Former Sayville star, Jack Coan, starts at QB for Wisconsin at Northwestern

Jack Coan's arrival at the quarterback starting Wisconsin has arrived.

Coan, the Sayville native who lit up Long Island High School's record books as a Golden Flashes star, will begin his first college career on Saturday at Northwestern. The game starts at noon and is broadcast on Fox.

Senior coach Paul Chryst told Fox Sports in an interview before the match that Alex Hornibrook, the current starter of the Badgers who was in concussion protocol, would not play and that Coan would replace him .

"Excited for Jack," says Chryst. "Certainly, Jack must do his part, we trust him to do it."

Chryst said the coaches think Coan is "talented enough to do everything you ask your QB to do".

"I like his behavior," he said. "I liked his approach, not only this week … really all year long, I'm happy with how he's prepared, and I can not wait to see him play."

Chryst said Thursday during its Wisconsin radio show that Coan had made "significant" progress since its freshman year and had hired first and second stringer coaches all season to prepare for possible injuries.

Coan, who unanimously won the Hansen Award in 2016, is Suffolk's most outstanding player and a triple pick on the All-Long Island First Team. He also holds Long Island season records for touchdown passes (40) and passing yards (3,431), setting both in 2014.

Now in second year in Wisconsin, Coan played six games last year with the Badgers, all in cleanup. He played his last game on November 25th. He had 5 of 5 passes for 36 yards.

Chryst has avoided playing Coan this season in order to keep an extra year of eligibility. He preferred to play against his teammate Danny Vanden Boom late in the game. This is because under a new NCAA rule, a player can participate in up to four games without losing a year of eligibility.

"The new rule has helped Jack that, if you are able to redshirt, we want to consider that," said Chryst. "So we may not play in the end, like when he played last year. And that's where Danny got it. "

After Thursday's meeting, Chryst told reporters that Coan had handled the lack of match time very well.

"I think it's been great," said Chryst, according to the Wisconsin State Journal. "I think he's been really determined in his work and in his preparation … I think he appreciates and appreciates the opportunity to continue learning." Last year, when you're a first-year student, you're going through a lot of things, these are the first ones, so now he's been around the track, and I've been happy to appreciate how he treated her. "

Nick Klopsis is the sports editor of Newsday.com. He can often be found studying a film about the NFL and college football for his latest project.