Paul Chryst addressed the media Tuesday afternoon as Wisconsin prepares to embark on fall camp. One of the big storylines heading into the season is the development of QB Graham Mertz.

Wisconsin has gone 13-7 with a pair of bowl wins the past 2 seasons with Mertz serving as the starting QB. However, there is no getting around the fact that Mertz has struggled at times to lead the offense.

In 3 seasons, Mertz has completed just under 61% of his passes. That included completing just under 60% of his passes in 2021 with 10 touchdowns to 11 interceptions.

Heading into 2022, Chryst has 2 key things he needs to see out of his QB: consistency and confidence.

“To play with great confidence and consistency,” said Chryst when asked about Mertz’s role. “Understand he’s doing his part and can make everyone around him better.

“That’s going to involve a lot of different things…really want him to trust himself and go play and understand we have a lot of trust, a lot of faith in him. With that, comes a lot of responsibility.”

The schedule does open favorable for the Badgers with games against Illinois State, Washington State and New Mexico State before a road trip to Ohio State. Hopefully Mertz can get off to a hot start before the schedule ramps up.