MADISON, Wis. -- Most football coaches with one year of college experience find themselves laboring through the grind as a graduate assistant, worried about the next stop on their way up a winding, decades-long coaching ladder. That's the way it's supposed to go, anyway, in this profession, which rewards those who demonstrate consistent success, often at multiple schools.

Jim Leonhard is not like most college coaches, nor is his story around the game, which helps to explain a meteoric rise that might otherwise seem impossible.

Leonhard was announced as Wisconsin's new defensive coordinator on Thursday after coaching just one season at any level. That experience was this past season, when he served as the Badgers' defensive backs coach in what became an apprenticeship of sorts that showcased his full range as a leader and mentor.

Leonhard is only 34 years old. At that age, current Badgers head coach Paul Chryst was working as an assistant coach on his eighth football team, still years away from finding a place he could truly call home. Yet Chryst is completely comfortable with promoting Leonhard and handing the keys over to one of the best defenses in college football. That says something about who Leonhard is and who he can become in the college football world.

Leonhard's unprecedented ascension might surprise people, who could have argued he needed a few more years of seasoning. Some might have even suggested Wisconsin outside linebackers coach Tim Tibesar was worthy of the job. Tibesar has coached two All-Americans the past two seasons at Wisconsin in Joe Schobert and T.J. Watt and served as a defensive coordinator at Purdue in 2012.

But to know Leonhard's background is to understand that following a traditional narrative is irrelevant.

He was a legendary three-sport athlete in his small hometown of Tony, Wisconsin, who once gained more than 500 total yards in a football game, buried 10 3-pointers on the basketball court and struck out 19 of 21 batters as a pitcher in baseball. Yet the 5-foot-8, 180-pound Leonhard did not receive a single Division I scholarship offer. The only reason former Wisconsin football coach Barry Alvarez took a chance on him was because he clocked a 4.4-second 40-yard dash at a summer camp before his senior year of high school. When Alvarez asked him to run again for further proof, he matched his 4.4 40 time and earned a preferred walk-on spot.

Leonhard then became a three-time All-American safety at Wisconsin and led the country with 11 interceptions as a sophomore in 2002. Despite leaving with a school record 21 interceptions, no NFL team drafted him out of college in 2005. By the fall, he was the only undrafted rookie on the 53-man opening day roster for the Buffalo Bills. Leonhard went on to play 10 NFL seasons with six teams. He retired in 2014, took one year off and then joined the Badgers' coaching staff as a beloved fan favorite.

Leonhard's history as an all-time Badgers football great certainly earned him some clout with players, as did his NFL playing career. But what truly set him apart during the 2016 season was his knowledge and ability to disseminate all the complexities of offenses and defenses into easily digestible bites for his players. As a result, the Badgers finished second in the FBS with 22 interceptions.

During the Badgers' campaign, I had the opportunity to watch Leonhard at work during a 45-minute team meeting with his unit that showcased his vast football acumen as he prepared Wisconsin's defensive backs for a game against second-ranked Ohio State. Leonhard masterfully weaved through Wisconsin's defensive calls and what each player's responsibility would be in a given look. He drew Ohio State's route concepts on the whiteboard and explained when Wisconsin should play Cover 4 or Cover 3 defense. He broke down the role his players would be required to fulfill if Ohio State were to run a corner route or if the quarterback should run an option.

Leonhard also spent 20 minutes with a clicker and laser pointer, highlighting the routes each receiver and tight end might run. He was not afraid to gather input from veteran defensive leaders Sojourn Shelton and D'Cota Dixon on how to combat particular reads. He looked as though he had been coaching for years.

That's because, in a sense, he had been. Afterward, Leonhard discussed the way in which coaching came so naturally to him.

"I grew up around it, first of all," Leonhard said. "My whole family coached something, whether it was basketball, baseball, volleyball. Aunts, uncles, mom and dad, everything. So I grew up around it and felt comfortable just seeing it all the time. And the last few years of my career, it was big-time mentoring guys and helping out younger players, and I always kind of prided myself on that. And this really was a pretty seamless transition.

"College football, to me, is so much more simple than the NFL. In the NFL, people say it's the same offense every week. It is, but teams don't do the same thing the same way every week. Whereas colleges, for the most part, they might tweak things up a little bit, but for the most part, what you show guys on tape shows up again."

One other important element to consider with Leonhard's promotion is the value of maintaining continuity with someone who wants to remain in Madison. Chryst hired from outside his circle a year ago when he brought in defensive coordinator Justin Wilcox, who had recently been fired from USC. Wilcox did an excellent job in his lone season at Wisconsin, with the defense ranking third nationally in run defense, fourth in scoring defense and seventh in total defense. But Wilcox also was a West Coast native, and he couldn't turn down an opportunity for his first head-coaching job at California. Leonhard, meanwhile, is in a place he can call home for however many years he wants.

Leonhard's home-state roots, capacity to teach and communicate and develop relationships makes him the total package for Wisconsin. And he doesn't have to follow anybody else's coaching blueprint to show he's ready for the task at hand.