The Wisconsin Badger football team has been racking up the victories lately, and that has Badger fans pretty happy with their team. What Badger fans may not know is that this season the Badgers have two defensive players moving closer and closer to winning the most prestigious awards for their positions.
Senior defensive end Erasmus James is having an outstanding season. He leads the Big Ten in sacks with seven and leads the Badgers with 10.5 tackles for loss, and has garnered two Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week honors.
His stellar season, despite missing nearly two full games, has earned him a spot as one of four finalists for the Rotary Lombardi Award, which annually goes to the best college lineman.
Senior safety Jim Leonhard has led the Badger secondary for the past four years. Already this season he is second on the team with 46 tackles and has recovered a blocked field goal and returned it for a touchdown. He is a two-time All-American selection as well as two-time All-Big Ten selection.
This year, Leonhard has been selected as one of 12 semifinalists for the Jim Thorpe Trophy and is already a semifinalist for the Ronnie Lott Trophy.
Both players have been integral members on a Badger defense that leads the nation in scoring and is third in the nation in total yards.
-compiled from staff reports
