Barry Alvarez: “I thought Mel got the most out of his kids this year.”
By TOM SHANAHAN Barry Alvarez likes to keep up on former players and coaches, especially ones that graduate to head coach. Sometimes they come to him. A 2006 game that was scheduled years in advance happened to feature San Diego State and first-year head coach Chuck Long playing at Wisconsin against first-year Badgers coach Bret Bielema. Long was Iowa’s quarterback when Alvarez was a Hawkeyes assistant under Hayden Fry. Alvarez was Wisconsin’s head coach (1995-2005) with Bielema his…