Sometimes, life takes you in directions that you don’t expect. That could certainly be said for the adolescent life and collegiate career of current Notre Dame Fighting Irish quarterback Jack Coan.
Coan grew up in Long Island, New York, as a star in two sports. He was an extremely talented football player, and brought just as much skill to the lacrosse field. As a high school student athlete, he was more encouraged by his chances of becoming something special in lacrosse than on the gridiron.
Jack Coan popped his finger back in and then threw the game winning TD
— Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports) September 11, 2021
FOOTBALL GUY pic.twitter.com/WnNYtcRtBv
“Long Island is kind of a hotbed for lacrosse. There’s a lot of kids out there going D1 and going to great places,” Coan said a few years ago. Via JSOnline.com
Coan received a bunch of recruiting attention from various powerhouse programs in both sports. The University of Notre Dame was one of the schools on his doorstep, but out of high school, they wanted him to be a pillar of their lacrosse program. While the Fighting Irish were hoping to land Coan for that realm, he was in contact with other schools to continue his football career as a quarterback. The University of Michigan offered him a scholarship, and many believed Coan would spend his college career playing home games at the Big House.
As it turned out, he did decide to play football out of high school, but he decided to play for the University of Wisconsin, which was a mild upset. Coan felt* that the Badgers program made him feel the most comfortable, and it was a decision he was very happy about.
“When I came here(to Wisconsin), I just felt like this is the place,” Coan said. Via JSOnline.com
Coan spent three seasons as a Badger, and had an impressive junior season where he threw for 18 touchdowns with a 69.6% completion clip. As it turned out though, that would be the final campaign he would spend with Wisconsin. Before his 2020 season could get underway, Coan suffered a foot injury that would prevent him from appearing in any games.
Extremely thankful for the opportunity. Let’s get to work! @NDFootball pic.twitter.com/wKCEbWFgzY
— Jack Coan (@jcoan17) January 5, 2021
Improbably, the Notre Dame storyline came back into the forefront for Coan after Wisconsin’s season ended. While their desire to have Coan play lacrosse had dissipated, they had him at the top of their list for another opportunity—starting quarterback for their football team. Coan transferred to Notre Dame earlier this year, and amazingly, has ended up with the program he left at the altar in his other sport.
“It was pretty cool how it worked out. Everything came full circle, and I was able to come here. But coming out of high school, I didn’t have an offer here(to play football). If I did, there would have been a good chance I would have come here,” Coan reflected. Via Chicago.suntimes.com
