials they want a response by Thursday.

“I have not been informed of a timeline,” Chryst said. “We should follow the lead (of) Q: That he was going to put his fate in the hands of a jury and go through it in our legal system.”

Chryst and five players met with the media after practice Wednesday. All six acknowledged they were pleased to learn Cephus had been acquitted of the charges, would be glad to see him return to school and the team and believe he would be an invaluable asset on the field and in the locker room.

“I consider Q one of my best friends,” redshirt junior tailback Garrett Groshek said. “Being able to play football (together), a game that I love and I know he loves, would be awesome.

“I’m fine with whatever Q wants to do. As long as Q is happy, I’m happy.”

Redshirt junior wide receiver Kendric Pryor added: “Q is like one of my brothers. Wherever he wanted to go, I’m going to stand behind him. I just want what’s best for him. I just want him to have the opportunity to play football, whether it’s here or wherever he decides to go.”

Cephus played a combined 23 games in 2016 and ’17. He missed the final five games of the ’17 season after suffering a broken leg in a victory at Indiana.

He recorded only four catches for 94 yards as a freshman but blossomed into UW’s best wide receiver as a sophomore in 2017. In only nine games, he recorded 30 catches for 501 yards, 16.7 yards per catch, and six touchdowns.

“He brings a lot to the table,” redshirt junior center Tyler Biadasz said. “I would love to have him back. He is a very physical wide receiver.”

Chryst has called Cephus a connector, a player who naturally builds bridges between position groups.

Groshek explained why.

“If anyone has ever talked to Q, you notice his personality and his smile and his laugh (are) very contagious,” Groshek said. “He is one of the nicest people that you’ll meet.

"And that is a reason why guys gravitate toward him and it ends up being a connector where you’ve got a bunch of people that want to be around Q because usually he is smiling and laughing and it just brings more guys together.”

Chryst cautioned, however, that it is too early in the process to assume Cephus will return to UW and the team.

“There’s a lot of steps that have to happen,” he said. “There’s been a lot of work being done and will continue to be done so that Q can find out his options.

“I’m proud of the way this team helped him pull through it. It has been hard on everyone involved.”

Cephus in October 2018 filed a lawsuit against UW, contending school officials violated his rights to equal protection and due process by conducting a Title IX disciplinary action while he still faced criminal charges involving the same incident.

The suit was dropped in March but his attorneys could refile the suit if UW officials deny Cephus’ petition to be readmitted.

“I’d love for Q to come back,” junior tailback Jonathan Taylor said. “That’s our brother. We’d love to have him back on the field flying around with us again.”