Today marks the end of the road for 16 Wisconsin Badger seniors. Some will move on to play professional football, others will start their professional careers, and a few will continue their studies. While the future will reveal different paths for each athlete, they will all share the same experience that comes with being a member of the Wisconsin football tradition.
Chris Pressley, Kraig Urbik, Mike Newkirk, Jason Chapman and Allen Langford began their football careers at UW-Madison in 2004. They shared the field with such Badger legends as Anthony Davis, Antajj Hawthorne, Erasmus James, Jim Leonhard and Scott Starks. 2004 was a season to be remembered. The five seniors who were members of the 2004 squad were on the sidelines for back-to-back road wins against No. 15 Ohio State and No. 5 Purdue. Scott Starks intercepted Kyle Orton and ran the ball back for a touchdown with less than three minutes remaining in the fourth quarter of the Purdue game. Orton's Heisman hopes were dashed and the play would go on to win the Pontiac Game-Changing Performance of the Year Award.
Travis Beckum, Eric Vandenheuvel, Andy Kemp, Matt Shaughnessy, DeAndre Levy, and Jonathan Casillas joined the squad in 2005. These six starters were fortunate to play for Barry Alvarez in his final year as head coach of the Badgers. Matt Bernstein, Owen Daniels, Brandon Williams, and Joe Thomas were still around when the Badgers claimed a Citrus Bowl victory in Alvarez's final game. The season also included a memorable upset over No. 14 Michigan, when John Stocco ran the ball for a four-yard touchdown to seal the victory in the waning seconds of the fourth quarter.
You miss all seniors,"" head coach Bret Bielema said. ""All these guys have stories within stories, personally with me and then also obviously the things you've seen out there on gameday.""
Although Pressley tallied a score against No. 1 Ohio State in 2007, his most memorable experience at UW-Madison will undoubtedly be non-football related. The 259-pound fullback and co-captain traveled to China for three weeks to study abroad last summer through the school of Business. The current graduate student and Academic All-Big Ten selection's future lies in the business world, where his success on and off the football field will surely translate to a bright career.
As Babe Ruth exclaimed in Sandlot, ""Heroes get remembered, but legends never die."" This mantra certainly holds true for tight end Travis Beckum. Injuries may have shortened his senior season, but the preseason first team All-American selection has a solid NFL career ahead of him. The former No. 1 recruit in the state of Wisconsin ends his tenure with the Badgers placing third in career receptions behind Williams and Lee Evans. Beckum recorded seven games with over 100 yards receiving, which helped him secure third on the Badgers' all-time receiving yardage list with 2,149 yards. His draft stock may have dropped a bit after this season, but Beckum is a lock for a first-day draft selection.
Offensive linemen Urbik and Vandenheuvel have been lining up together since their high school days in Hudson, Wisconsin. Both players captained the Hudson Raiders and won back-to-back team MVP awards (Urbik graduated a year before Vandenheuvel). Urbik served as co-captain of the Badgers this year and both linemen earned preseason All-Big Ten selections in 2008. These two monsters have the size to make it in the NFL if they put in the effort.
Aside from subletting this reporter's apartment during the summer of 2006, Kemp could also have a future in the NFL with the blocking skills he brings up front. The Academic and Athletic All-Big Ten lineman came out of high school as the Gatorade Wisconsin Football Player of the Year and contributed all four years. His athletic ability and leadership skills will be sorely missed.
Shaughnessy has been a stalwart at defensive end since he began playing for the Badgers in 2005. The active defender was named a first-team Freshman All-American in 2005 and was named UW's Defensive MVP last year. His athletic ability earned him a spot on the Bronko Nagurski Trophy and Ted Hendricks Trophy watch lists prior to the start of this season. Next stop: National Football League.
Defensive tackles Newkirk and Chapman leave Wisconsin with numerous awards and contributions. Newkirk, a former high school wrestling and discus state champion, has been the UW defensive player of the week for the past three weeks and helped force a key safety last Saturday against Minnesota.
Chapman will be remembered for his ability stopping the run and forcing a fumble during the 2005 Capitol One Bowl win against No.7 Auburn.
The names ""Levy"" and ""Casillas"" will be echoed across the great state of Wisconsin for years to come. The two linebackers always seemed to be involved in one instrumental play or another during their playing careers in Madison. Levy always seemed to be involved in key turnovers when he took the field, whether it be against Fresno State in 2008 or Michigan State and Arkansas the season before. Casillas stepped it up a notch whenever the Badgers saw themselves facing a tough opponent. Each player has the ability to make it to the next level.
Langford's skills in the defensive backfield will not be easily replaced. The former Detroit high school star has received multiple accolades in his collegiate career. His academic success off the football field will leave him with numerous options in the future.
While 2008 may not have ended with a trip to the Rose Bowl, the 16 graduating seniors on the Wisconsin football team leave a strong legacy behind.
""Some people on the outside looking in might think the Badgers were so down and this is one of our worst years,"" Pressley said in an interview with the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. ""But I think the season told a lot of guys, especially the young guys that are going to be here next year, how to fight. You have to persevere.""
These seniors may not have achieved every goal along the way, but each and every one of them will undoubtedly look back upon these days 50 years from now and wish that they were still donning the red and white of the Wisconsin Badgers.
