"I remember that spring kind of looking around like, ‘Eh, I don’t know. What do we gotta do with this kid?’” said Badgers defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard, UW’s newly-hired defensive backs coach at the time. "And then by the end of that spring going into the summer, you’re like, ‘Wow. We have another player. He’s a talented kid.’

"He just kind of let it go and started playing faster. That’s when you got to see the athleticism come out, and just awesome to see him from that day just grow his confidence every single week. It’s why he is where he is right now."

UW threw Connelly into action during its season-opener against fifth-ranked LSU at Lambeau Field after Chris Orr tore his ACL early in the first quarter. Connelly made a game-defining play when he slipped a screen and stopped Heisman Trophy candidate Leonard Fournette in the open field on a key third down in the Badgers’ upset victory.

He beat out Orr for a starting spot alongside Edwards the following season and led UW with 88 tackles. Even so, Connelly remained in Edwards’ shadow as the third-year starter earned All-American honors and finished as a finalist for the Butkus Award.

This season, perhaps for the first time, no one’s overlooking what Connelly’s capable of.